Rhode Island drowns in rising sea of disregarded climate studies
Despite Rhode Island’s best efforts, we can’t study the climate crisis into extinction.
Knowledge is power, but in this case, we already know the solutions: stop hardening the coastline; don’t let a country club build an illegal seawall and then delay in making the privileged business take it down (it’s been two years since the 550-foot-long structure was unlawfully installed); give the natural world room to breathe; don’t let vehicles drive on the beach; home buyouts in flood-prone areas; hold polluting waterfront businesses accountable; actually enforce state environmental laws; stop passing unfunded mandates; support public transit; drastically cut our carbon footprint; and follow the recommendations outlined in the many climate studies taxpayers have funded.
Special interests, however, don’t allow for the implementation of significant, or even some moderate, climate solutions and environmental protections. To delay any meaningful action, the powers that be waste money and time endlessly studying this emergency.
[...]
Rhode Island’s chief resilience officer, Kim Korioth, has until next October to create a coastal resilience plan and present it to the powers that be. This plan needs to assess community vulnerabilities, recommend mitigation strategies, and identify financing sources to implement resiliency efforts.
Most of this research has already been compiled, and subsequently ignored, but Statehouse leadership can’t stop holding climate solutions for further study.
[...]