Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumMiami Residents Approve $400M In GO Bonds To Deal With Rising Sea, Infrastructure Fixes
With Hurricane Irma still fresh in their minds, Miami residents on Tuesday voted yes on a big funding measure to protect their city from climate change.
The major port city is set to spend nearly half a billion dollars on projects like storm-drain upgrades, flood pumps, and seawalls, as well as affordable housing and new roads, all measures aimed at bracing for the effects of climate change.
The $400 million approved in the ballot measure in Tuesdays election comes via a Miami Forever general obligation bond, which allows the city government to spend money that it borrows on the municipal bond market, leveraged against property taxes. Its a last-minute win for outgoing Mayor Tomás Regalado, a Republican who defied many in his party in championing the effort.
That includes Gov. Rick Scott, a climate change skeptic who said after Irma hit in early September: Clearly our environment changes all the time, and whether thats cycles were going through or whether thats man-made, I wouldnt be able to tell you. I know we have flood-mitigation issues, Scott added.
EDIT
https://news.vice.com/story/miami-voters-just-sent-their-climate-change-denying-governor-a-message
lapfog_1
(29,205 posts)sorry, Florida is built on this:
And there simply is no way to keep water from entering it.
All the pumps in the world won't keep up with water penetrating this type of rock.
hatrack
(59,587 posts)So maybe not really grounds for encouragement.
They need to be spending money on planning to move inland, and importing drinking water, because I'll bloody guarantee you that's what they're going to be talking about in 20 years.
but spending money on seawalls and pumps and storm sewers... sorry
Not to mention the billions more in flood assistance from the rest of us that don't live there every time a hurricane visits (which I expect to be more frequent).
Moving the city... and all of the other coastal cities, especially in Florida, is going to bankrupt our nation in about 40 years (if not sooner). But NOT moving will bankrupt us even faster and won't solve the problem.
hatrack
(59,587 posts)Anything to keep the old game alive.
Finishline42
(1,091 posts)I wonder if the flood insurance program was to charge rates that reflected the true risk if a lot of the movement away from coasts would happen over time as most people either couldn't or wouldn't pay the insurance?