Dec 12, 2007 9:42 pm US/Eastern
Flood Maps Show Global Warming Effects For Cape
CAPE COD, Mass. (WBZ) ―
Cape Cod is a treasured natural resource and one of the most fragile. There is new evidence on how the Cape could be impacted by our warming planet.
It is some of the most beautiful scenery in the country but as glaciers melt thousands of miles away, the beaches of Cape Cod are threatened.
Matt Pawa is with CapeCodFlooding.org, an organization that created a series of interactive maps.
"When you click on play, you can see what the blue areas grows, that's the area that is subjected to flooding," Pawa said.
With a one meter rise in the sea level in Nantucket Harbor, much of the downtown would be washed away, and the Pamet River in Truro would make an island out of the lower cape.
As higher seas and potentially stronger storms fueled by those warmer waters batter the Cape with greater frequency, "What was a once in-100-year-flood becomes the once-in-10-year flood, or the once-in-five-year flood," Pawa said.
Great Island in Yarmouth forms a natural barrier to Lewis Bay in Hyannis, but with the combination of higher sea levels and a storm surge, the Atlantic Ocean would pour right in.
That would leave one of the Cape's most important harbors vulnerable. In fact, much of Hyannis inner harbor would be under water.
"We can adapt, which means we can respond to climate change," said environmental consultant Chris Powicki.
Powicki says adaptation is about developing strategies for living with the consequences of global warming.
"If we are going to adapt, we have to start to think about either armoring our coastline, which has adverse environmental effects, or start to think about moving structures out of the flood plain and not building in the flood plain anymore," Powicki said.
It's not just about coastal homes.
"If sea level rises too fast, we are going to lose wetlands and that is going to harm our fisheries," Powicki said. "If we are not having those severe cold snaps, some of those tick borne diseases may become more prevalent here so there are public health concerns."
A recent conference in Yarmouth brought out dozens of municipal officials and scientists all trying to figure out how to make a global issue a priority in an era of rising property taxes, astronomical health care costs and education mandates. But Powicki says the time for action is now.
"When you don't think about and plan for long term issues, suddenly they become near term issues and you get caught," Powicki said.
Thus, putting one of our environmental treasures at risk.
The flood maps depict a scenario of a one meter rise in sea level over the next 100 years. To see all the interactive maps, click here.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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