Two years ago, I posted about Mayor Jason Buelterman of Tybee Island, Georgia claiming he recognized the reality of climate change and rising sea levels despite being a Republican. He made the remark in response to Trump and fellow GOP members who deny global warning and continue to do so after mountains of data have been compiled to demonstrate its inevitability.
Today, Tybee Island recognizes the threat and is taking
steps to deal with rising sea levels.
High tides encroach upon the causeway that runs between the island and
the mainland, causing trouble during commutes for those people who do not work
on Tybee and emergency vehicles. Additionally,
flooding erodes beaches and causes stormwater sewers to overflow. Recently, an analysis showed that Georgia
properties have already lost about $15 million because of flooding and rising
sea levels. Who is going to buy a house
that has been flooded three times in the last three years?
The island flooded in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The last two years were due to Hurricanes
Matthew and Irma respectively. But in
2015 it was a king tide, which is an exceptionally high tide, and no hurricanes
attached.
Buelterman and the island commissioned a plan to adapt to
the sea level rise and now other coastal communities are using it to model
their own plans. The ocean has risen 9
inches in the past 80 years and projected to rise another 3 feet or more. The stormwater sewers have been upgraded so
they won’t flood with sea water. Tybee
Island is rebuilding the dunes on the beach to protect from storm surges. Georgia Department of Transportation is
repaving the causeway so it will not flood as often.
But the worst-case scenario is most of the island will be underwater
by the end of this century. Tybee Island
residents, although optimistic, realize the inevitability of the sea level
rise.
