The Campbell administration expects sea levels will increase one metre by 2100 as a result of climate change. So it's hiring a consultant to measure how vulnerable British Columbia is to that increase, establishing a "sea level rise and extreme water level sensitivity index" for the province's coastline.
The bid document, which is reposted at Public Eye, acknowledged such a rise could pose a "risk to coastal infrastructure" and result in the "potential loss of coastal habitats where natural migration may be impeded."
The BC government will spend up to $25,000 to identify risk areas such as:
-- Shorelines with built structures and developed land vulnerable to damage due to extreme water levels both now and by 2100; and
-- High value intertidal and coastal wetland habitats at risk of being "squeezed out" by rising extreme water levels projected to 2100 because of adjacent existing and potential future shoreline development or infrastructure.
“The index will be used to identify and characterise coast lines according to their sensitivity to the projected impacts of sea level rise including flooding, storm surge and erosion,” the request for proposal states.
Sean Holman is editor of Public Eye.
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Mark Francis
2 years ago
One metre rise is likely too little
* Sea levels may rise 3 times faster than IPCC estimated, could hit 6 feet by 2100
* High Water: Greenland ice sheet melting faster than expected and could raise East Coast sea levels an extra 20 inches by 2100 — to more than 6 feet.
* West Antarctic ice sheet collapse even more catastrophic for U.S. coasts
* Nature sea level rise shocker: Coral fossils suggest “catastrophic increase of more than 5 centimetres per year over a 50-year stretch is possible.” Lead author warns, “This could happen again.”
See http://climateprogress.org/2010/01/04/the-year-in-climate-science-scientists/#more-16920
freebear
2 years ago
But in the meantime
we will keep building in floodplains and along the coast as there is money to be made!
And when the time comes I hope the waterfront land owners pay for their own sea wall rather than taxpayers!
Skywalker
2 years ago
Wow! Spending $25,000
Maybe Suzuki and Berman can give him another award for environmental action.
Gary
2 years ago
Translation
-- Shorelines with built structures and developed land vulnerable to damage due to extreme water levels both now and by 2100;
Lets start using tax dollars to identify where our rich friends may run into trouble when they purchase waterfront.
-- High value intertidal and coastal wetland habitats at risk of being "squeezed out" by rising extreme water levels projected to 2100 because of adjacent existing and potential future shoreline development or infrastructure.
and: then we will use those dollars to identify where they can get cheaper land.
Such as destroying the wetlands because we were told the land was going to disappear anyway.
DPL
2 years ago
When all els fails hire a
When all els fails hire a consultant then tell the folks, don't worry we have everything under control. A simple topo map will get the same answers
Moonbug
2 years ago
nice of him to plan
since he plans to keep pushing the tar sands pipeline, and hence the tar sands and wants to open our coastline to drilling for crude...
I wonder if he will hire a former MLA - like they hired the former Liberal MLA for Skeena Roger Harris to be "forest safety ombudsman" (http://www.bcforestsafe.org/ombudsman.html) I wonder if he is still getting paid for that job now that he works for Enbridge pumping the new pipeline to beautiful black gold in the soon-to-be-cesspit of Alberta.
http://www.northerngateway.ca/newsletter/story2.html
Curt
2 years ago
And just WHO might the
And just WHO might the contract be going to and what will the TOTAL cost really be?
Sask Resident
2 years ago
1 metre rise
Everyone else would just call this good planning, like the mapping of river flood zones. The problem has always been that government will not put the required regulations in place once vulnerable area are identified.