Next Victim of Warming: The Beaches
There’s a long article in the New York Times headlined Next Victim of Warming: The Beaches.
According to a 2000 report by the Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, at least a quarter of the houses within 500 feet of the United States coast may be lost to rising seas by 2060. There were 350,000 of these houses when the report was written, but today there are far more.
“If it is as bad as people are saying, at some point it will be a crisis,” said Thomas Tomasello of Tallahassee, Fla., a lawyer who represents many owners of coastal property. But he does not dwell on it. “I cannot deal with sea level rise,” he said. “That’s such a huge issue.”
The article goes into plenty of depth, both on the scale of the problem now, and on the public’s general preparedness.
Few coastal residents want to see their towns walled off and surrounded by water. And few want to elevate their houses by 20 feet or more, as flooding experts are beginning to recommend in some coastal areas. The approach favored by many scientists, a gradual retreat from the coast, is a perennial nonstarter among real estate interests and their political allies.
How close to the beach do you live? And how high above sea level? — DS
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