Resilience must be our priority
Virginia has taken steps to transform words into deeds on the issue of climate change
An unprecedented heat wave in the Arctic Circle pushed June to be the second-hottest month on record. Scientists expressed worry that the uncommon warmth would accelerate the loss of sea ice in the region, which has receded to an extent never seen at this time of year.
That may seem a world away from Hampton Roads, but warmer temperatures and melting ice pose an inescapable threat to our region, where sea-level rise is profoundly changing the landscape with each passing month.
The fight to save this region — to protect vulnerable neighborhoods and businesses, to preserve our landscape and to ensure military readiness in area installations — requires substantive action, not more promises and proposals.
Virginia has taken steps in recent months to transform words into deeds on the issue of climate change. The General Assembly passed several bills to accelerate the commonwealth’s transition to a green energy future, including the Clean
Economy Act, which requires utilities to deliver electricity from 100% renewable sources by 2045.
Those efforts received an unexpected boost when Dominion and Duke Energy abandoned plans to build the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to deliver natural gas to places such as Hampton Roads. That should result in a larger, and more urgent, investment in cleaner power for homes and businesses.
But while lawmakers did much to address the power we use, it did precious little to address the effects past energy use is having on our landscape. As the Earth continues to warm, sea levels grow steadily higher — and that’s deeply worrisome to those of us who live near the water.
Studies continue to show that sea-level rise promises severe and widespread disruption to Hampton Roads should trends continue. Estimates of 4 feet of sealevel rise by 2100 published only four years ago, now predict accelerating warming and melting ice could push that number to 7 feet or higher.
That won’t surprise anyone who lives near the water, who depends on it for income or turns to it for recreation and peace. We can see the water is climbing up the coasts and that nuisance flooding, also known as blue-sky flooding, is more intrusive and frequent than ever before.
Last year, a study by the Center for Climate Integrity estimated the commonwealth would need at least $32 billion to defend its coastal region from flooding. Other groups, including local advocates Wetland Watch, put that price tag closer to $40 billion.
The question, as ever, is how to pay for all that, since no one city can reasonably foot the bill alone. Nor should any one city be asked to, since the benefits of protecting our coastline and our communities ripple across Virginia.
This isn’t a Norfolk problem, a Hampton problem or a Virginia Beach problem. It’s a Virginia problem and a national problem that demands investment from both to build the infrastructure and institutions needed to mitigate the effects of invasive and persistent flooding.
Consider, for instance, that the federal government has a vested interest in protecting Norfolk Naval Station, the world’s largest naval installation, from flooding. It has poured millions into projects that intend to keep the seas at bay.
Virginia, too, is invested in that — for jobs, revenue and defense spending, among many other reasons — as are our local governments, which depend on that same. That requires work to elevate roadways into the bases and to protect the neighborhoods where service members and their families live.
It’s reasonable to expect the burden of that price tag to be fairly shouldered by all. But the money needed — billions of it — has yet to reach these shores, even as the water continues to rise. And with the coronavirus taking a huge bite out of public sector finances, it will be a tough fight to secure what’s required to mount a vigorous defense.
But we cannot continue to wait.
The seas are rising and this must be the region’s No. 1 priority if it hopes to endure.