6 Years Ago, North Carolina Chose To Ignore Rising Sea Levels. This Week It Braces For Disaster

[DesertRat]

In 2012, North Carolina legislators passed a bill that barred policymakers and developers from using up-to-date climate science to plan for rising sea levels on the state’s coast. Now Hurricane Florence threatens to cause a devastating storm surge that could put thousands of lives in danger and cost the state billions of dollars worth of damage.

The hurricane, which is expected to make landfall on Friday, is shaping up to be one of the worst storms to hit the East Coast. Residents of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and mainland coasts have already been ordered to evacuate. President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in both North and South Carolina, and a Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator said that the Category 4 hurricane will likely cause “massive damage to our country.”

And the rise in sea levels, experts say, is making the storm surge worse.

But in North Carolina, lawmakers chose to ignore the threats. A panel of scientists on the state Coastal Resources Commission issued a dire warning in March 2010, estimating that the sea levels along the state’s coast would rise 39 inches over the next century. Conservative lawmakers and business interest groups feared the report would hurt lucrative real estate development on the state’s coast and sought to undermine it. A lobbying group committed to economic development on the coast accused the panel of “pulling data out of their hip pocket.”

Conservative state Rep. Pat McElraft, whose top campaign contributors were the North Carolina Association of Realtors and the North Carolina Home Builders’ Association, drafted a bill in response that rejected the panel’s predictions.

Much more at the link:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/north-carolina-sea-level-rise-hurricane-florence_us_5b985a87e4b0162f4731da0e

[Fred Sanders]

1. NC cons believe scientists are the modern day equivalent of witches...they would burn them at

the stake if they could...too bad the citizens will now suffer for their ignorance.

Campaigns requiring millions which then come from special interests which then results in policies contrary to the public interest is...corruption's result, every time. Not to mention a violation of the politicians oath to,serve the public, not himself and his fellow corrupt moneybags.

[duforsure]

2. trump supporters and climate change deniers

Remember the increased intensity this storm is producing , and heading towards you validates all trump and the kgop's claims were lies , and they'll see for a fact how reality exposes they're lies climate change is not real. And all while they're doing more to hurt the climate, and create even worse climate disasters for us all.

[Moostache]

3. Anyone who put their name to the position that "all is well" needs to OWN that now...

It should be like a millstone around their necks for the remainder of their lives and they should be forced to tour the disaster area after the flooding and explain to the former homeowners why they allowed it to happen - and then they should be sued into abject poverty for the remainder of their lives...

I am sick and tired of people committing financial fraud and KEEPING their ill-gotten gains...the fucking bankers should have all been busted and the cigarette company executives and the frauds from big Pharma that pushed Oxycontin and opioids and the climate change deniers. They had their fun, they stole their money and now its time to crash them back to reality and send a message to the country that the land of the free and the home of the brave is no longer providing succor and comfort to FRAUD.