There are two main ways to respond to climate change. First, we can try to slow the rate of global warming by curbing our greenhouse-gas emissions. But there’s also “adaptation”—we can try to reshape our existing infrastructure to make ourselves more resilient in the face of climate disasters. Many experts say we’ll need to do both. The fallout from Hurricane Sandy has provoked at least a few politicians into taking adaptation more seriously. “It is something we’re going to have to start thinking about,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo after surveying the flooding in lower Manhattan. “The construction of...