The 30-Years from Now Scenarios-KlimateChange.com Observations

In terms of climate change discussions and data you may have noticed there are a number of 30-years from now comparisons, scenarios, predictions. For example, in the United States it is predicted that the cities of New Orleans and Savannah, Georgia could be partially under water. Other locations along the Florida coast and Southeast coast are often referenced. Even cities such as New York play into possibilities for flooding due to rising seas. If you are living along these coasts and you are a senior, you are not going to be in any hurry to sell and relocate. But if you are in your twenties or thirties and settling into one of these coastal areas (as well as others) you could be thinking what if?  Your thinking would be accurate. As each year passes moving forward, revelations about future damage become more clear. The data supporting these predictions becomes more refined and accurate. In the meantime, building up to these future decades, current years are littered with major storms, some of whose unusual strength, are attributed to changes in climate.  Well before 30 years from now, the data could be damning enough to cause major problems for coastline real estate. There could be a such thing as too late to sell at a reasonable price - or too late to sell and relocate with financial feasibility. This is not meant to scare people away from shoreline living or real estate - these are very real possibilities of consequences and results of climate change. Also, it should be stressed there are ways to protect shoreline properties from flooding by having them professionally raised further up off the ground. This may not be any protection from increased wind in storms, but structural technologies can help prevent or stop flooding. In these instances the battle against climate change becomes very real on a very personal level. It may surprise some people, there are already projects in progress to relocate communities in some areas. One of the first is Isle De Jean, Louisiana. According to the federal governments web site for this island project, there used to be 22,000 acres of land and now there is only 320 acres. In 2016 community block grants were created to allow the residents of this island - most people of American Indian ancestry, to relocate: Isle De Jean.

Future entries on KlimateChange.com will delve more into the conditions of shoreline communities across the globe. These are real concerns that should not be postponed. It can take decades to relocate large, populated areas.