Given the nature of things – literally – it won’t be surprising for the Eastern Shore to have several studies prepared in the decades ahead that record and evaluate the dangers facing its rural communities as sea levels continue to rise throughout the century.
With the Delmarva Peninsula being one of the country’s most vulnerable landscapes for flooding and erosion as the result of global warming, there is an ever growing concern on the part of local government staff, conservation organizations, agricultural associations, and state agencies on what is being done, and what could be done, to prepare the Shore for this extraordinarily dramatic shift in climate.
One of the first of these has just been prepared by the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy with a new study to assist local governments to plan for the impacts of sea level rise. Titled “Mainstreaming Sea Level Rise Preparedness in Local Planning and Policy on Maryland’s Eastern Shore,” the study is centered on sea level rise projections for the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries in the years 2050 and 2100.
This report was written on behalf of the Eastern Shore Climate Adaptation Partnership – a regional workgroup of local government staff, partners from the State of Maryland, academic institutions, and nonprofits for that very reason.
The ESCAP assists communities in reducing climate vulnerabilities and risks; collects and shares information among communities and decision makers; and educates members, residents, and elected leaders on risks and adaptation strategies. It also serves to raise the visibility and voice of the Eastern Shore and rural regions in conversations about adaptation and resilience.
The Spy sat down last week with Jim Bass, ESLC’s Coastal Resilience Specialist, who helped manage the study, last week to find out what the significant takeaways were and what must be done in the future to protect and defend the Mid-Shore from this dangerous new future we face.
This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information regarding this study, ESCAP, or ESLC’s coastal resilience program, please contact ESLC Coastal Resilience Specialist Jim Bass at [email protected].The study is available to view and download at www.eslc.org/resilience.
Hope Clark says
Thank you Jim Bass, for your report and the work you do to support the community!
The local Chestertown Citizens Climate Lobby Chapter https://citizensclimatelobby.org/chapters/MD_Chestertown/ is excited to attend the ESCL CLimate Conference, ‘Rise and Thrive’ creating America’s most resilient rural region, on Sat. March 23.
You are bringing up the very urgent point of how climate change effects us, and our need as a community to work together to let our representatives know what we want. CCL Chestertown is excited that a bipartisan bill has been introduced in the House. H.R. 763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019. We can let our representatives know we support climate action now. https://citizensclimatelobby.org/energy-innovation-and-carbon-dividend-act/ It is good for people, good for the economy, and revenue neutral. Something we can all get behind for real climate action.
Hope Clark says
Thank you Jim Bass, for your report and the work you do to support the community!
The local Chestertown Citizens’ Climate Lobby Chapter https://citizensclimatelobby.org/chapters/MD_Chestertown/ is excited to attend the ESCL CLimate Conference, ‘Rise and Thrive’ creating America’s most resilient rural region, on Sat. March 23.
You are bringing up the very urgent point of how climate change affects us, and our need as a community to work together to let our representatives know what we want. CCL Chestertown is excited that a bipartisan bill has been introduced in the House. H.R. 763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019. We can let our representatives know we support climate action now. https://citizensclimatelobby.org/energy-innovation-and-carbon-dividend-act/ It is good for people, good for the economy, and revenue neutral. Something we can all get behind for real climate action.