Planning for sea level rise in Virginia

Carol Vaughn in Delmarva Now: Planning for a two-foot rise in sea level in tidewater Virginia over the next century is the prudent thing to do -- akin to buying insurance or putting money into a retirement account, the director of a Norfolk environmental group told Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore members at its 22nd annual meeting Tuesday.

Ironically, because of rising sea levels, buying insurance is something that is becoming harder and harder for homeowners on Virginia's coast to do, said Skip Stiles, executive director of Wetlands Watch.

Stiles previously worked for more than 20 years in senior staff positions in the U.S. House of Representatives and was a member of former Gov. Tim Kaine's Commission on Climate Change. "The flooding is getting gradually worse," Stiles said.

Wetlands Watch recently intervened in a federal court case in support of the U.S. Environmental Protect-ion Agency's conclusion that greenhouse gases cause climate change and endanger human health and welfare -- putting the organization at odds with Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who is challenging the EPA finding in court.

Stiles said two feet of sea level rise in the next 100 years is a conservative estimate, according to most scientists. Higher seas will have a greater impact on Virginia than elsewhere because the meteor that impacted eastern Virginia 35 million years ago resulted in a flattened geography where "a little bit of sea level rise causes a whole lot of trouble," he said….

Phytoplankton bloom off the coast of Delmarva peninsula. NASA