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Saturday, June 27th, 2015

Report: Cities unprepared for sea-level rise

Author:     Sue Dremann
Source:     Palo Alto Online
Publication Date:     Fri, Jun 26, 2015, 9:16 am
 Link: Report: Cities unprepared for sea-level rise
Stephan:   I see story after story about coastal cities and always the takeaway is the same: American coastal cities are tragically unprepared for what is coming, indeed many can hardly talk about it sensibly. Nature doesn't care about our hang-ups and stupidity. We have affected the Earth's meta-systems and we are now going to reap the consequences. I would think very carefully before buying low lying coastal real estate.  
This map from the "South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Study" shows areas of flooding during a 100-year flood, which would be compounded by a rising sea level. Black icons with pennants denote schools. Credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

This map from the “South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Study” shows areas of flooding during a 100-year flood, which would be compounded by a rising sea level. Black icons with pennants denote schools.
Credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury has a message for city and county officials who are dragging their feet regarding sea-level rise: Get with the program.

Mired in complacency toward what they see as a slow-moving emergency, public agencies are not adequately preparing for future flooding from climate change, the grand jury found after investigating a complaint questioning countywide planning and preparedness related to rising seas.

Grand jurors made three determinations in their report, titled, “A Slow Rising Emergency — Sea Level Rise”: current flood-control measures won’t prevent flooding from higher water levels; cities abutting the […]

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