An interesting development "South of the Border" in North Carolina showed up in the Virginian Pilot.

North Carolina has led sea level rise adaptation efforts along the Atlantic Coast.  The latest study seeks to quantify the rate of sea level rise into the future and sets a rate of about one meter (39 inches) in the coming century for NC.  When this rate was proposed for defining policy along the NC Coast, all hell broke loose.

A coalition of 20 coastal counties and business interests, NC 20, feared this policy being implemented in regulations moving forward. Specifically, the group objected to this benchmark since private development and public infrastructure would have to be, "(D)esigned and constructed to avoid sea-level rise impacts for the structure’s design life"  The group accepts the current rate of 1+ feet/100 years:  they don't want to be saddled with higher rates that they consider unproven.

For those - like Wetlands Watch - seeking to move sea level rise adaptation now, the NC coastal debate is critical.  It illustrates that piling up the facts and studies on the desks of coastal county officials won't overcome short term economic interests - more than science is needed to move this debate ahead.  Advocacy and grassroots outreach are the key.

 (North Carolina was one of the first Atlantic Coast states with a comprehensive study on sea level rise :"Drowning the North Carolina Coast:  Sea Level Rise and Estuarine Dynamics." (.pdf, 4.1mb) This document estimated the state's loss of wetlands from sea level rise at 780 acres per year!)