Tag: climate change

What Does a Foot or More of Predicted Sea Level Rise Mean in Real Real Estate Terms?

The foot or more of sea level rise government scientists recently predicted coastal cities and towns will see by 2050 doesn’t sound like much, especially if you live in a community that isn’t being impacted by the first foot of sea level rise that’s accumulated in the last hundred years. To people who own real estate located in areas that are now experiencing sea level rise flooding and those in the red zone targeted by the next foot, it’s a huge deal. I live in South Florida, and I’m witnessing firsthand what sea level rise flooding can do to a coastal community.

The Union of Concerned scientists predicted that an additional foot of sea level rise will put 140,000 homes at risk of flooding every other week. This means coastal cities and towns are going to have to step up their efforts to fend off floodwaters by, among other things, building higher seawalls, installing pump systems, elevating roads and other critical infrastructure, expanding flood-water absorbing wetlands, and replenishing eroded beaches.

Private real estate owners, too, are going to have to be more diligent in taking steps to protect their properties. More and more of them are going to have to install, reinforce or heighten seawalls and elevate docks, structures and entire homes. In condo communities, owners face the specter of higher association fees and special assessments to cover the cost of protecting common areas and buildings from flooding.

In cases where sea level rise floodwaters cannot be held back, private property owners are going to face a host of problems. As owners of real estate located in neighborhoods that flood now can attest, typically the first sign of sea level rise is seawater collecting on roadways or rising up out of storm drains that would normally drain into the ocean, a harbor or other waterway. Sounds like a minor problem, until you have to park blocks away from your home and wade through the water to reach your front door. Driving through seawater is out of the question. The salt is extremely corrosive to vehicles.

The next step in the typical sea level rise flooding progression is floodwater collecting on a property, where it can rend septic systems inoperable, pollute freshwater wells, and damage landscaping and exterior structures. In cases where the seawater enters a home, the costs can be devastating. FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program website has a flood damage calculator that estimates an inch of water alone can cause nearly $27,000 damage to a 2,500 home. A foot of floodwater can cost over $72,000 to repair.

In extreme cases, local governments are determining that it’s no longer cost-effective to maintain and rebuild roads and critical infrastructure to serve properties that are repeatedly inundated. Officials are insisting on buyouts, where they pay an owner fair market value to abandon their homes. It’s important to note that buyouts are expensive and only possible where federal and state funding is available. It’s uncertain how long the government will be able to afford buyouts. If the funding dries up, real estate owners could be left with properties that regularly flood, aren’t insurable, and are impossible to sell.

The immediate coastline isn’t the only place at risk from sea level rise. In areas like South Florida that are built on porous limestone or Honolulu that are built on porous volcanic rock, higher seas can push seawater inland underground. The dense seawater, in turn, can force the fresh water table upward toward the surface where it saturates soils. This can create three problems: 1) Unable to absorb rainwater, the saturated soils can cause surface flooding; 2) Septic systems that rely on dry soil to filter impurities can become inoperable when saturated soils can’t handle any more water; and 3) Fresh water well systems can become polluted by saltwater making them unusable.

Beyond the physical problems floodwater presents to coastal communities, private property owners also have to keep an eye on trends in the property tax, insurance and mortgage sectors. Coastal communities are fighting for federal and state funding to pay for sea level rise control projects. When the money runs short, local taxpayers will have to cover the bill for flood prevention projects.

The National Flood Insurance Program is already in the process of making sure that owners of properties most at-risk of flooding pay higher premiums. And, after the tragic condo building collapse last summer in Surfside, Florida, mortgage backers Fannie May and Freddie Mac are now forcing condo associations to answer detailed questions about building maintenance and the level of reserve funds available to cover routine maintenance and repairs. In instances where buildings are deemed to be poorly maintained, short on cash, or unsafe, lenders will be barred from issuing mortgages. This new policy is already wreaking havoc in the South Florida condo market, where closings are being delayed due to the stringent requirements. The threat is compounded by the fact that even cash buyers can be forced to show that they will be able to get a mortgage if they don’t have enough resources to cover the cost of a condo.

With all of these factors in play, it’s clear that the prospect of another foot of sea level rise is something that real estate owners and buyers can no longer afford to shrug off and ignore. Every additional inch of water that accumulates between now and 2050 is going to compound the challenges faced by coastal communities. Due diligence — staying up to date on the latest developments and responding appropriately — is the only way to protect real estate investments.

Changing Our Eating Habits Is One Way to Fight Sea Level Rise Flooding — Yes, Really

One way coastal real estate owners can fight sea level rise flooding is by eating a more plant-based meat diet that produces less greenhouse gases than animal-based meat meals. StepByStepChef.com has a series of free plant based meat recipes and videos that will show them how to get started.

Sea level rise flooding is as surely a symptom of global warming as raging wildfires, mega-droughts and more powerful hurricanes. The disease that’s driving the growth in such disasters is humans burning fossil fuels — such as coal, oil and natural gas — that release the greenhouse gases that are heating up the planet.

Fighting sea level rise requires a concerted effort by real estate owners and governments to take steps necessary to hold back the floodwaters, but it also demands that we all change our habits to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases — primarily carbon dioxide and methane — that we release into the atmosphere. Among our options are buying the most fuel efficient vehicles we can afford; consolidating trips so we don’t drive as much; weatherizing our homes and offices and equipping them with efficient heating and cooling systems; and eating a more plant-based diet.

The last point is one that I’ve been focusing my energies on lately. For years, I’ve own and operate a website called StepByStepChef.com where I post free recipes and videos that show people how to cook hundreds of dishes in a detailed step-by-step manner. I’m pleased to report that my videos have been viewed over 14 million times.

To help myself and others to reduce our carbon footprints, I spent the last several months sampling plant-based beef, chicken, pork and even fish — many of them are quite delicious — and building dishes around them. Why? Because it takes far less fossil fuels to create plant-based meats than it does animal based meats. In addition, plant-based meats are produced without the release of methane — a powerful greenhouse gas — that animals give off as part of normal biological processes.

Last week, I started to post videos showing people how to make delicious meals — such as plant based meatballs and spaghetti, plant based beef tacos, plant-based chicken stir fry, and plant-based sausage omelets. All of the recipes were tested for taste and texture before I produced the videos.

If you’re interested in helping to fight global warming and sea level rise flooding by reducing your carbon footprint, I invite you to take a look at the plant-based cooking videos on StepByStepChef.com. There are already 17 free recipes and videos on the site with much more to come. In addition to the plant-based cooking instruction, you’ll find over 225 other free recipes and videos that are fully vegetarian or use animal-based ingredients.

If we work together to fight climate change and sea level rise at the source by reducing our carbon footprints, we just might be able to escape the dire predictions scientists have drawn if we continue to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at the current rate.

Powerful New Tool Gives Real Estate Owners, Developers, Planners & Government Officials a Detailed View of the Threats Posed by Sea Level Rise

One of the greatest challenges for coastal real estate owners, developers, planners and government officials is acquiring a detailed understanding of the complicated challenges sea level rise flooding poses to their communities.

A new tool introduced today by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), a non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to defending the environment, aims to deliver a clear view of the threats sea level rise poses to coastal communities in the Southeast through the use of an interactive mapping tool. “The project’s goal is to show citizens and decision-makers how the coast is changing,” the SELC said in a news release, “and how proposed infrastructure projects like highways, neighborhoods, and government or industrial facilities will fare as the water keeps rising and floods get worse.”

Visitors to The Changing Coast website will find an interactive map with overlays that enable them to visualize: 1. The flooding that will occur in their community as sea level rises; 2. Development projects that will be impacted by higher seas; 3. The locations of toxic Superfund sites that could contaminate neighborhoods and water supplies if they’re flooded by ocean water; 4. The locations of socially vulnerable populations who are most at-risk from sea level rise flooding and storm surges; 5. Wetland areas and floodplains that need to be protected from development to act as sea level rise floodwater buffer zones; and 6. Areas that are most at-risk from more powerful storm surges resulting global-warming-fueled stronger hurricanes and tropical storms.

Among the real-world examples of areas where the interactive mapping tool could assist real estate owners, government officials, planners and developers in coastal communities, the SELC offered the following:

  • “A proposed 9,000-acre housing development in Charleston could flood now with just a Category 1 hurricane. And rising seas could put parts of the development under water before the mortgages are paid off.”
  • “The roads leading to the proposed Mid-Currituck Bridge in North Carolina could be flooded on sunny days in the future if sea level climbs just two feet, rendering the span useless.”
  • “A 21-million-ton pile of toxic coal ash on the banks of the Mobile River in Alabama could likewise be threatened by a Category 2 hurricane, and that threat only increases as sea levels continue to rise. A breach could spread toxic ash into the river, through the Tensaw Delta, and into Mobile Bay.”

“The goal is to help guide decisions for the future, and to plan smart strategies to protect what exists now,” said Chris DeScherer, and SELC senior attorney.

The SELC’s interactive map is a valuable source of information that real estate owners, buyers and agents in the Southeast should use when considering property in coastal communities currently experiencing sea level rise flooding or at-risk of experiencing it in the near future. It would be wonderful if this powerful tool became available in other parts of the country.

Want to Fend Off Sea Level Rise Flooding? Start with Your Natural Gas Stove

A study released last week that concluded natural gas cooking stoves in the U.S. alone are leaking the equivalent of 500,000 cars-worth of greenhouse gases every year is a powerful reminder that real estate owners must play a role in combatting global warming and sea level rise flooding.

Researchers at Stanford University said in the study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, that natural gas cooking stoves in over “40 million U.S. residences release methane — a potent greenhouse gas — through post-meter leaks and incomplete combustion.” They noted that three-quarters of the methane was released when the stoves were off. Around 80 percent of the methane leaked from loose couplings and fittings that connect gas pipes to stoves.

For years, the natural gas industry worked to convince the public that natural gas was a clean energy alternative. Using natural gas to produce energy does in fact release half as much carbon dioxide as burning coal to generate the same amount of energy. But scientists are increasingly concerned that the production and transportation of natural gas is leading to the release of dangerous amounts of methane — a more potent but shorter lived greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide — into the atmosphere.

A report published by Global Energy Monitor, a non-profit that monitors the fossil fuel industry, concluded that projects the oil and gas industry plan to fund to increase the use of natural gas globally would lead to the release of greenhouse gases in excess of all the coal fired plant put together. Ultimately, natural gas could keep us on track toward climate change catastrophe.

So what’s a homeowner to do? Climate groups are encouraging them to replace their natural gas powered stoves, hot water heaters and other appliances with electric appliances. For those who can’t afford to replace them, Rob Jackson, a professor of earth sciences at Stanford who was one of the stove study authors, told National Public Radio said they should use a wrench to tighten the connectors between pipes and stoves. The American Gas Association told NPR this work should only be performed by licensed professionals.

The point of this story is that people who own real estate in coastal communities that’s threatened by sea level rise flooding should certainly do everything they can to, such as raising seawalls and structures, to protect their property from rising waters, which is a symptom of climate change and global warming. But they also need to do everything they can to reduce the root cause of the problem, which is clearly any human activity that leads to the burning of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

If they have a gas stove, they need to replace it or make sure it’s properly maintained. Other steps they can take to help include ensuring that their property is weather-proofed and equipped with the most efficient appliances available today. Even switching off lights and electronics that aren’t being used can make a difference.

When We Play Politics with Climate Change, Everyone Loses

Two years ago, the first case of Covid-19 was identified in the U.S. Since that fateful day, 860 thousand Americans have lost their lives to the virus and millions have been sickened. Unfortunately, politics played a role in many of these casualties. We can’t afford let this happen when it comes to the climate change crisis and sea level rise flooding.

At the national level, President Biden took office a year ago. One of his stated goals was to pass the Build Back Better bill, which includes $555 billion to address climate change. Included in the legislation are projects that would promote renewable energy and clean transportation to help the country dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Unfortunately, Build Back Better has been all but killed by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va, who has strong ties to his home state’s coal industry. Clearly his decision was made for his own political survival, not for the survival of the planet we all call home.

We’re seeing political shenanigans at the state level, too. In Florida, for example, Gov. Ron DeSantis has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in projects to protect real estate and critical infrastructure from sea level rise flooding. Among the projects being funded are new sea walls, pump stations, and stormwater sewers, along with the restoration of crumbling canal banks. This is good for the low-elevation state that’s extremely at-risk from global warming-fueled rising tides and more powerful hurricanes with stronger storm surges.

Unfortunately, Gov. DeSantis undermined his responsible approach to sea level rise flooding by injecting clearly partisan political venom when it came to addressing the root cause of sea level rise flooding: the burning of fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

During the December news conference to announce his sea level rise infrastructure improvement initiative, the governor wouldn’t use terms like sea level rise and climate change, both of which could inflame his supporters — many of whom believe they’re hoaxes or minor problems. When a reporter asked Gov. DeSantis about global warming, he said, “What I’ve found is when people start talking about things like global warming they typically use that as a pretext to do a bunch of left-wing things that they would want to do anyways. And so we’re not doing any left-wing stuff.”

It’s pretty clear that the governor defines “left-wing stuff” as any actions that would reduce the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels.

Scientists say the only way to avoid the worst-case scenario of over eight feet of sea level rise by 2100 is to dramatically cut back on fossil fuel consumption. Gov. DeSantis’s approach to building defenses against sea level rise flooding but ignoring the root causes driving the tides ever higher, essentially dooms all of Florida’s coastal communities but especially those south of Lake Okeechobee to being potentially wiped off the map by the end of this century.

If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that playing politics with scientifically established facts during a global crisis is dangerous. For example, a National Public Radio analysis found that the counties that have suffered the greatest number of Covid-related deaths were those that were the most susceptible to misinformation from hyper-partisan politicians and media outlets. Basically, despite scientific evidence that vaccination saves lives, the misinformed residents chose not to get vaccinated and they paid with their lives at a number many times higher than those who got jabbed.

It has to be noted here that Gov. DeSantis has consistently downplayed the use of proven methods of reining in Covid-19 — vaccines, boosters, masks and social distancing — and pushed treatments that can be used AFTER people become infected. An LA Times analysis published during the heat of the delta outbreak late last summer, determined that his approach came at the cost of thousands of unnecessary deaths.

Taking a similar, non-scientific, politically-charged approach to climate change will have disastrous consequences for humanity today and for many generations to come. Without action to reduce the release of greenhouse gases today, we will certainly see a worsening of the droughts, wildfires, heat waves, extreme storms, and sea level rise flooding that have plagued the nation lately for decades to come.

The bottom line here is if we want to save our real estate and our way of life, we need to reach a consensus based on scientific fact, not political maneuvering, and invest in policies that will yield real results, real fast. If we don’t, we’re going to learn the hard way that when we try to gaslight the Earth, which is subject to basic laws of physics, we’re the one who will gets burned.

Public vs. Private Interests Come to a Head Over South Carolina Seawall

Solving sea level rise flooding challenges requires public/private partnerships. For example, when a coastal community is defending itself against repeated flooding events, government officials may have to require that both public and private seawalls be raised to a certain height to create a continuous barrier to stop the floodwaters.

Sometimes, however, public and private interests are at odds and difficult decisions have to be made. Such is the case at Debordieu Beach in South Carolina.

According to an article in The State newspaper, the owners of four homes built a sandbag seawall to protect their property from severe beach erosion at a point where a wooden seawall is failing. In keeping with state law, staff members at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) ordered the seawall removed.

The property owners responded to the order by exploiting a loophole in the law. They found a scientist at Coastal Carolina University who agreed to study how well the sandbags performed as a seawall after they were buried during a beach nourishment project. Such experiments can be approved by the DHEC if there’s a chance they will succeed.

The staff members remained steadfast in their opposition to the seawall, saying that the science is established. Past experience has shown the seawall will make erosion of the public beach even worse. South Carolina has banned hard seawalls for this reason for many years.

On a 3-to-2 vote the DHEC’s politically appointed board voted to overrule the staff and allow the sandbag seawall to remain.

Observers are concerned that the board’s decision will lead to more property owners installing sandbag seawalls or other experimental methods to protect their real estate with the potential loss of sandy beaches.

This type of public/private conflict is occurring in other areas, too. For example, property owners in Charleston, SC, and Miami, FL, are concerned that high barriers proposed to stop storm surge will block their views. And homeowners in Miami Beach, FL, have sued the city after roads elevated to stop sea level rise flooding have actually led to their property being flooded by rainstorm runoff.

As sea level continues to rise, there’s bound to be more conflict between public/private interests. In cases where what’s good for the public isn’t necessarily good for a private real estate owner, following the science for the greater good is the best policy. Seeking solutions that help property owners to adapt to any changes made that impact their property or fairly compensating them when sacrifice is the only solution has to be part of the mix, too.

Another Florida City Passes a Seawall Height Ordinance to Fend Off Sea Level Rise Flooding

As sea level continues to rise and flood real estate, coastal communities are starting to wake up to the fact that a laissez-faire approach to seawalls won’t cut it any more. If the height and maintenance of seawalls isn’t regulated by cities and towns, there’s a chance floodwater is going to course over the lowest seawall in a series and flood the owner’s and neighbors’ properties, not to mention critical roads and infrastructure.

This week, the city commission in Delray Beach — located in southern Palm Beach County, Florida — responded to sea level rise flooding from inadequate seawalls along the Intracoastal Waterway. By a unanimous vote, the commission approved seawall ordinances similar to a breakthrough seawall ordinance passed two years ago in Broward County, Florida, that covered Fort Lauderdale and other coastal cities and towns.

Delray Beach’s new regulations close a gap that allowed private property owners free range over their seawalls, even if they were deficient and causing flooding problems for the surrounding area.

“The city is where the rubber meets the road,” Vice-Mayor Shirley Johnson said. “The county isn’t going to say this is going on. The state isn’t going to do it. And the federal government? They’re so far away they don’t even halfway know what’s going on, even though the Army Corps of Engineers does their level best. … So the city is left to do the work of enforcing, monitoring, being aware.”

The seawall regulations require the owners of new construction properties to build seawalls 4.2 feet over the base flood elevation as identified in FEMA Flood Insurance Rate maps. If the owner builds a seawall under that height, it must be designed to allow the construction of a height extender to bring it in line with the regulation.

City officials said they don’t plan to aggressively enforce the seawall regulations. According to the regulations, however, if flooding is reported from a deficient seawall, the city will require the owner to “demonstrate progress toward repairing the cited defect within 60 days of receiving notice from the city, and complete any necessary repairs within 365 days of receiving notice.” Property owners could face fines if they fail to meet the requirements.

In addition to the seawall height and maintenance requirements, the new regulations require sellers to disclose to buyers that the property of interest is subject to the new ordinances. The following language must be included in sales contracts: “This real estate is located in a tidally influenced area. The owner may be required by county or municipal ordinance to meet minimum tidal flood barrier elevation standards during construction or substantial repair or substantial rehabilitation to the property or the seawalls, banks, berms, and similar infrastructure or when required to abate nuisance flooding.”

With sea level rise continuing and, quite frankly, accelerating, more coastal cities and towns are bound to consider similar seawall regulations. Real estate sellers and owners and real estate agents in coastal areas need to stay aware of what’s happening in their communities as the regulations can have costly consequences.

The cost of building or repairing a seawall can run well into the tens of thousands of dollars or even higher, depending on the length of the seawall and the materials used. In addition, acquiring permits for seawall construction from federal, state, county and local governments can require a fair amount of paperwork and take longer than 365 day project completion limit.

Record High Ocean Temperature has Serious Consequences for Coastal Real Estate

For the third year in a row, global ocean temperature was the hottest on record in 2021, according to a study published today in the Journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. Furthermore, the past five years have seen the hottest ocean temperature in over 60 years.

The increase in ocean temperature is tracking ever higher temperatures recorded on land and in the atmosphere. Scientists blame humans burning fossil fuels — such as coal, oil and natural gas — for the global warming that started during the Industrial Revolution.

As ocean water heats up, it expands. Experts credit 1/3 of sea level rise to expansion. The rest is due to glacier melt running off into the sea.

In addition to sea level rise flooding, warmer ocean water threatens coastal real estate by increasing glacier melt and by fueling stronger tropical storms and hurricanes and more intense rainfall events. It also threatens to contaminate fresh water supplies through saltwater intrusion.

Kevin Trenberth, a study author and scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric research in Colorado, told CNN: “To stop this (trend), we really need to get to net-zero (emissions), and many countries have plans but not enough actions to support those. In the meantime, we must prepare better and build resilience.”

“Changes to engineering design, building codes, and modifications to coastal development plans are recommended in anticipation of increased sea levels and increases in extreme precipitation events, which are already being observed,” according to the study.

Fossil Fuel Emissions Behind Global Warming and Sea Level Rise Are Roaring Back

The numbers are in, and fossil fuel emissions and global warming — drivers of sea level rise flooding — continue to head in a dangerous direction. According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service , a non-partisan organization that tracks Earth’s temperature, 2021 was the fifth warmest year on record and the last seven years have been the warmest ever recorded. The organization also reported that the global concentration of carbon dioxide, the most plentiful greenhouse gas, continues to rise.

Adding to the troubling trend is the fact that greenhouse gas emissions rebounded at a rapid rate after the pandemic slump. The Rhodium Group released a report that found that US greenhouse gas emissions, which had been in gradual decline since about 2010, increased 6.2% in 2021. The good news, if there is any, is that 2021 levels were still 5% below those recorded in 2019.

The Rhodium group report said the switch back to coal burning for electricity — in response to high natural gas prices — was behind much of the increase in emissions. Road transportation as economic activity picked up also added to the emissions spike.

The link between fossil fuel burning, the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and the increase in temperatures on land and sea to ever-worsening sea level rise flooding, heatwaves, wildfires, drought, damaging storms and other climate calamities is well established. The setback in reducing the release of greenhouse gas emissions is stalling US efforts to combat global warming as is the inability of Congress to pass President Biden’s Build Back Better Act, which includes a $555 billion investment in renewable energy, electric cars and other measures. The critical bill is largely being held back by Joe Manchin a Democratic Senator from the coal state of West Virginia.

The US, of course, isn’t the only country contributing to Earth’s greenhouse gas load. China and India, which together account for two-thirds of global coal consumption according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), show no signs of slowing down. To make matters worse, both countries insisted that last year’s United Nation’s Climate Change water-down language regarding coal consumption. They would only agree to a “phase-down” in the use of coal instead of an accelerated “phase-out”.

Our home planet, of course, was not given a seat in the negotiations, but it is, nonetheless, speaking loud and clear. Through the rapid upward trend in climate catastrophes it’s telling us: Try to gaslight Earth, get burned.

Real estate buyers, sellers, owners and agents in coastal communities who are counting on rational environmental policy changes to protect their investments and livelihoods need to get involved and vote for candidates dedicated to a rapid reduction in the use of fossil fuels, like coal and oil, to turn this thing around.

Sen. Manchin’s “No” on Build Back Better is Bad News for Sea Level Rise Real Estate

Just as a group of scientists is reporting that global warming threatens to cause the collapse of the so-called “doomsday glacier” in Antarctica — which could add a catastrophic two to 10 feet of sea level rise — the last thing owners of coastal property under threat of sea level rise flooding need to hear is that Senator Joe Manchin intends to vote no on President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better bill.

Sen. Manchin, a Democrat, stated his intention over the weekend, which brought passage of the bill to a screeching halt. Without Sen. Manchin’s support, there’s little chance the bill, which faces overwhelming Republican opposition, will pass in the evenly divided Senate.

It’s no surprise that Sen. Manchin, sent to Washington, DC, by the coal state of West Virginia, is opposed the bill. It includes billions of dollars to develop clean energy resources. Unfortunately his short-sighted position will have long-term negative implications for the U.S.’s ability to reach President Biden’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by up to 52% by 2030.

The U.S. is Earth’s second worst emitter of greenhouse gases. Without a substantial reduction the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, transportation and industry, the world will continue to warm at an ever-accelerating pace and sea level rise will continue to follow the trend.

A foot of human-caused sea level rise is already forcing coastal communities to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to protect real estate, critical infrastructure and their local economies — an investment that’s sure to rise into the trillions of dollars nationally in the coming decades. The failure to also aggressively address the root cause of global warming and sea level rise through the Build Back Better bill is placing us firmly on the path to the worst case scenario of sea level rise flooding and other climate change catastrophes, such as droughts, raging wildfires and stronger, more damaging storms.

The bottom line here is owners of coastal real estate need to start voting for candidates dedicated to fighting climate change to protect their investment and their way of life.