Saturday, December 10, 2011

South Florida climate change action plan unveiled

Cammy Clark in the Miami Herald: [In] Key Largo ...the Southeast Florida Climate Change Compact rolled out a nonpartisan draft action plan that is a cooperative effort among Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Climate scientists, biologists, emergency management leaders, county commissioners, water management experts, transportation planners and many other public and private professionals worked together for two years to determine the potential impacts of global climate change on the region — and recommended actions to address them.

“Southeast Florida is uniquely vulnerable to sea level rise, with very few areas of the country having as many economic assets at risk,” said Eugene, Ore.-based Steve Adams, senior program advisor for climate adaptation for the non-profit Institute for Sustainable Communities, which has a global presence.

Adams, who worked in Gov. Charlie Crist’s administration as director of energy and climate change policy development, said Southeast Florida ranks in vulnerability with New Orleans and Hampton Roads, Va., where the Navy has invested heavily in infrastructure.

The compact’s plan is a draft, compiled with input from more than 100 experts in various fields. The public has 60 days to comment on the plan, which can be downloaded at www.SoutheastFloridaClimateCompact.org....

Key Largo's harbor, shot by Elmschrat, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

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