Taxpayers shouldn't pay for failure to address sea-level rise

Scientists who know a lot more than the policymakers who would second-guess their painstaking research and hard data are telling us that not only is it possible that the sea levels will rise and the Earth will warm, but they say it is already happening. We can choose to ignore the research of people smarter than we are, at our own risk, or we can make sensible coastal policies that recognize the inevitable – and already well known, in a state with a 301-mile coastline – dangers of building on spits of land that are shaped, carved and changed by a mighty ocean.

Apparently our Coastal Resources Commission is opting for the former. Rather than incorporating 100-year forecasts that project the ocean could rise more than 3 feet by 2100, the CRC voted to look just 30 years into the future in setting policy. Give them credit for looking at least that far ahead, but an informed regulatory body would want the benefit of a wealth of research that takes a look further down the road – even if actual policies are based on a shorter time frame.

We already know how erosion and hurricanes can devastate coastal communities; add mere inches of sea-level rise, and the effects could be even more dire. Policies must encourage greater setbacks, better building standards and must consider that there very well may come a time when gradual retreat is the smartest option.

Taxpayers shouldn't have to foot the eventual bill for policymakers' failure to address risks that we already know come with building too close to the ocean.

Commission member Bob Emory, a former chairman and the only dissenter, suggested what seems like an obvious approach: While a 30-year time frame may work best for developing actual policies, it can't hurt to include projections that look ahead. As those projections change and the year 2100 gets closer and closer, policies can more easily be refined.

This state has many of its own university-based scientists who study not only the oceans, but our part of the Atlantic Ocean. Rather than ignoring them and the research they have collected, the CRC and state lawmakers should use those excellent resources to help make sound decisions and to provide a strong framework for future policymakers.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20140517/ARTICLES/140519659/1108/editorial?Title=Editorial-Taxpayers-shouldn-8217-t-pay-for-failure-to-address-sea-level-rise