The Nightmare Scenario for South Florida's Coast

Coral Gables mayor Jim Cason first started worrying about sea-level rise when he asked his staff to count not just how much coastline the city had (47 miles)or value of the property along the coast ($3.5 billion), and he realized climate change would bring this affluent seaside community to an end.  He said the boats were the canary in the mine.  When the sea level rises so that boats can no longer clear the bottom of the bridges, the property values go down.

If property values start to fall, banks could stop writing 30-year mortgages for coastal homes, sending the prices lower still.  Those properties make up a quarter of the city's tax base, and if that revenue fell, the city would struggle to provide services that make Coral Gables such a desirable place to live.  All that could happen before the rising sea consumes a single home.

As President trump proposes dismantling federal programs aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions, officials and residents of South Florida are grappling with the risk that climate change could drag down housing markets.  Sea levels are already 4 inches higher now than in 1992.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts sea levels will rise as much as three feet in Miami by 2060, and by the end of the century, some 934,000 existing Florida properties, worth more than $400 billion, are at risk of being submerged.

In addition, studies find that dozens of other coastal cities throughout the country may be faced with similar problems.  Can climate change be denied?  Not by anyone who looks at the facts and figures.  The fact is we MUST face the issue and reduce greenhouse gases now.  Luckily we live in California, a state that is doing everything possible to reduce the effects of climate change.  Hopefully science will prevail and our nation will get with the program that most of the world is following, and save our planet.  Climate change is NOT FAKE NEWS!