Credit: Daily Beast
Eight years ago, a team of top scientists and engineers warned North Carolina’s government that the state faced a potentially cataclysmic rise in sea levels that would bury billions of dollars in real estate under a meter of water.
Armed with this information, the Republicans in charge chose to bury their heads in sand instead.
Nearly a decade later, as Hurricane Florence makes landfall on the state’s Atlantic coast, the decision by North Carolina leaders to ignore that sea-level assessment are being criticized as a short-sighted bid to appease developers—which may leave more than 300 miles of coastline exposed to the ravages of climate change.
Numerous state governments—to say nothing of the current administration—have scoffed at the notion of an anthropogenic factor in sea level rise and climate change. In neighboring South Carolina, where the state’s northeastern coast, including Myrtle Beach, is under a flash flood watch in anticipation of Florence dropping up to 25 inches of rain on the spring break resort town, Gov. Henry […]
I live in central NC but grew up in eastern NC. Eastern NC is solidly republican they hate the liberal elites who think they know it all. Climate change and ocean level rise are nothing to be concerned about. There have always been storms and hot weather. Go away you just want to raise my taxes! Even with floods they are unlikely to change their beliefs or their votes.
Tried to have a conversation with my sister about why she and her husband are building a house on the coast but I got “you can’t live your life like everything is a disaster. It has never flooded here.”
There are a lot of us who are embarrassed and angry about the asses in charge of our state but so far they have maintained a death grip. Apparently gerrymandering works and even though a federal court required changes none will occur because it is too near the election. The republican win again, so much winning…and with voter id constitutional amendment on the ballot very likely to passes well more winning!?
When I allow myself to languish in understanding, I automatically return to the absolute absurdity of being both a Being + Human.
“Except for the point, the still point
there would be no dance
and there is only the dance.”
~ T. S. Eliot