Hurricane Sandy’s lessons  February 10, 2013   U.S. Rep. Lois
Capps is shown during a debate with 24th District challenger
Abel Maldonado at The Tribune in September 2012.  LAURA
DICKINSON — Special to The Tribune  As the new session of
Congress gets under way, there are many pressing issues facing
our country, ranging from creating jobs to improving education.
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, however, new light is being shed
on one issue of particular importance for the Central Coast:
preparing for the numerous impacts of climate change. Sandy’s
devastation is a scary foreshadowing of what could happen with
increased frequency down the road if our communities and
infrastructure are not prepared for extreme weather, sea level
rise and higher temperatures.  The urgency of this problem was
highlighted by the first draft of the 2013 National Climate
Assessment released in January. This report lays out — in no
uncertain terms — the realities of climate change and its
widespread impacts on everything from our coas