Florida needs real plan to fight real sea-level rise
The threat to Florida’s coasts from sea-level rise is real. Street flooding in the state’s coastal communities at high tide is real. Salt water incursion in South Florida wellfields is real.
All of this leads to a natural question: Why won’t Gov. Rick Scott take the issue of sea-level rise more seriously?
For years now, at least since the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact was organized in 2009, state legislators have had access not only to scientific evidence of rising seas but Florida’s vulnerabilit y from the climate phenomenon.
Yet, as we sit on the cusp of another hurricane season with scientists warning of a higher risk of storm surge damage due to rising sea levels and warm ocean temperatures, officials in coastal communities from St. Augustine to Hallandale Beach are left to fend for themselves.
The governor can and must do a better job of leading on this issue. It’s high time he and Republic an legislators set aside their ideological animus toward the term “climate change,” because the increased flooding now seen in some low-lying areas at high tide will get only worse.
Indeed, there are few areas in the country that are more threatened by global climate change than Florida. Already, we face monumental tasks in slowing the erosion of our beaches and preserving our groundwater from the increasing danger of salt water intrusion.
Although legislative leaders have shown themselves to be just as tone-deaf about rising seas, it falls to Scott to show the leadership needed to push the issue out front. His administration, with the help of about $1 million in federal grants, is reportedly working on a five-year plan that will provide some basic guidance to cities dealing with sea level rise. But the Scott administration won’t say what that “guidance” is, and the plan isn’t due until 2016.
Floridians deserve better. Rather than proclaiming that he’s “not a scientist,” Scott should muster all the power of his office to draw attention to the dangers we face. Instead, he chooses to join the choir of climate-change deniers that attempts to muddle and confuse Americans about the settled science in this area.
No, the governor is not a scientist. He’s also not an accountant. But he prepares a proposed state budget. He is not a doctor, but he makes health c are decisions for millions. He is not a teacher, but he direc ts our state’s education priorities. It is only when it comes to climate change that the governor pleads ignorance.
Meanwhile, the historic cit y of St. Augustine faces severe flooding, which is slowly drowning the cit y. The streets of Miami Beach’s South Beach regularly flood at high tide. Six of Hallandale Beach’s eight drinking water wells have been lost to salt water intrusion.
Last week, at the Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference, a major concern of attendees was greater destruction from storm surge due to higher sea levels — especially in low-lying areas. Because of warmer water, scientists are projecting stronger storms and coastal communities, like those in Palm Beach Count y, are in the most danger.
To be sure, climate change is a global problem. It’s also long-term. That doesn’t mean, however, that Florida leaders can’t take steps now — such as creating a statewide comprehensive strategy and plan — to deal with the impact of rising sea levels here.
That includes dedicating resources such as pumping systems and sea walls, and science to help preserve our threatened coast.
St. Augustine’s civil engineer, Reuben Franklin, told The Associated Press that the state has provided no guidance. “Every thing I’ve found to help I’ve gotten by searching the Internet,” Franklin said.
That’s pathetic. It’s also embarrassing in a state with 1,200 miles of coastline for the governor and GOP-led Legislature to do almost nothing to help while our coastal communities are being threatened. Even non-scientists c an see that.