How South Florida Is Ignoring The State’s Leading Politicians And Taking On Climate Change
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/05/21/3432588/south-florida-fighting-sea-level-rise/
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In South Florida, doing something about sea level rise is a matter of survival.
The National Climate Assessment, released this month, singled out Southeast Florida as a region particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, one where “just inches of sea level rise will impair the capacity of stormwater drainage systems to empty into the ocean.” Those drainage systems are already experiencing problems in many areas, the report notes, especially during high tides and heavy rains.
In Key West, a tide gauge that’s been measuring change in sea level since 1913 has documented an increase of seven-eighths of an inch every ten years, equaling out to an increase of more than eight inches as of 2013. By 2060, according to the World Resources Institute, sea levels along Florida’s coasts could rise another nine inches to two feet.
“We’re here where the rubber hits the road. We’re the canary in the coal mine,” said Rhonda Haag, Sustainability Program Manager for Monroe County, which encompasses the Florida Keys. “We see it. We see it in the extreme high tides when we have water on the road … We’re already changing the way we do business.”
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http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/05/21/3432588/south-florida-fighting-sea-level-rise/
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