Environment

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The half of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge attached to Brooklyn is lit while the half attached to Staten Island is dark in New York, Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. The massive storm that started out as Hurricane Sandy slammed into the East Coast and morphed into a huge and problematic system, killing at least 96 people in the United States. Power outages now stand at more than 3.6 million homes and businesses, down from a peak of 8.5 million. The cost of the storm could exceed $18 billion in New York alone. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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James McConnon, 5, of Alexandria, Va., crosses King Street by way of flood water, as people venture out to survey the damage in Old Town Alexandria, Va., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, the day after Hurricane Sandy slammed into the region. Flood water here in Old Town is slightly higher than normal after a heavy rain. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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A cab driver pushes his taxi cab forward in a line for gasoline in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. In parts of New York and New Jersey, drivers face another day of lining up for hours at gas stations struggling to stay supplied. Superstorm Sandy damaged ports that accept fuel tankers and flooded underground equipment that sends fuel through pipelines. Without power, fuel terminals can't pump gasoline onto tanker trucks, and gas stations can't pump fuel into customers' cars. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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Mohammad Ullah fills up his gypsy cab from a gas container while others wait on a line in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. In parts of New York and New Jersey, drivers face another day of lining up for hours at gas stations struggling to stay supplied. Superstorm Sandy damaged ports that accept fuel tankers and flooded underground equipment that sends fuel through pipelines. Without power, fuel terminals can't pump gasoline onto tanker trucks, and gas stations can't pump fuel into customers' cars. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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Ruth Dina Ticona washes the mud from clothing damaged by Superstorm Sandy in the front yard of her home in the oceanside community of Far Rockaway, New York, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. In the background a front-end loader piles debris for pickup by the santitation department. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

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Beth Skudin, right, hugs a neighbor outside her home that was flooded by Superstorm Sandy, Thursday, Nov 1, 2012, in Long Beach, N.Y. Skudin was rescued by jetski from the window of her home on the night of the storm. Three days after Sandy slammed the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, New York and New Jersey struggled to get back on their feet, the U.S. death toll climbed to more than 80, and more than 4.6 million homes and businesses were still without power. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

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Kathleen Seemar removes a U.S. flag from her home, which was flooded during superstorm Sandy, as she started the cleanup process, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, in Brick, N.J. Three days after Sandy slammed the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, New York and New Jersey struggled to get back on their feet, the U.S. death toll climbed to more than 80, and more than 4.6 million homes and businesses were still without power. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

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Brooke Clarkin tries to salvage some personal items from her mother's home in Staten Island, New York, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. Her mother's home was not only flooded to the ceiling, but was swept off its foundation and was carried to the other side of the street. The National Guard and federal emergency management officials will deliver 1 million meals and bottled water to New York areas hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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Eileen Miley looks for magnets that might be salvageable at her home that was destroyed by flooding during Superstorm Sandy in Staten Island, New York, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. The National Guard and federal emergency management officials will deliver 1 million meals and bottled water to New York areas hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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NYPD police officers perform a search in high grasses that were flooded during a storm surge, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Arrochar neighborhood of the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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A man waits for gasoline, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.(AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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A yacht rests beside two homes after it was driven inland by flood waters, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses.(AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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This undated image provided by Arcadis shows the Dutch engineering firmÃs proposal to build a barrier in the Verrazano Narrows between New York's Brooklyn borough and Staten Island, shielding the Upper New York Bay. This barrier would be supplemented by two smaller barriers, one between Staten Island and New Jersey and the other on the East River. The vast destruction wreaked by the storm surge in New York could have been prevented with a sea barrier of the type that protects major cities in Europe, scientists and engineers say. The multibillion price tag of such a project has been a hindrance, but may appear more palatable after the damage from Superstorm Sandy has been tallied. (AP Photo/Arcadis)

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Lisa Kravchenko, of Staten Island, stands amongst flood debris in her princess Halloween costume, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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A passenger inspects the water level around his vehicle as multiple cars drive through a flooded street, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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Rescue workers check a home for fuel leaks and other types of damage, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)

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A vehicle is submerged after being carried into a swampy depression by floodwaters, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in the Staten Island borough of New York. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ John Minchillo)