
Florida Keys Deliver a Hard Message: As Seas Rise, Some Places Can’t Be Saved - pseudolus
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/climate/florida-keys-climate-change.html
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FiatLuxDave
This isn't a global warming story. This is a Keys corruption story. Here are
typical road costs in Florida:
[https://www.fdot.gov/programmanagement/estimates/lre/costper...](https://www.fdot.gov/programmanagement/estimates/lre/costpermilemodels/cpmsummary.shtm)
. Note that $25 million per mile is much larger than the cost to build a new 6
lane urban interstate.

Yes, it does cost more to build on the islands. From the experience of
building my dad's house in the Keys, things tend to cost about 4 times as much
as on the mainland. Most of that is due to theft and embezzlement, such as
[https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-
key...](https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-
keys/article238036829.html). This stuff is very, very common, as in "just
happened to my dad last Saturday" common.

I'm not sure if the county is just creating a high price as just a way of
justifying a "no", or if they are taking into account the actual cost of
building including all the corruption.

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axaxs
It's a hard reality to face. Houses are supposed to not be seen as
investments, but realistically are. What happens when your 500k investment is
unsellable overnight? On one hand, logic tells us to help displaced folks. On
the other, it's that they should have seen this coming. And the third, that
these people can realistically afford to take the loss.

As an aside, I drove through Daytona Beach last week and... there was
absolutely no beach to be seen. The water was up past the bottom stairs of the
seawall. While ignorant of if this was somewhat normal, it definitely made me
stop and think...

~~~
toomuchtodo
I think it's about finding middle ground. Without government, your home's
value might rapidly race to zero. Without climate change, you'd realize the
full value of the property. Therefore, with FEMA funding buyout of properties
that are likely to be impacted by climate change [1], owners shouldn't be
getting wealthy from these transactions, but they should have the ability to
relocate to a comparable quality of life.

Governance and oversight is crucial. Be transparent about the properties
you're buying and demoing, and prevent future building on those retired
properties (developers can be a persuasive [$$$] bunch).

[1] [https://www.fema.gov/faq-details/Buy-out-of-flooded-
property...](https://www.fema.gov/faq-details/Buy-out-of-flooded-
property-1370032125293)

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Dylan16807
I found the website for the summit
([https://www.climatesummitmonroe.com/home](https://www.climatesummitmonroe.com/home))
but I failed to find any information about that report, which is a shame. I
have absolutely zero understanding of how it costs $4700 per foot to raise a
road 16 inches.

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dmckeon
> The couple used to fly down from Long Island in a Cessna, until one day the
> runway at the island’s airport was underwater.

Sounds like time for a float plane certificate.

------
ako
I wonder how many complaining the government should fix this, voted for Trump.

~~~
Fjolsvith
And what would the government do to reduce the sea level? And how would it get
past the do nothing house of representatives?

~~~
ako
If you vote for a president denying global warming, you have little ground to
sue your county for not acting on sea level rise.

The government should address global warming, if they want to truely address
sea level rise.

~~~
Fjolsvith
> If you vote for a president denying global warming, you have little ground
> to sue your county for not acting on sea level rise.

What recourse would one have if they were from a different country than the
one who's president denies global warming?

~~~
ako
The article was about homes in Florida, where the majority of the population
voted for Trump.

I would expect that in a state where the majority voted to deny global
warming, they would also agree to not take actions to battle the effects of a
non existent global warming.

~~~
Fjolsvith
My question remains unanswered.

And to generalise the reason for a voter to select a candidate to a singular
issue is to ignore the realities of why voters select candidates.

Additionally, there are four levels of government in the United states. The
federal level is not the one being sued. Besides, one of the persons in the
article has a misconception as to the role of the government with regard to
property:

 _" What’s government for? They’re supposed to protect your property,” Mr.
Silverman said from behind the wheel of his shallow skiff boat on a recent
afternoon._

This person believes the public road is his property, or that his personal
property has some right not granted by the constitution. If you live by the
ocean or by a river, the water can erode your land and you have to be the one
to protect it.

It's like saying that leaving the Paris Accord is going to make the government
responsible for land erosion on a river

~~~
ako
If your land is in danger of being turned into sea due to sea level rise
caused by global warming, i would expect your no 1 priority would be to
address this. I cannot imagine you'd vote for someone who thinks it's all an
hoax.

