'Will we be able to keep up?' - Scientists worry about climate change in Florida Keys

Record ID: 1737007

  • Title: 'Will we be able to keep up?' - Scientists worry about climate change in Florida Keys
  • Date: 9th August 2023
  • Summary: BIG PINE KEY, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (RECENT - AUGUST 1, 2023) (REUTERS)   (SOUNDBITE) (English) THE FLORIDA NATURE CONSERVANCY FIELD PROJECT DIRECTOR, CHRIS BERGH, SAYING: "So you can see all the devastation here. These mangroves were killed and pieces of people's docks and houses were thrown into this wetland in Hurricane Irma, which was 2017, September of 2017th. And in the distance there, you can see that houses have been either replaced or repaired. It wasn't the end of the community, but it was a tremendous shock. And it looks really sad to say, but it looks a lot better than it did right after the storm." BIG PINE KEY, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 6, 2023) (REUTERS) (MUTE) AERIAL OF SEA WATER RISING OVER ROAD MANGROVE SEEDLINGS GROWING ON TOP OF SHALLOW SEAWATER KEY WEST, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (RECENT - AUGUST 1, 2023) (REUTERS) (MUTE) NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PHOTO OF HURRICANE IRMA KEY LARGO, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (RECENT - AUGUST 1, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) FLORIDA KEYS MARINE SANCTUARY, BIOLOGIST, LINDSEY CREWS, SAYING: "When we use fossil fuels, like coal, oil, and methane, to drive our cars and power our homes and to do the things that we do, we increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Now, carbon dioxide is an important part of our natural cycle. We exhale it after we breathe. Plants take it up. So we have that natural carbon that's kind of in a circular fashion. Now, when we burn these fossil fuels, that creates more rampant carbon dioxide. So that carbon dioxide is extra. It's not part of this natural cycle. And so as that carbon dioxide increases, it goes into the atmosphere. Now, our atmosphere protects us like a blanket. And when we add that rampant carbon dioxide, it actually thickens that blanket. So think of it as covering yourself with a sheet in the middle of summer is our normal atmosphere, with that rampant carbon dioxide, it's like a comforter. So imagine you're outside in the Florida summer in a comforter. That's kind of what it's like right now with that extra carbon dioxide. So that heat-trapping blanket has increased in size and that creates warmer temperatures. And so warmer temperatures warm up the ocean. It causes things like coral bleaching. It causes the ocean to expand and increase in size, causing sea level rise. It causes ice caps to melt. It can produce stronger hurricanes, so a warmer ocean can actually affect a lot of things in our Earth's climate system." MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (RECENT - JULY 14, 2023) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BLEACHED CORALS AND SCIENTIST GRABBING CORAL SAMPLES KEY LARGO, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (RECENT - AUGUST 1, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) FLORIDA KEYS MARINE SANCTUARY BIOLOGIST, LINDSEY CREWS SAYING: "The corals are kind of our canary in the coal mine. They're the ones that are telling us that 'Hey, you know, the oceans are getting warmer and it's getting uncomfortably warm.' We're seeing sea level rise here in the Florida Keys. Our county has been invested into programs where they are rising the roads and trying to outpace the sea level rise that's happening in town." BIG PINE KEY, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 6, 2023) (REUTERS) (MUTE) VARIOUS OF CONSTRUCTION SITE AERIALS KEY WEST, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (RECENT - AUGUST 1, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, SENIOR FORECASTER, LUIS INGRAM-WESTOVER, SAYING: "We like to tell people that it just takes one. Hurricane Andrew, for example, was August, late August, and that was during an El Nino year. You know, our hurricane season starts June 1st. So we're talking it took almost three months for our first hurricane in 1992 to occur. So stuff like that thought. We try to tell folks that, though, you know, the science of hurricanes is ever-evolving, and the hurricane center would definitely be the right people to ask about, you know, trends in that regard, but we like to tell people that it just takes one. You know, it could be the biggest storm of the year or it could be, you know, a system that maybe no one really thought was going to be that big of a deal, but the impacts are what we try to hone in with our residents in the Florida Keys. We try to get them to understand the impacts rather than the numbers because you can have an active season and nothing hits the Keys, or you can have a quiet season, but that quiet season meant one hurricane went right through the Keys. So again, we try not to focus on the numbers. We try to focus on the impacts." NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGIST (NOT INGRAM-WESTOVER) LOOKING AT RADAR OF KEY WEST FLAGS REPRESENTING ALL MAJOR HURRICANES THAT HIT FLORIDA KEYS HANGING INSIDE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIG PINE KEY, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES  (RECENT - AUGUST 1, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, FIELD PROJECT DIRECTOR, CHRIS BERGH, SAYING: "So, right now the sea is rising faster than it has for thousands of years. For something like the last 3,000 years, the ocean was rising globally at about the pace of one inch per century. Over the last century, it has risen 10 inches. And right now, the projections done by the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact, which is a coalition among all the counties and local governments here in southeast Florida, is to expect 10 to 17 inches more by the year 2040, which is only 17 years away. So we've gone from an inch per century to 10 inches per century. And now we're coming up on, you know, doubling that. And that is only expected to get worse unless we get our greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and the other things that cause climate change under control." BIG PINE KEY, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 6, 2023) (REUTERS) (MUTE) AERIAL OF DEAD BIG PINE TREES AND MANGROVES TAKING OVER AERIAL OF HOMES NEAR WATER COMING IN AND MANGROVES GROWING AERIAL OF BIG PINE KEY WITH MANGROVES GROWING BIG PINE KEY, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES  (RECENT - AUGUST 1, 2023) (REUTERS)   (SOUNDBITE) (English) THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, FIELD PROJECT DIRECTOR, CHRIS BERGH, SAYING: "And you can see it. I mean, I've been living in this house for 20 years. I walk my dogs out from the high ground here up to the edge of the ocean, and you can see the pine trees dead, you can see them dying, and then you can see, where on the higher ground, they're still hanging in there. You can see the mangroves moving in. And, you know, it's like watching, you know, an ecosystem evolve in fast forward. It's something that we've never experienced as scientists, as people. You know, we evolved on this planet, you know, for thousands of years with a much, much more stable climate." BIG PINE KEY, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 6, 2023) (REUTERS) AERIAL OF PINE TREES DYING AND MANGROVES COMING IN KEY DEER, NATIVE TO BIG PINE KEY BIG PINE TREES IN BIG PINE KEY INLAND PINES ON PINE TREES PEOPLE IN FLORIDA KEYS  WATERS SEEKING SHADE UNDER UMBRELLA BIG PINE KEY, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (RECENT - AUGUST 1, 2023) (REUTERS)   (SOUNDBITE) (English) THE FLORIDA NATURE CONSERVANCY FIELD PROJECT DIRECTOR, CHRIS BERGH SAYING: "So, you know, ever since, I think it was the mid-eighties, the Federal Emergency Management Act floodplain laws that the local governments put into effect have required that new homes be built above the flood zone. So here on an open water situation like this, that's probably at least 10 or more feet above sea level. And it is there to protect from floodwaters, from storm surges, and waves. It's not taking into account sea level rise. So if we get that 10 to 17 inches of sea level rise by 2040, that's forecasted and probably it's likely to be at the higher end of that range. The flood zone will have changed. The flood risk for any property will have changed because now you've got to subtract that 10 to 17 inches from the elevation that the house was raised to or built out. So as sea level occurs, as the impacts of climate change, you know, lead to in a warmer atmosphere, warmer oceans, higher sea levels, the adaptations that we've made, the choices that we've made, the laws that we put into effect, the way that we build, etc., where we choose to build, you know, the old choices don't make sense anymore. We're going to have to start rethinking. And we are. Local governments here are rethinking where to allow building, what sort of building to allow. And, you know, will we be able to keep up? That's the question." BIG PINE KEY, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 6, 2023) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BIG PINE KEY HOMES BIG PINE KEY, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 6, 2023) (REUTERS) (MUTE) AERIAL OF SEA LEVEL AND MANGROVES
  • Embargoed: 23rd August 2023 20:42
  • Keywords: big pine key climate climate change florida florida keys sea level rise water
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Environment,North America,Weather
  • Reuters ID: LVA005344509082023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Big Pine Key, part of the Florida Keys, is under imminent threat as sea levels continue to rise at an alarming rate, according to the latest data from The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
    There’s been a staggering 8-inch increase in sea levels along the Florida coast since 1950, attributed to the melting polar ice sheets and climate change-induced thermal expansion, according to NOAA.
    Situated within the Lower Florida Keys, Big Pine Key along with the rest of the Florida Keys, is facing a unique and dire situation.
    Recent studies conducted by the Southeast Florida Regional Compact Climate Change, a partnership between counties across southern Florida, indicate that “in the short term, sea level rise is projected to be 10 to 17 inches by 2040 and 21 to 54 inches by 2070.”
    This increases the island's vulnerability, given its low-lying ecosystem, which increases the risk of flooding, erosion, and saltwater intrusion.
    The ramifications of this rising tide are already becoming evident.
    The ‘big pines’ the island is named for are already dying off the coast, where sea water has inundated the trees.
    Local infrastructure and homes are under increasing threat from frequent flooding and storm surges.
    Critical habitats such as mangroves and sea grass beds, which play a pivotal role in sustaining marine life, are also at risk of being lost.
    Authorities and community leaders are grappling with the urgent need to implement mitigation and adaptation strategies.
    Shoreline stabilization projects and building elevation initiatives are underway to help ward off the encroaching waters.
    Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary biologist, Lindsey Crews, said it's all interconnected.
    "A warmer ocean can actually affect a lot of things in our Earth's climate system.
    The corals are kind of our canary in the coal mine.
    They're the ones that are telling us that, hey, you know, the oceans are getting warmer and it's getting uncomfortably warm," Crews said.
    The Florida Keys are facing a hotter, wilder and saltier future - united efforts will be needed to navigate a way ahead.
    (Production by: Maria Alejandra Cardona)
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