The Sea Level Rise {Recurrent Coastal Flooding} adaptation study we mentioned before is moving ahead in the Virginia Legislature.  Delegate Stolle (R-Virginia Beach) has carried his version of the legislation through the House of Delegates, where it passed 95-2!  Senator Northam carried his version through the Senate where it passed 39-0!

Along the way, the mention of sea level rise was dropped for the more palatable "recurrent flooding" as the focus for the study.  Either way, we get wet here more frequently and need a roadmap to start adaptation work to deal with the salt water on our roads, lawns, and businesses. In Hampton Roads, we've had to develop flooding approaches one-at-a-time and that gets really expensive (plus, how do we know they'll work - we've wasted money before?)   There needs to be funding appropriated for the study before it can take effect.

The study has been getting press attention - earlier in the Daily Press and more recently in the Virginian Pilot.

Meanwhile our friends in the TEA Party are rising up in opposition.  They fear that this study will, "Redistribute our wealth to other countries to combat non-existent anthropogenic global warming to combat sea level rises unrelated human activities!!" (from an action alert sent 2/21/2012)  Seems to me that studying ways to use taxpayer dollars more wisely to combat "recurrent flooding" (from whatever the source) would be a positive thing for a group seeking to lower taxes and government spending.

But I guess something else must be going on.