The Nature Conservancy has a new "Coastal Risk Explorer" tool, which simulates the effects of sea level rise on coastal communities. In developing the tool, the team used a variety of datasets to show homes, roads, and emergency services that would be affected (flooded, blocked, cut off from access) with each additional foot of water. We’ll learn about the how the Nature Conservancy partnered with a Bowdoin College professor to create a “Social Vulnerability Index,” which helps identify areas along the coast with concentrations of people who would be most at risk in these scenarios. This show is scheduled to coincide with the UN Climate Change Summit and is part of a week-long reporting project Covering Climate Now by Maine Public and more than 300 other news outlets around the world.
Guests
Jeremy Bell, river and coastal restoration director, The Nature Conservancy in Maine
Margaret Cushing, planner, Cumberland Emergency Management Agency
Eileen Johnson (by phone), lecturer in environmental studies, Bowdoin College
Democratic Rep. Lydia Blume of York (by phone), member, Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources
Resources
- Maine Public: Covering Climate Now
- Nature Conservancy Coastal Risk Explorer
- Maine Geological Survey: Sea Level Rise/Storm Surge
- NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer
- UN Climate Change Summit 2019
- NOAA: Is sea level rising?
- Helping Maine’s Communities Prepare for Sea-Level Rise
- Climate Institute: Sea Level Rise: Risk and Resilience in Coastal Cities
- Maine law puts new focus on potential toll of sea level rise
- New rules would reward developers in Portland who plan for sea level rise
- Adapting Maine’s coastal communities to sea level rise and storm surge (2015 State of the Bay Presentation)