Communities and countries around the world are now declaring that we are in a climate emergency. Most of these declarations focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the more comprehensive resolutions also call for a just transition, meaning that frontline communities that are bearing the brunt of climate chaos will be given priority in addressing necessary mitigation. But meanwhile the oceans are rising and even if we are able to drastically cut back carbon emissions within 10 years, the seas will continue to rise for sometime into the future. So what we will be facing no matter what, is how to adapt to a new inland coastline.
On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Jeffrey Petersen, who spent four decades working on environmental policy with the EPA and the U.S. Senate. His new book, A New Coast: Strategies for Responding to Devastating Storms and Rising Seas, introduces a comprehensive national program that delivers an effective response to the ongoing challenges of worsening storms and sea level rise. We'll talk about how to predict where and how much coastal communities and infrastructure will be inundated, and what are the potential remedies, including retreating from our current coastlines to a new coast.
- KBOO