Climate Change Road Trip

Seeking to better understand the environmental dangers posed by global climate change, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D - Rhode Island) is making a multi-state tour of the Southeast coast that included a visit to Sapelo Island and the UGA Marine Institute:

Whitehouse toured several sites along Sapelo Island's salt marshes and tidal creeks, learning about climate-related research projects being conducted on the Georgia coast. Organized by the UGA Marine Institute and Georgia Sea Grant, scientists shared efforts to study the impacts of rising seas, extreme heat, drought, intensified severe weather events and saltwater intrusion into freshwater marshes.

"Sapelo Island embodies the beauty of Georgia's ecology and the richness of its history," said Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety. "It's fitting that research to help us understand the dangers of climate change and protect America's coastal communities is going on right here at UGA's Marine Institute on Sapelo Island. I'm grateful for the chance to learn about this important work."

The tour particularly focused on the dangers posed by rising sea levels and the increasing vulnerability of coastal communities to flooding and storm damage. Recent literature suggests that the South is prone to more weather and climate-related disasters by a ratio of almost four to one.

"Our coast is different than the Northeast in that we have more extensive salt marshes and more tidal freshwater habitat, but we don't have many big cities," said Merryl Alber, professor of marine sciences in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and director of the Marine Institute. "All of our coastal communities have infrastructure in flood zones, but here in coastal Georgia, there are less people to foot the bill for adaptation."

More of this, please. There is a desperate need for national and statewide politicans to get more involved in the consequences of a 2° Celsius rise or higher in the global climate. Their interest sends signals, as does their disinterest. Our scientists and reseachers are doing the monitoring and other hard work necessary to be able to draw conclusions and make sensible policy recomendations and choices. Thanks to Senator Whitehouse, Dr. Alber and others who are doing what they can to highlight the dangers and propose solutions.