This is my response to comments made by “RedLobster” (and “GreenBoomerang”) who said “Google Miami King Tide Flooding,” etc.
First of all, Google is well known for its liberal biased search engine, which will almost always lead you to the “alarmist” editions of CO2-caused doom and gloom. Yet even using just Google, if you dig deep enough, you will uncover what is actually happening.
As we all know, Miami Beach (alias MB) and other nearby regions do flood during King Tides. MB high tides can reach about 3.5 or so feet above mean sea level. Guess what, in some inhabited MB places the elevation is just 2.5 feet. Yikes. How’d that happen? Simple … it happens every 110,000 years or so … due to Ice Age cycles.
It seems odd, but some folks think King Tide flooding is a problem related to manmade global warming. It’s not. The problem is a combination of inadequate public education and delinquent government management.
1. Inadequate public education. MB is a vulnerable barrier island. Elevations range from 2.5 to 11.5 feet (depending on data sources), but of course the beaches are at zero feet. Galveston, Texas is also a barrier island. In the year 1900 its highest elevation point was about 9 feet. That same year, the Great Hurricane of 1900 hit Galveston and killed 6,000 to 12,000 people. The hurricane was only a category 4 storm, and yet it is the deadliest storm in US history. While Galveston’s highest elevation was about 9 feet, the hurricane’s storm surge was almost 16 feet. And then there’s Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 storm, which produced the highest storm surge in US history — an amazing 27.8 feet. Normally, category 5 storms can be expected to produce surges of about 20 feet or so, but when local topography permits coastal water funneling (like at New Orleans), then storm surges can reach 30 feet or so. All storm-vulnerable coastal schools should be teaching these basic environmental subjects. They should also discuss why these constantly shifting piles of off-shore sand are called “barrier islands” in the first place.
Not only is the above information well known in academic circles, but there’s even more critically important historical information. It is a well know fact, that we are still in an Interglacial Warming Period, which exists between Ice Age cycles. And guess what, we have not yet reached the highest temperatures attained during past Interglacial Warming periods. Thanks to Mother Nature — global warming has happened many times in the past — and since we don’t know why Ice Ages come and go, we should expect them to continue — including the current warming period. Additionally, as a result of global warming, the oceans also rise. And just like the past Interglacial Warming Period, past sea levels peaked at levels 20 to 25 feet higher than they are today. It is astonishing some are actually alarmed that today’s oceans rise at just a fraction of an inch each year, while many more feet of ocean rise are entirely possible. The question is … why are people still living on vulnerable barrier islands?
2. Delinquent government management. Government is well aware of the above cyclic nature of the Ice Ages along with the expected temperature and sea level fluctuations … but that’s only true for the those not indoctrinated by the climate change agenda. Fortunately, President Trump is well aware of the climate hoax, so we know he’s on the right track. But as for the other government offices, why are they ignoring the past? As we all know, the past repeats itself — especially if they are cyclic in nature, like King Tides and Ice Ages. So why, with one blind eye, do governments allow people and businesses to proliferate on knowingly vulnerable lands? Could it be something to do with an expanding tax base? And guess who pays for the post-storm clean ups!
Additionally, the government also knows that when you pump water out of aquifers, the ground can eventually sink. Furthermore, MB keeps building more and more infrastructure (like high-rise condos). Unlike New York City’s granite bedrock foundation, MB is just a sandy island that sits on relatively weak limestone, and that sandy island is indeed slowing sinking. And yes “GreenBoomerang,” even satellites confirm this. Similarly, because of its loose soil base, New Orleans is also sinking. Some say Miami Beach and New Orleans are sinking due to human influences, while others say it’s also due to plate tectonics, but the rise and fall of the oceans are because of Mother Nature’s cycles — just like the tides.
Finally, even though we all know that we are still in an Interglacial Warming Period, with an entirely possible 20 to 25 feet of sea level rise yet to come, the probability of a category 5 tropical storm hitting Miami Beach is far greater than zero. MB will be hit — and it’s just a matter of time. Anyone who lives along a hurricane prone coastline is at high risk of storm surges if their elevation is less than 20 feet above sea level. The Bahamian government knew this long before Hurricane Dorian hit. And they know it will happen again — just as it has always happened in the past. Sea level rise is not a problem. The problem is the lack of strategic planning by negligent governments combined with a lacking (and even deceptive) environmental education system.
Hopefully you don’t own coastal property that is less than 20 feet above sea level. Fortunately, Lake Sumter sits at a lofty 60 feet above sea level. So be glad you live in The Villages, and enjoy global warming while it lasts because the alternative is quite chilling.
John Shewchuk is a resident of the Village of Calumet Grove and a frequent contributor to Villages-News.com.
