In the next 50 years, climate change researchers say sea levels could rise by five to six inches. Those inches pose a threat not only to homes and buildings, but to the natural barriers that have protected Florida's coasts throughout human history. A combination of a warming planet and rising seas could drive more severe storm surges that wipe out barriers islands and flood coastal areas.
That's why researchers and planners in the Estero Bay region are taking steps now to build climate change resilience and adaptations into their plans, which are being shared at the Cela Tega conference series on the FGCU campus on Monday, Dec. 12.
Thursday at 1 p.m., we'll look at the troubling findings for climate change in the Estero Bay region with Jim Beever, a Southwest Florida regional planner presenting at the conference, and discuss what's being done through "adaptation planning" in the area.