Coral Gables Mayor Cites "Existential Threat" From Sea, Wants Lots & Lots Of Federal Money

[hatrack]

Despite President-elect Donald Trump’s skepticism toward climate change, Coral Gables Mayor James C. Cason, whose city is one of the South Florida municipalities on the front line of rising sea levels, said he hopes that “Trump, as a businessman, will want to protect the value of private investment” and government facilities threatened by climate impacts once he’s in office.

In Coral Gables alone, there are about $15 billion in investments, and the city’s elevation ranges between zero to 4 feet above sea level, Cason said during a phone conference for the media on Wednesday sponsored by the Washington-based World Resources Institute, a global research organization that works on climate and other critical issues affecting the environment and development.

The city of 52,000 has about 47 miles of coastline and waterways and has already felt the effects of higher tides. Coral Gables has 301 boats that need to pass under bridges to reach the ocean, but many can’t get out until a low tide, Cason said. And next year, the situation may get worse. “We see the octopus in the room,” the mayor said, referring to the octopus that was trapped in a Miami Beach parking garage after a high tide. In Coral Gables, fish were swimming in a parking lot and salt water is entering the city from below, which will affect the aquifers.

EDIT

Both Cason and Hoboken’s Mayor Zimmer concurred on the issues, stressing that more federal money is needed to make coastal communities more resilient before conditions worsen. “The federal and state governments will jump in when you’ve been slammed by something,” Cason said. “After the event, they come to help rebuild. We haven’t had any evidence of state or federal interest” to invest in building more resilient communities.

EDIT

http://therealdeal.com/miami/2016/12/15/rising-sea-levels-an-existential-issue-coral-gables-mayor-james-cason/

[appal_jack]

1. 0-4 feet elevation? Unlikely.

Communities that close to sea level are going to have to be let go and relocated, unless there are truly stunning cultural, historic, or strategic resources to save.

The effort to save NYC, New Orleans, Charleston (SC), Norfolk, and similar metropolitan gems will be huge. I don't know Coral Gables in particular, but how many coastal cities of 52,000 (or coastal FL cities in general) can really be saved from sea level rise at this point?

k&r,

-app

[pscot]

2. When Mar A Lago is threatened

The regime will send pallet loads of cash.