This past Sunday, the Norfolk-based Virginian-Pilot published Virginia LCV executive director Michael Town’s op-ed “Rising legislative tide,” which focuses on the sea level rise threatening Hampton Roads and efforts at the federal and state level aimed at reducing the carbon emissions to blame for climate change.
Town
Here’s the full article.
Here are a few main takeaways:
Scientists predict seas will rise 2.3 to 5.2 feet by the year 2100.
If they rise just 3 feet, nearly 900 miles of roads in the Hampton Roads region would be permanently or regularly under water. According to a recent study by the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, that same 3 feet of water would cost the region between $12 billion and $87 billion in a region ranked 10th in the world in assets exposed to sea level rise.
The Clean Power Plan and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative are right for Virginia. It’s time to move toward a clean energy economy and away from the carbon-intensive energy policy responsible for endangering our coastal communities.
We need more lawmakers in office that recognize this before we all find ourselves underwater.