Reuters Covers Sea Level Rise Flooding Miami, But Won't Say Climate Change

Miami families chalk 6' sea level rise at
HighWaterLine.org event (Jayme Gershen)

Reuters has a compelling story on how sea level rise is impacting Miami Beach, but even more interesting is what the story leaves out: Climate change. And there's evidence to suggest Reuters' omission is no accident.

First, the Reuters coverage of the Miami Beach "King Tide" that's expected to peak October 9 at about a foot above normal:

The event, caused by the alignment of the sun, moon and Earth, provides a taste of the potential impact of a longer-term two-foot sea level rise predicted for south Florida by 2060, according to the United States Geological Survey. The low-lying greater Miami area, with a population of 5.7 million, is one of the world's most at-risk urban communities, scientists told a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing in April.

The King Tide is expected to rise to almost four feet. With seven miles of coastline, Miami Beach is already seeing more frequent salt-water street flooding at high tide, according to Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales.

To combat such widespread flooding, the city has set aside $300 million to 400 million to install up to 50 pumps in the coming years in what some say is a vain effort to protect an estimated $23 billion of real estate.

Bigger sea walls are not an option as Miami Beach's flooding is caused largely by water rising underfoot through porous limestone bedrock. Officials concede pumping water back into the ocean is only a short-term solution.

It's a really interesting article, but it leaves you with an unanswered question: Why is sea level rising? It's a critical part of the story. Leaving out the cause makes sea level rise seem like something that's beyond our control, but it most certainly is not. The intensity of future global warming and the height of future sea level rise will be determined by how much and how fast we cut industrial carbon pollution right now.

You might think it's a coincidence that Reuters left out any mention of global warming - maybe they just assumed everyone knows and accepts mainstream climate science! But there's evidence the action is deliberate. As Media Matters has reported, a former reporter accuses Reuters Deputy Editor-in-Chief Paul Ingrassia of denying the clear scientific connection between industrial carbon pollution and global warming intensity. The reporter accused Ingrassia of letting his personal politics taint Reuters' climate coverage and repeated Media Matters investigations have shown Reuters climate coverage continues to decline in frequency and quality.

Reuters' silence on the connection between sea level rise and carbon pollution comes with real consequences, especially in Florida. Gov. Rick Scott wouldn't even let climate scientists finish making their case for climate action before cutting them off. Sen. Marco Rubio lets his pro-polluter politics cloud his judgment on climate change.

In this case, Reuters isn't just failing to connect the dots for its readers - it's letting science deniers off the hook for their reckless decision to put politics ahead of people.

Via ClimateCrocks.com

New Report Highlights Climate Crisis' Threat to Hampton Roads

A new report takes a closer look at which cities will be hurt by global warming-fueled sea level rise. As Brad Plumer reports, Virginia is in the climate crisis crosshairs:

Things don’t look good for India. But the United States doesn’t get off easy, either. If you look at exposed assets rather than total population, then Miami, New York-Newark, New Orleans and Virginia Beach all climb higher on the list, with $7 trillion in assets vulnerable to severe coastal flooding by 2070. [...]

Take Miami. A three-foot sea-level rise, experts have noted, would likely put all of Miami Beach underwater and turn downtown Miami into an island, channeled off from the rest of Florida. Yet the state isn’t doing all that much to prepare for this eventuality. Instead, it’s racing to subsidize new developments along the coasts, through state-run insurance and funding for coastal protection. By contrast, cities such as London and Amsterdam are taking more prudent steps to guard against future flooding — and, as the OECD report notes, are likely to cope with sea-level rise better.

That’s not an isolated case. In general, the United States has been slow in preparing for rising sea levels. In many cases, we’re actively making things worse, as Steve Nash laid out in this excellent article in the New Republic. This is one area in particular where climate-change denial can do a lot of damage — it’s awfully hard to prepare for a problem that no one can agree even exists.

So we're not doing climate mitigation, like cutting carbon pollution. And as an event just last month at NASA's Langley Center in Hampton pointed out, we're not doing climate adaptation, either, like coastal restoration & limiting development in areas just above sea level.

Basically, if you were consciously trying to leave the worst possible situation for the next generation, you'd be doing exactly what people like Gov. Bob McDonnell are doing now - deny the problem & delay solutions. And note the 2070 date - we're no longer talking about forecast impacts on some future generation, but real changes happening within the lifetimes of the children in your family right now.

Amazing that the same people who profess such a concern with our budgetary national debt have no qualms about leaving our kids stuck with a multi-trillion-dollar climate liability.

Making the Best of an Ungreen Hotel

The Green Miles is in Miami this weekend for the National Wildlife Federation-sponsored Carbon-Neutral Sailfish Tournament. I'm staying at the Royal Palm South Beach. It's a decent hotel, but if it wasn't right on the beach it would be nothing to write home about.

One thing that makes the Royal Palm so ordinary - its lack of green features. They give you a newspaper every day whether you want it or not, but there's no recycling anywhere - it's not even accepted at the front desk. About the only positive I noticed was the compact fluorescent light bulbs.

One little thing I do when I'm staying by myself is to leave the "do not disturb" sign on the doorknob, letting the cleaning staff know that the room doesn't need service. Do I really need new soaps, shampoo, towels, sheets, etc. every single day? I'm fairly confident they can survive more than one use.

Keep an eye on the the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Green Lodging Program. While relatively few hotels have been approved so far, there's a long list of applicants. Once the list expands and there are more choices, it should be a lot easier to find a green hotel.

Why Should I Have to Choose Between Green and 'Bleu in Miami?

Sorry for the post drought but The Green Miles was in Miami for the Patriots-Dolphins game, the gridiron version of Ali-Patterson (Tom Brady coming back in for his 6th TD was the Pats' version of "What's my name, fool?").

While I was there, I caught a cool story on the local NPR station about how Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is using state's purchasing power to push hotels to go green:

Now the Four Seasons -- and Florida's 45 other certified green lodges -- stand to benefit from an increase in business thanks to Gov. Charlie Crist's recent mandate that state-sponsored meetings and conferences be held at FDEP-certified green hotels whenever possible, beginning Jan. 1.

Crist's order has sparked a race among hoteliers to complete their paperwork and earn certification from FDEP's green lodging program, which was created in 2004 as a pollution-prevention measure. The program is charged with helping the state's lodging facilities implement ways to conserve water, reduce waste, improve air quality and save energy.

I stayed at the Fontainebleu, which not only isn't FDEP-certified but doesn't have even a single green feature. Not that I didn't enjoy the gorgeous view and all the great amenities, but there's absolutely no reason you can't have gorgeous AND green (in fact, there's a whole website devoted to it). Steps like energy-efficient appliances and lighting, a re-use program for linens and towels, adjusted thermostats and eliminating the use of disposable products like water bottles should be imperceptible to guests. So why should I have to choose between green and (Fontaine)bleu? Why can't I have both?