Coastal development raises concerns about rising sea levels

Almost three-quarters of Florida’s Atlantic coastline has been or will be developed, despite concerns that rising global temperatures will elevate sea levels, a government study has found. The trend probably won’t put Miami underwater, said Jim Titus, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s project manager for sea-level rise and the author of the study, but the city will be forced to employ a slew of “shore protection measures,” including complex and costly engineering, that will help preserve coastal real estate. Daniel Trescott, a planner for the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council and a co-author of the study, said he hopes the findings will encourage discussion among planners and politicians about the the impacts of global warming on potential coastal developments, since the financial implications may be enormous. [Miami Herald]