While there is a concentration of buildings and social vulnerability in the area north of the Rickenbacker Causeway, the southern half of the county has been almost completely ignored in the analysis. In particular, it ignores how the interconnectedness of our communities does not allow for the implementation of solutions in one area without other areas being affected. The proposed wall project does not at all appear to consider its own social and cultural consequences. Evicted renters are often the first and primary victims of climate gentrification. It will disproportionately impact people of color and poorer residents who rent in higher-lying low-income neighborhoods. As low-income neighborhoods are abandoned, property owners will lose everything. Sea-level rise will affect us all, but it will disproportionately impact people of color and poorer residents in low-elevation areas. Their pro-growth actions signal to constituents that everything will be fine, but all they are doing is kicking the can down the road.Īs oceans rise and the reality of climate change finds clarity in the psychology of Miami’s real estate markets and tourism economy, many marginalized members residents are going to suffer far more than those who have power and means. They engage in new-build ribbon-cutting ceremonies with impunity, even if that will only burden future generations. Politicians, who are evaluated in two- and four-year election cycles, have no incentive to plan for the long term. Because of brazen overdevelopment, citizens don’t have a real sense that sea-level rise poses a true threat to their homes, savings, jobs and community. Homeowners in less affluent areas are on a 30-year timeline. It’s a high reward game with little actual risk: They get their return on investment when their condos get sold.īuyers, mostly international cash investors, are also hedging their bets, hoping to flip affluent properties a few years later and way before the psychology of sea-level rise bursts the real estate bubble. Increased development grows the tax base and keeps property taxes from rising.ĭevelopers push for growth.

Today in Miami and other coastal cities, construction cranes populate the skyline, building more and more skyscrapers at the water’s edge. Few believe we live in a climate emergency. Unfortunately, few want to accept this reality. When the waters rise and do not recede, living shorelines (mangroves, mangroves and more mangroves) and yes, eventually, managed retreat, will prove to be the better options. Let’s instead spend our money and efforts on finding climate solutions that are equitable, responsive and forward-thinking.ĭesperate times call for desperate measures and, smack dab in the middle of an existential crisis, these are desperate times. The wall will only address storm surge, and only on the northwest coast of the bay. Spending all of that money ($4.6 billion) to kill our bay will ultimately still leave us vulnerable to sea-level rise. No matter how tall we build the wall, the water will rise through the oolite limestone beneath our feet. How much is your waterfront condo going to be worth when the water, devoid of oxygen, looks like pea soup and smells like death? How will your business thrive when tourists and their dollars stop visiting you?Īnd to what end will building this wall take us? We’re not saving properties here. We are talking about ecosystem collapse here! The disruption caused by building a concrete wall, coupled with it being polluted by nutrient sources from the watershed, could be the final straw that ushers in a permanent regime change from sea grasses to persistent algae blooms. The collapse of sea grass communities in north Biscayne Bay, which began in 2013, and the large-scale fish mortality events that occurred in the summer of 2020 clearly demonstrate the sensitivity of the ecosystem. This last one is really important right about now, as local politicians are seriously considering whether or not to give our bay the kind of sea grass scarring 100,000 propellers wouldn’t even be able to do.īuilding a 20-foot wall across Biscayne Bay would cause irreparable harm to a body of water already teetering on survival. I will urge my politicians to protect Biscayne Bay. I will conserve water with shorter showers. I will use nontoxic pesticides and household products. I will pick up trash, even if it isn’t mine. has no control currently over the accuracy of these data.I will use less or no fertilizer on my lawn. List of minerals for each chemical elementįossilsThere are 13 fossil localities from the PaleoBioDB database within this region.īETA TEST - These data are provided on an experimental basis and are taken from external databases.

No 57 miami oolite limestone properties