Ex-cmdr.: Climate change threatens Va. bases

[unhappycamper]

Ex-cmdr.: Climate change threatens Va. bases
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Dec 12, 2007 14:45:49 EST

NORFOLK, Va. — A former commander of the Norfolk Navy base says southeast Virginia residents should be concerned about global warming causing a rise in sea level and threatening the area’s military installations.

Retired Capt. Joe Bouchard, who oversaw the Navy base from 2000-2003 and won a General Assembly seat in November, said a long-term rise in sea level won’t cause immediate problems, but it will threaten the Navy base, especially during a bad coastal storm or hurricane.

“Parts of it are actually below sea level,” and significant parts of the base flooded during Hurricane Isabel, a relatively weak hurricane, said Bouchard, D-Virginia Beach.

Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va., also is low and vulnerable, Bouchard said.

Apart from global warming, the Chesapeake Bay area’s sea level naturally is rising about a foot a century, as the land mass slowly subsides.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/12/ap_norfolk_071212/