It’s Hot Here

Posted on August 14, 2021 by Michael Froomkin

One of the finalists in this week’s New Yorker cartoon caption contest is close to the bone:

“I know how you feel. This used to be Florida.”
Michael Migliaccio, Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.

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3 Responses to It’s Hot Here

  1. Vic says:
    August 16, 2021 at 9:49 am

    I grew up in South Florida. I can promise you that places that flood now with rain and high tides, also flooded 50 years ago, to the same extent, with rain and high tide. This is not some new thing that proves the inevitable consequences – whatever they might actually turn out to be.

    • Michael Froomkin says:
      August 16, 2021 at 10:11 am

      I would be careful what you promise, because in this case there’s substantial evidence your memory exaggerates the severity of flooding in the past:

      Florida’s Sea Level Is Rising:

      The sea level around Florida is up to 8 inches higher than it was in 1950.1 | 2 This increase is mostly due to ice melting into the ocean and, complicated by the porous limestone that the state sits on, it’s causing major issues. Many traditional methods to solve for sea level rise and flooding in Florida won’t work, because water can flow through the porous ground, up from below, and under sea walls. In Miami-Dade County, the groundwater levels in some places are not high enough relative to the rising sea levels, which has allowed saltwater to intrude into the drinking water and compromised sewage plants. There are already 120,000 properties at risk from frequent tidal flooding in Florida.3 The state is planning over $4 billion in sea level rise solutions, which include protecting sewage systems, raising roads, stormwater improvements, and seawalls.

      Sea level rise is speeding up

      The sea level around Virginia Key, Florida, has risen by 8 inches since 1950. Its speed of rise has accelerated over the last ten years and it’s now rising by 1 inch every 3 years.2 Scientists know this because sea levels are measured every 6 minutes using equipment like satellites, floating buoys off the coast, and tidal gauges to accurately measure the local sea level as it accelerates and changes

      • Vic says:
        August 16, 2021 at 11:12 am

        I went to high school on South Beach. 50 years ago. It flooded then when it rained exactly as it does now. I lived on the Intracoastal. The water level at my sea wall then is exactly the same as it is now. Even if I’m off by an inch or two, I’m not off by eight, and I remember flooding in the same places it floods now. You were not here and can vouch for nothing except what some Global Climate Change profiteer tells you.

        I don’t care WHAT the profiteers say. I was there.

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