Climate Clan Warns: Stop Building At Coast
The New York Times says that 10 climate experts have signed on to the notion (see their press release) that we need to think about why so many of us are living in hurricane-prone areas.
The document was signed by the following, who have laid down their arms (in respect to arguing about whether or not Global Warming causes more/stronger hurricanes*) for the moment, so that this could take precedence in the media. They blame both "government policies that serve to subsidize risk" and humans' "lemming-like march to the sea."
(MIT, it was his site that carried the announcement)
(UCAR President)
(GATech - did famous study with Webster)
(Directs MMM @ NCAR @ UCAR)
(Dr. Gray's Protege)
(NOAA/GFDL)
(Runs the famous Hurricane FAQ)
(National Hurricane Center Director)
(GATech - did famous study with Curry)
I-10 in New Orleans After Katrina
The idea makes sense, of course, but I enjoy renting a beach house as much as the next guy. People are simply drawn to the coast, and I am one of them, so I'm torn on this issue. But I certainly see what they're saying and other AccuWeather meteorologists such as Ken Reeves and Joe Bastardi have spoken out on these issues in the past (example: Joe's New England prediction). (I guess AccuWeather's invite to sign this got lost in the mail).
In the end, I don't think people will give up their coastal dwellings, or stop building more, so the best we can probably do is construct them better, which is one of their recommendataions. I blogged earlier this year about hurricane-proof domeshell houses in Australia. Here's my prediction: After Miami gets leveled by another Andrew, we'll see those dome houses start to pop up.
*As I've said before, my personal knowledge of Global Warming is limited, so I do not have an opinion. AccuWeather is hopefully going to release a website soon which states our opinion. Meanwhile, if you have an opinion, you can argue about it on the WeatherMatrix Forums.
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