Quantcast
Powered by RebelMouse

NPR: Rising Sea Levels Made This Florida Mayor a Climate Change Believer

Katie Pohlman
May. 18, 2016 11:08AM EST Climate

Florida is one of, if not the, most vulnerable states in the U.S. when it comes to sea level rise. Though it's clear Florida Sen. Marco Rubio doesn't believe the state needs to act on climate change, one mayor is attempting to prepare his town for higher water.

Photo credit: NASA

Coral Gables Mayor James Cason hadn't given sea level rise much thought until climate scientists brought it to his attention. "You know, I'd read some articles here and there," he told NPR's Christopher Joyce, "but I didn't realize how impactful it would be on the city that I'm now the leader of."

Cason is searching for answers to questions about how the rising sea levels will affect Coral Gables' bond-rating, property values, lifestyle and what the city should and can do in the future to help residents.

Here's NPR's All Things Considered interview with Cason:

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Interactive Map Shows 414 U.S. Cities Already Locked Into Catastrophic Sea Level Rise

15 Florida Mayors to Marco Rubio: We're Going Under, Take Climate Change Seriously

Sea Levels Rising at Fastest Rate in 3,000 Years

James Hansen: Dangerous Sea Level Rise Will Occur in Decades, Not Centuries

climate change featured

EcoWatch Daily Newsletter

farming

Farm Bankruptcies Are Way Up This Year

Business
Pexels

By Dan Nosowitz

It's no secret that the past few years have been disastrous for the American farming industry.

Read More Show Less
business agriculture farming
nutrition

What’s the Difference Between MCT Oil and Coconut Oil?

Health + Wellness
Pexels

By Gavin Van De Walle, MS, RD

Medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil and coconut oil are fats that have risen in popularity alongside the ketogenic, or keto, diet.

Read More Show Less
health nutrition diet food
Sponsored
superbugs

How Scientists Are Combating ‘Superbugs’: 4 Essential Reads

Science
Pexels

By Bijal Trivedi

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report on Nov. 13 that describes a list of microorganisms that have become resistant to antibiotics and pose a serious threat to public health. Each year these so-called superbugs cause more than 2.8 million infections in the U.S. and kill more than 35,000 people.

Read More Show Less
science scientists superbugs public health antibiotics
nutrition

6 Foods That Cause Inflammation

Health + Wellness
Rool Paap / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

By Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE

Inflammation can be good or bad depending on the situation.

Read More Show Less
food diet nutrition health
consumerism

Attack on Dishwasher Standards Hurts Consumers, Environment

Insights + Opinion
Wendelin Jacober / Pexels

By Joe Vukovich

Under the guise of responding to consumer complaints that today's energy- and water-efficient dishwashers take too long, the Department of Energy has proposed creating a new class of dishwashers that wouldn't be subject to any water or energy efficiency standards at all. The move would not only undermine three decades of progress for consumers and the environment, it is based on serious distortions of fact regarding today's dishwashers.

Read More Show Less
energy water business consumerism
Sponsored
trees

Tons of Acorns? It Must Be a Mast Year

Popular
Pixabay / Pexels

By Emily Moran

If you have oak trees in your neighborhood, perhaps you've noticed that some years the ground is carpeted with their acorns, and some years there are hardly any. Biologists call this pattern, in which all the oak trees for miles around make either lots of acorns or almost none, "masting."

Read More Show Less
trees forests animals
glaciers

Living in Hope and Fear Beside India's Retreating Himalayan Glaciers

Climate

By Catherine Davidson

Tashi Yudon peeks out from behind a net curtain at the rooftops below and lets out a sigh, her breath frosting on the windowpane in front of her.

Some 700 kilometers away in the capital city Delhi, temperatures have yet to dip below 25 degrees Celsius, but in Spiti there is already an atmosphere of impatient expectation as winter settles over the valley.

Read More Show Less
glaciers water climate crisis drinking water india drought
animals

10,000 Dogs Needed for a Study on Canine and Human Aging

Animals
Matt Nelson / Unsplash

The Dog Aging Project at the University of Washington is looking to recruit 10,000 dogs to study for the next 10 years to see if they can improve the life expectancy of man's best friend and their quality of life, as CNN reported.

Read More Show Less
animals dogs