If the video above doesn’t explain the dangers of climate change for coastal economies for you, try Bloomberg below.
As President Donald Trump proposes dismantling federal programs aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions, officials and residents in South Florida are grappling with the risk that climate change could drag down housing markets. Relative sea levels in South Florida are roughly four inches higher now than in 1992. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts sea levels will rise as much as three feet in Miami by 2060. By the end of the century, according to projections by Zillow, some 934,000 existing Florida properties, worth more than $400 billion, are at risk of being submerged.
The impact is already being felt in South Florida. Tidal flooding now predictably drenches inland streets, even when the sun is out, thanks to the region’s porous limestone bedrock. Saltwater is creeping into the drinking water supply. The area’s drainage canals rely on gravity; as oceans rise, the water utility has had to install giant pumps to push water out to the ocean.
The effects of climate-driven price drops could ripple across the economy, and eventually force the federal government to decide what is owed to people whose home values are ruined by climate change.
Sean Becketti, the chief economist at Freddie Mac, warned in a report last year of a housing crisis for coastal areas more severe than the Great Recession, one that could spread through banks, insurers and other industries. And, unlike the recession, there’s no hope of a bounce back in property values.
Citing Florida as a chief example, he wondered if values would decline gradually or precipitously. Will the catalyst be a bank refusing to issue a mortgage? Will it be an insurer refusing to issue a policy? Or, he asked, “Will the trigger be one or two homeowners who decide to sell defensively?”
“Nobody thinks it’s coming as fast as it is,” said Dan Kipnis, the chairman of Miami Beach’s Marine and Waterfront Protection Authority, who has been trying to find a buyer for his home in Miami Beach for almost a year, and has already lowered his asking price twice.
Some South Florida homeowners, stuck in a twist on the prisoner’s dilemma, are deciding to sell now—not necessarily because they want to move, but because they’re worried their neighbors will sell first.
When Nancy Lee sold her house last summer in Aventura, halfway between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, it wasn’t because she was worried about sea-level rise, rising insurance costs, nuisance impacts or any of the other risks associated with climate change. Rather, she worried those risks would soon push other people to sell their homes, crashing the region’s property values. So she decided to pull the trigger
“I didn’t want to be there when prices fell,” said Lee, an environmental writer.
Ross Hancock has the same worry, and sold his four-bedroom house in Coral Gables three years ago. He described South Florida’s real estate market as “pessimists selling to optimists,” and said he wanted to cash out while the latter still outnumbered the former.
“I was just worried about my life’s savings,” Hancock said. “You can’t fight Mother Nature.”
Lee and Hancock are outliers. When it comes to buying homes on the coast, most Floridians are still optimists.
Published on 25 Apr 2014
Ooops… sub.
Published on 17 Jan 2014
Two SJMC faculty, Kate MacMillin and Juliet Pinto, explore the narrative of a South Florida community under threat from sea level rise in this half-hour documentary.
Encourage all your climate-denying friends to invest in south Florida coastal real estate!
I would, but those among my “friends” who are are climate deniers are no longer my friends and we don’t talk much. I think my strategy should be to say to them DON’T buy south Florida real estate—-just because they want to be contrary and not listen to anything I say about SLR, they will then consider doing it.
Florida does not have a sea level problem due to climate change. It does have a problem of ground subsidence due to two causes. 1) diversion of surface water and pumping of ground water, 2)subsidence of the land from continental rebound.
Miami has an agency which regulates the water problem, other cities and counties in Florida need to get on board.
Per the French who have measured the rise in the atlantic since 1805 their ocean rise trend is 4 inches in the next 100 years. NOAA measurements in the pacific are 3 inches in the next 100 years. Fortunately for the west coast, the coast is actually rising, mostly, and the net change there is zero. The east coast, or at least large parts of it does have a rebound problem and is sinking at various rates.
Again you lie and demonstrate your stinking ignorance
Ocean rise since January 1993 to February 2015 has been 86.1 mm (approx 3.4″)
Ocean rise from 1893 to 2000 = 200 mm (approx 7.9″)
The figures you deliberately distort are for THERMAL expansion only
Actually they are tidal gauge measurements from official records.
You lie, predictions are not made from gauges and tidal gauges only record coastal measurements
The 1893 – 2000 figures are from tidal gauges, world wide
The 1993 – 2015 figures are from direct radar altimetry.
Here is the source NASA Global Climate Change Facts
These figure exceed your vaunted predictions by 4 to 1
Again your deception is in using estimates for thermal expansion NOT all contributions.
Try again, fool
Try again, fool, you say? PLEASE don’t encourage him.
Morons argue like you. It is really sad to see that kind of argument which is why you rapidly go into name calling. Reminds me of the school bully who tried that on me, when he landed upside down in the trash can, I had a lot of people I did not know come up to thank me for doing the obvious.
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_station.shtml?stnid=9419750 shows the oceans are falling per your reasoning at about .26 feet in 100 years.
I suggest smoking your weed, having a donut and going to bed.
Bates is fantasizing again—-school bullies only end up “upside down in the trash can” in the movies, not in the schools (based on my 23 years of dealing with school bullies as a school administrator). I can see that Tommy-Poo likely brought a lot of grief on himself in school because of his annoying stupidity, but I’d bet he NEVER fought back.
Master Bates jerks us around once again with a link to noaa tide gauge data and tries to make something of it. I looked at it and asked “Why Crescent City CA?”(station 9419750). The ocean is “falling” there because subduction is pushing up the plate it’s located on. A quick look at the full data set of 131 U.S. stations shows that is also happening at three stations in OR and one in WA. It is also occurring at 14 stations in Alaska, likely due to crustal rebound as the glaciers melt. Ocean level is RISING at the other 114 stations along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, and only some of that is due to subsidence. I have no idea what “reasoning” Bates is referring to here—-just thought I’d point out what appear to be facts that can be gleaned from data.
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_station.shtml?stnid=9419750 shows the oceans are falling per your reasoning at about .26 feet in 100 years.
I suggest Bates stop engaging in his favorite activity under the covers and go to sleep. GrandMa was right—-too much will make you crazy (and cause hair to grow on your palms—-show us your hands, Bates).
Cherry picking at it’s finest. At Crescent City local sea levels are falling because the land is rising, ever heard of the San Andreas fault?
You remain a liar ignoring the real data I have posted
Tom, can you please provide cites (actually NOAA sites… lol) to support your claims? My review of NOAA’s tidal gauge does not support your statements…
Also France is a big county…. so can you provide direct cites to the data you reference in your statement?
Calling BULLSHIT on your statements…
(you are such Trou de culot)
“Culot” means nerve, cheek, courage, sass! I suspect you meant “you are such a trou du cul”…
Florida does not have a sea level problem due to climate change. It does have a problem of ground subsidence due to two causes. 1) diversion of surface water and pumping of ground water, 2)subsidence of the land from continental rebound.
Miami has an agency which regulates the water problem, other cities and counties in Florida need to get on board.
Per the French who have measured the rise in the atlantic since 1805 their ocean rise trend is 4 inches in the next 100 years. NOAA measurements in the pacific are 3 inches in the next 100 years. Fortunately for the west coast, the coast is actually rising, mostly, and the net change there is zero. The east coast, or at least large parts of it does have a rebound problem and is sinking at various rates
Incidentally all those pictures are the result of high tides combined with storm surges. None of those events have anything to do with climate change. It would help a lot of course if the state was not filled with crooked politicians who allowed the builders to build on sand bars virtually on top of the water and than to get water pumped out the fresh water which was holding up those sand bars while diverting surface flows changing swamps to dry land which allowed those same sand bars to dry out even more.
Incidentally you ignore the increase in depth and frequency of flooding, because you deliberately lie and distort
I hope I live long enough to see Mar-a-Lago go under.
The Bloomberg article needs a small correction—–“When it comes to buying homes on the coast, most Floridians are still optimists” needs to have “still optimists” replaced with “still denying reality”. How any Floridian can look at the Goodell video without being very scared is beyond me, and the Bloomberg article borders on terrifying.
Why are you terrified of an article? That is all it is. I suggest looking up the tidal data where you plan to buy, check how many feet your home is above the sea level along with the sewer pipes which would be affected and than make a rational decision. The problem is people often, just like you, refuse to inform themselves of the actual facts.
LOL—-another one to add to the list of Bates’ All Time Greats.
He, of all people, is lecturing us about “actual facts”?
BWA-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!!!
I have NO intention of buying any property near the ocean—-I’m not stupid, and can see the “facts”—-anyone who does buy property in Miami is not being “rational”.
PS What’s “terrifying” about the Bloomberg article is not what will happen to the fools who deny the reality of SLR—–it’s the impact the coming inundation disaster will have on the entire U.S. economy and the pain that many folks NOT in Florida will then suffer.