Countries Are Preparing for Rising Seas But the U.S. Is Far Behind

[marmar]

via AlterNet:



Countries Are Preparing for Rising Seas But the U.S. Is Far Behind

By Orrin Pilkey and Rob Young, Island Press. Posted October 7, 2009.

By 2100, a projected sea level rise of up to seven feet will have tremendous impact around the world.



From The Rising Sea by Orrin H. Pilkey and Rob Young, Copyright © 2009 Orrin H. Pilkey and Rob Young. Reproduced by permission of Island Press, Washington, D.C.


Sounding Retreat

’Round the World


All around the globe, there is growing awareness of coming sea level rise. To date, the United States appears to be behind in what are still very preliminary efforts of many other countries. In 2008, the EPA released an important document intended to set the stage for the nation’s response to sea level rise, but the stated goal of the report was to add to the nation’s prosperity while responding to sea level rise. Maintaining prosperity may be desirable, but you can’t have your cake and eat it too. A report with such conflicting goals cannot be taken seriously. Response to a major sea level rise will, of course, involve economic sacrifice on the part of property owners, government, and society as a whole even though jobs will be created in building relocation and other industries.

Initial major sea-level-rise impacts on U.S. development will likely occur along our barrier island coasts. Eventually, urban problems, especially stormwater and wastewater disposal, will begin to take precedence over preservation of beach communities. When our main population centers are truly threatened, and we begin to build dikes and move ports and other infrastructure, small beachfront communities are likely to become declining public priorities. The end result, decades from now, but certainly in this century, will be abandonment of many island tourist communities and, unfortunately, massive seawalling of others.

Today in the United States, action on sea level rise occurs in scattered pockets on a mostly local scale. In Olympia, Washington, a controversy erupted over the siting of the new city hall. Detractors argued the planned site was on low-elevation land built out into Puget Sound and was sure to be inundated within a few decades. A new site at higher elevation was chosen. In Santa Barbara, California, a citizens group proposed to paint a blue line around the city at the 23-foot (7 m) elevation contour to show a worst-case scenario of sea level rise (melting of the Greenland ice sheet). The voters threw it out. Joseph Riley, the mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, said that replacement and upgrading of the city’s stormwater drainage system was a necessity because of rising sea levels. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/water/142389/countries_are_preparing_for_rising_seas_but_the_u.s._is_far_behind

[annabanana]

1. Well. . .The Insurance companies have seen to it that the flood maps

that determine who HAS to have flood insurance have expanded.

So somebody's paying attention.

[liberal N proud]

2. They have only done that so they can deny paying any claims

"GREED!"

[Double T]

3. The US ignores their problems 'hoping' the problems will go away.

The problems don't go away; ignoring the REAL PROBLEM makes them much worse. I won't mind wall street and and washington d.c. underwater; it will be a good start!

[annabanana]

4. sigh

My little town will be 30 feet under before that happens.

[NNadir]

8. You can be sure that the South Shore of Long Island will all be gone.

Probably large sections of the North Shore as well, all of Bayville, Ashroken, the North Fork, the low lands of Smithtown and Huntington, much of Sands Point.

I wonder if Suffolk and Nassau County will require an evacuation plan like the one they said they needed to bring Shoreham on line based on some 1 in a million probability.

They don't seem nearly so well prepared for a certainty.

It's a shame they didn't insist on an evacuation plant before committing to the dangerous fossil fueled suburbia that Robert Moses put together.

My stepmother lives in Freeport, and everytime a storm comes up I worry like hell about her. She's an old woman. My stepsister lives in Eaton's Neck on high ground though, and I hope she'll get her mother in such an emergency.

But with rising seas, and the risk of hurricanes, I'd think about moving if you're young enough to do it.

[Chemisse]

5. We need a realistic plan

If we respond in a knee-jerk fashion, we will spend huge sums of money propping up areas that will someday be totally underwater.

I like the idea Santa Barbara had, although I can certainly see why it would be unpopular. Try selling your house that resides outside that line! But future development and costly improvement projects should be planned based on what the future may bring.

[benld74]

6. I once saw interactive maps on rising sea levels and

MOST of Florida is underwater as is DC Baltimore etc

Ocean front property will be further inland

[pscot]

7. Why should we have to trouble our beautiful minds

about such unpleasant realities. Don't bother us, we're busy dancing with the stars.

[joshcryer]

9. Irony: the south would be heavily impacted. The south is where a lot of anti-environment policies...

...originate or are at least heavily supported.