Tag Archives: climate

Why US Carbon Dioxide Emissions Are Back On The Rise

By Geoff Brumfiel, NPR Carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. are on the rise again after several years of decline, and a booming economy is the cause. That’s according to a report released in January from the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm that tracks CO2 emissions in the U.S. “It appears based …

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‘Retreat’ Not An Option For A California Beach Town, But It’s Already Happening In Duval County

By Jessica Palombo & Nathan Rott, NPR In Jacksonville Beach, Kimberlee Prescott is selling her home to the county so it can be torn down. The house, built just over two decades ago at 3640 Sanctuary Way S., is located in unfortunate proximity to a Florida Department of Transportation drainage culvert along Butler Boulevard. After Hurricanes Matthew and Irma, rain and storm surges caused “tremendous damage, expense, time loss, and disruption to the homeowner and her family,” according to Jacksonville

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Sandy Soil And Rising Seas Spell Septic Tank Disaster In Florida

By Brendan Rivers Communities across Florida are already grappling with aging septic tanks, which leak into groundwater and are considered a leading cause of toxic algae blooms. As sea level rise is expected to worsen that situation, the state and cities are beginning to tackle the expensive task of converting septic systems to sewer or newer septic technologies. It’s no small challenge. Floridians are estimated to be using 2.6 million septic systems, most of them the conventional variety with two

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As Seas Rise, Florida Will Likely Lose More Coastal Property Value Than Any Other State

By Melissa Ross, Brendan Rivers & Bill Bortzfield Long before rising seas permanently swamp homes, millions of Americans living in coastal communities will likely face more frequent and disruptive high-tide flooding — and the effects will ripple through the local economy. As the flooding increases over time, coastal residents will be forced to make difficult and costly choices. And if home values decline, an eroding property tax base would jeopardize funding for local services and infrastructure, such as roads, schools, and

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Real Estate And Sea Level Rise: A Buyer’s Guide

By Brendan Rivers In the Tampa Bay area, Pinellas County is teaching real estate agents how to field questions about flooding — an increasingly common concern when homebuyers talk to Realtors. “They really are the boots on the ground for all of the floodplain managers everywhere,” said Lisa Foster, the county’s floodplain administrator. She developed the Real Estate Flood Disclosure training program, a first of its kind in Florida. Realtors are eager, she said, to take the classes on everything

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‘Lift That Nest Up’: Florida’s Endangered Birds Threatened By Floods

By Brendan Rivers Sea level rise and other effects of climate change are now adding to the list of challenges facing some of Florida’s smallest residents: rare birds. On the St. Marys River in Northeast Florida, just a stone’s throw from the Georgia border in Yulee, the nonprofit White Oak Conservation Foundation is breeding and researching wildlife. You were introduced to some of its residents if you watched the last season of Game of Thrones — though you wouldn’t have

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