Our home, our problem
In Hampton Roads, forecasts of rain — such as the occasionally heavy precipitation Wednesday — almost inevitably mean an expectation of flooding. In places including Hampton, Newport News, Virginia Beach and, of course, Norfolk, streets and other low-lying areas are inundated with nearly every passing storm.
Sea levels are steadily rising, and parts of the Tidewater are sinking, meaning that land once thought safe and dry is now threatened. Continual expansion of suburbs and shopping malls covers green space that could absorb runoff, while we still build beautiful homes on the water's edge, just one storm away from disaster.
During the weekend, tens of thousands of protesters marched through the streets of New York and other cities to call for action on climate change — an effort as naïve as it was blissfully ignorant of the potential economic costs to working men and women. They timed the event to precede the United Nations' Climate Summit, at which the international organization intended to mobilize action on the issue.
But without the participation of major polluters like China and India — the No. 1 and No. 3 producers of carbon emissions in 2013 — anything we do at home will raise consumer energy prices without making a dent in global pollution. China and India are more concerned with pulling their people out of poverty through industrialization than satisfying the Sierra Club.
Instead, we should demand from government practical ways to deal with real threats to our communities. Hampton Roads, where problems are already evident, can show the way.
A 2013 study by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science predicted sea levels in this region to rise by a minimum of 1.5 feet in the next 20-50 years. It's hard to get taxpayers focused on a problem so far in the future when they have lives to build today. But we can point to some problems that are just around the corner.
Historical landmarks such as Jamestown and Hampton's Fort Monroe both suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Isabel in 2003. And according to a 2013 report produced by the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization, access to nine of our military facilities would be impeded by predicted sea-level rise and a storm surge of relatively modest size.
Despite those worrisome indicators, Virginia has done precious little aside from documenting the problem and predicting the possible effects in the future. Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, established a Climate Change and Resiliency Update Commission, but its recommendations were all but ignored under his successor, Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell.
We expect to see cooperation on climate change now that Gov. Terry McAuliffe reconvened the commission earlier this year. The governor has already made important progress by tasking the commission with making just a handful of recommendations that can be practically implemented during his tenure, rather than the list of more than 100 action items produced by its predecessor in the Kaine administration.
Prior to its first meeting, the 35-member panel received a report authored by Jim Redick, Norfolk's emergency-preparedness director and co-chair of the flooding subpanel. Among other items, he calls for a state-level official to coordinate action between various federal, state and local agencies working on climate change.
Richmond's assistance will be valuable, since dealing with the effects of sea-level rise will be both massive and expensive. But appointing a "flooding czar" is certainly not all we can do.
We should heed the market — which says it can't afford to insure people who live in flood zones — when it signals where we should build and from where we might want move. For instance, federal subsidies for flood coverage send the wrong financial signal to people on the coast.
Regional cooperation will be required. On this, like so many issues, we cannot expect Norfolk or Hampton to take effective action without the help of Chesapeake or Newport News.
Local government must take thoughtful steps to mitigate the effects of sea-level rise and climate change. We need to rethink rules for building near the water's edge and for paving over land so that it sheds water faster into the Chesapeake Bay.
And if in the coming years Hampton or Newport News needs to improve infrastructure and strengthen protections to prevent flooding, officials will need to consider storm-water runoff assessments and other impact fees to generate the necessary revenue.
Ultimately, addressing climate change in Hampton Roads does not depend on the United Nations and won't be found in the streets of New York. We need leadership in Richmond, here in the region and from our local officials to deal with the problem directly and responsibly.
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