Rising Sea Level Grows As Threat To South Florida

April 11--As the Trump administration proposes cuts in programs dealing with climate change, witnesses told a Senate panel Monday that South Florida is experiencing worsening effects from rising sea levels.

"While there are still some who continue to deny that this climate change is real, South Florida offers proof that it is real and is an issue we're going to have to confront in the decades ahead," said Sen. Bill Nelson, ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, as he opened a hearing at West Palm Beach City Hall.

At the hearing, held across the Intracoastal Waterway from President Trump's Palm Beach home, witnesses spoke of the ground-level impacts of climate change in South Florida, with flooding in Hollywood, Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale, threats to drinking-water supplies and an increased risk of damage from hurricanes.

"We know that sea level has risen and continues to rise at an ever-accelerating rate," said Jennifer Jurado, chief resilience officer for Broward County. "Like many regions and states, we are already grappling with the impact."

During seasonal high tides in coastal neighborhoods, she said, ocean water flows up drainage pipes and into streets. Marinas funnel water into neighborhood streets. Businesses are forced to seal front doors with caulk to keep out the water. And underground, sea water is moving inland, contaminating drinking-water wells, with an estimated 40 percent of coastal wells likely to be ruined, she said.

"These are not examples of future risk but are realities today," she said.

Nelson accused the Trump administration of muzzling scientists, saying he had been told by top officials in federal agencies that they had been warned by the new administration to not even use the phrase "climate change."

"We need to be clear about the facts that are presented to the public and fight against the political censorship of our climate scientists and their data," he said. "If a doctor were barred from using the word "cancer," he or she can't do his job, and the same is true of scientists and the work they do."

President Trump, who has called climate change a hoax and said programs to fight it hurt the economy, has proposed a budget that would eliminate or sharply cut programs dealing with climate change at NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies. The budget would eliminate funding for satellites that gather climate data and cut NOAA programs intended to help coastal communities adapt to higher sea levels.

Trump also signed an executive order intended to roll back his predecessor's clean power plan, saying it would cost the United States jobs without doing much for the environment.

Ben Kirtman, a climate scientist and professor at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science, said the president's proposed budget cuts would make it more difficult to assess risk from climate change and hazardous weather.

"If we stop collecting data, that's truly putting your head in the sand," he said. "Just because you stop collecting data doesn't mean the climate change problem isn't continuing to progress."

Carl Hedde, head of risk accumulation at Munich Reinsurance America Inc., known as Munich Re, one of the largest reinsurance companies in the United States, said money invested in dealing with climate change now will pay off in reducing the costs we have to pay out for damages from hurricanes and other severe weather events.

"We must address climate change on multiple fronts," he said. "Munich Re supports a smart, balanced approach that protects the public but does not stifle business or innovation. Researching and addressing the genesis of climate change is one step. Preparing our nation for the impacts of a changing climate must happen concurrently."

Also questioning witnesses were U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio and Palm Beach County Mayor Paulette Burdick.

dfleshler@sun-sentinel.com, 954-356-4535

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