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Local governments right to put climate change preparations on front burner
THE ISSUE: Local officials beef up climate change preparations.
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board
January 12, 2010
When much of South Florida thinks about the prospect of their
homes washing away in rising seas spawned by global warming, they laugh
it off as a science fiction fantasy, or a concern for another
generation to worry about.
After all, who can bother with such
seemingly faraway problems when most people are too consumed by the
immediacy of rising gas prices, growing unemployment lines and a
lingering recession?
The answer, especially in a region
surrounded by the ocean, is: all of us can, or should. South Florida
must be mindful, and energized, about doing what it can to protect our
shores from the prospect of an engulfing rising sea, which would not
only threaten waterfront neighborhoods but our drinking supplies.
Those
quick to dismiss scientific projections of a 5- to 20-inch sea rise in
the next 50 years should look no further than the Keys for proof it's
already happening. Officials there are watching streets and golf
courses get flooded by salt water faster than they can be fixed.
Fortunately,
the people we really need to be focused on this issue, our local
government officials, are. In October, elected officials from Palm
Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties signed a compact to join
forces to seek federal funding to protect drinking water, encourage the
use of alternative fuels and implement other environmentally friendly
initiatives.
Broward and Miami-Dade counties also have task
forces working closely with South Florida water managers to brace for
the potential impact of fluctuating temperatures and rising tides.
Recognizing that, as County Commissioner Karen Marcus put it, "we're
behind the 8 ball with our partners to the south," Palm Beach County leaders have expressed an urgency to get more involved in those
efforts, and to move more quickly in adopting some measures recommended
last year by the county's Green Task Force.
Reducing greenhouse
gas emissions in government buildings and offering energy-efficiency
rebates and incentives for homeowners and developers are among the
ideas some officials want to make budgetary priorities.
It will
be hard in a year when government services are competing with community
programs for funding. But as Marcus said, "this is a time we reallocate
resources."
BOTTOM LINE: No time to waste.