The business of sea-level rising

The Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina): The sea level rose about a foot in the last century. To some people’s way of thinking, that’s nothing to worry about. But to those who live on the coast, and are paying attention, it is correctly viewed as a warning. Add to the discussion the generally accepted fact that climate change is the major reason for sea-level rise, and the divide between the two points of view gets wider.

And even suggest that climate change is a direct result of human behavior and the conversations tend to turn into arguments. So the S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce has its work cut out if it is going to promote a healthy dialogue about sea-level rise. It’s a difficult but worthy goal. Failing to study how sea level rise could affect residents, governments and businesses would be foolhardy.

Wilmington, N.C., received a federal grant to project how sea level rise could affect its water and sewer systems, public monuments and parks, and to determine the best way to prioritize any actions the city might elect to take.

The chamber can offer helpful information along those lines, even to those people who discount the premise that burning fossil fuels speeds up global warming. It can make the case that sustainable energy significantly benefits the economy by creating jobs....

One Broad Street in Charleston, shot by Brian Stansberry, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license