Within the first paragraph of Module One there is a reference to Hurricane Katrina. However, today I’d like to talk about Hurricane Ike. Hurricane Ike destroyed the city of Houston and her neighbors on September 1, 2008. After a professional disaster analysis, experts estimate the damage to be around  37.50 billion USD. There were 195 total fatalities. The fastest winds of the hurricane almost reached 143 MPH. There was extensive property damage which we will discuss in future modules. The property damage is what I would like to focus on. Two particular stories that come to mind would come from two different sources. The first is from the New York Times. The first story is titled “The Aftermath of Hurricane Ike”. There were pictures and descriptions of the aftermath of the storm on the website for the New York Times. The second story that peaked my interest came from a source called Fox News.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/15/us/0916-IKE_index.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FHurricane%20Ike&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection&_r=0

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/09/13/complete-multimedia-coverage-hurricane-ike.html

 

I thought this week’s topic was particularly interesting because it highlights the diversity of actors involved in preserving the well-being of the world’s coasts and coastal communities. For this reason, I was interested to read a piece published in the journal Nature recently that discusses the relationships between and among stakeholders in the context of environmental health and biodiversity in the world’s coastal regions.

Although it is not specifically discussing vulnerability and risk associated with coastal hazards, it brings up important topics about stakeholders working together for a flourishing coast. Specifically, this piece suggests that in order to sustain the seas, advocates of marine protected areas and those in fisheries management must work together, not at cross purposes.

That means that individual interests coming together must not contribute and act in the interests of their expertise, but take a holistic approach at tackling a coastal issue through strategies which include many different perspectives. The understanding of coastal nuances should be supported by unique perspectives from stakeholders ranging from local people to government policymakers and academic minds. This will help build a holistic understanding of local nuances and potentially effective interventions.

This also requires distancing oneself from personal viewpoints and biases that could influence the broader outcome. Ensuring that decisions are made in the best interest of all stakeholders, based on empirical and demonstrable evidence. These are the things that make groups working for common goals successful.

References:

http://www.nature.com/news/policy-marine-biodiversity-needs-more-than-protection-1.20229

This week’s module really touched on all the people, organizations, and governments that play a part in coastal management and who are affected by coastal hazards.  Reading through the module I was able to differentiate among the various pros and cons to different strategies. One important fact is that a diverse and broad group of stakeholders is important when planning for coastal hazards and sea level rise.  Penn State University Module 12 touches on the importance of input from individuals/organizations in the areas that could be affected by sea level rise and policies, the module states “There is a strong expectation in our society that government should obtain the consent of the governed”.  This sentiment rings true for many aspects of society, but when planning for emergency management it is important to have the perspective of those individuals who may be impacted, along with the local/state/and federal officials who will have to implement those strategies.

One region that is not well prepared for coastal hazards, and who has really lacked in planning long term strategies, is the Hampton Roads area in Virginia.  This area has a lot of organizations, military facilities, and vulnerable populations which make it especially vulnerable to coastal hazards and sea level rise.  An article on the Virginia Pilot addresses the lack of preparation titled “Planning and preparing for the worst”.  The article gives a little hurricane vulnerability history of the region, and discussed the 1933 Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane that left Granby Street with 5 feet of water and resulted in 50 deaths.  Having lived in this region on and off for a good portion of my adult life, its seems unbelievable, but at the same time very accurate considering the water issues that the city experiences from just a bout of heavy rain.  The article highlights that though the risk is known, not much preparation has occurred because the state has left most planning up to local governments, which many times do not have the resources to prepare and build structures to combat sea level rise.  This really relayed many concepts in this week’s lesson that it takes many different perspectives and resources to really plan and prepare strategies and policies to combat coastal hazards and sea level rise.  The article compared Norfolk’s vulnerability to that of New Orleans if a Hurricane with the strength of Katrina were to hit the region.  I imagine the loss of infrastructure would be remarkable with a critical port in the region and various military bases.  After this course it is easy to see how many areas are more vulnerable than we realize and that it takes a great deal of resources, planning, and people to prepare for coastal hazards and sea level rise.

References:

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2016).  Earth 107 Module 12: Sea Level Rise Policy. Retrieved August 6, 2016. https://cms.psu.edu/section/content/default.asp?WCI=pgDisplay&WCU=CRSCNT&ENTRY_ID=404084F002F44F56AC62114B5A6F469F

Miyares, J., & Sherlock, J. (2016, July 31). Jason Miyares & James Sherlock: Planning and preparing for the worst. Retrieved August 07, 2016, from http://pilotonline.com/opinion/columnist/guest/jason-miyares-james-sherlock-planning-and-preparing-for-the-worst/article_85c41c6e-422a-540d-9b06-59cfdf552497.html

 

By reading this weeks lesson, it really taught me how important sea level rise is, and how it is effecting so many places and people. I found a New York Times article called “Rising Sea Levels May Disrupt Lives of Millions, Study Says”. This article talks about how sea level is rising because of green house gas emissions. 13 million people could be effected by sea level rise in the United States, which is three times more than the current estimates. Learning about the coastal communities in the lesson commentary and throughout this course, I knew that they were in danger, but reading through this article, it really opened my eyes. The article states that sea level can rise up to over three feet in the next century if gas emissions continue to rise. The other estimates also did not account for the rapidly increasing population. In our lessons, we learned that coastal communities with large populations are in great danger and could loose so much more. The psychological impacts and economic impacts could be more severe.

Reading about the increasing populations and individuals who could be impacted by sea level rise, brings me back to why I thought this class was interesting in the beginning. I think that global warming is such an issue in our culture, and if we don’t fix the amount of fossil fuels that we burn everyday, the impacts would be severe. At the end of this article it talked about how more than 1 million people in California, New York, and New Jersey would be affected. Those places have a significant impact on me because so many of my family members live there, and I know we are talking about years and years into the future, but its still a scary thought. I am constantly thinking of what I using during the day, and how big my carbon footprint is. More people need to be aware of what we are doing to our environment and our coastal areas.

 

Schlossberg, T. (2016, March 14). Rising Sea Levels May Disrupt Lives of Millions, Study Says. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/science/rising-sea-levels-global-warming-climate-change.html

Module 4 discussed sea level rise is the short term, seasonal, and long term.  Many coastal areas prepare for coastal hazards in terms of hurricanes, tides, and storm surges.  However, planning for long term sea level rise can be more challenging and unpredictable.  Some regions will experience greater impacts from sea level rise than others.  The module even indicated that some regions are currently experiencing lower sea levels due to rising coastal cliffs, however many sandy beaches that we enjoy recreationally may be at the highest risk.

An article in the New York Times titled “Three Long Views of Life with Rising Seas” discusses that many coastal areas are “living on borrowed time” and how humans are reacting and adapting to sea level rise.  Many are aware due to coastal hazards and news articles that places such as Venice, New Orleans, and North Carolina are facing difficulties due to sea level rise.  However, most don’t consider other coastal regions that may not be impacted in the short term, but will inevitably succumb to rising seas in the long term.  The article highlighted how humans in different locations are reacting to sea level rise.  In New Jersey, the city is rebuilding its infrastructure on the shore, which is probably not ideal when looking at future sea level rise.  North Carolina has actually had officials instruct coast planners not to account for future sea level rise.  Other places are actively preparing now for sea level rise in the future, New York and The Netherlands are among two that are taking sea level rise seriously.  This article made me think of all the coastal places in the U.S. I have visited and enjoyed recreationally, and though perhaps some may not be a big risk now, they will probably disappear in the distant future if we do not find solutions to rising temperatures.  The article highlighted that for many coastal regions the change will be slow and gradual, making the local communities not take it as seriously as abrupt changes.

References:

Revkin, A. (2014, May 14). Three Long Views of Life with Rising Seas. Retrieved August 04, 2016, from http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/three-long-views-of-life-with-rising-seas/?_r=0