Eagle-Tribune, Editorial: Preparing for a Changing Shoreline

Some Republicans may still be in denial about the reality of climate change. (Donald Trump has even termed it "a hoax invented by the Chinese.") Fortunately our governor is not one of them.

The vast majority of scientists accept the fact that the burning of fossil fuels has resulted in the warming of the atmosphere, which in turn has brought a slow but dangerous rise in sea levels worldwide.

Wisely, officials here in the commonwealth are not waiting for the seas to encroach on our neighborhoods as is already happening in places like South Florida.

At the state level, the Baker administration recently authorized a series of grants worth a total of $1.9 million that will aid coastal communities in preparing for the rising tides. These will fund a variety of flood prevention projects in Salem, Beverly, Ipswich and Swampscott.

In a statement, Baker said his office intends to take "a leading role in understanding and preparing for climate-change impacts like sea-level rising and coastal flooding."

Beverly's coastline runs from the Bass River where the Old Planters built their homes in the early 1600s to the storied Gold Coast overlooking Salem Sound. There are many potential issues here and the $89,981 it received will, according to a statement from Baker's office, allow it to "develop preliminary strategies to protect the most vulnerable public infrastructure and critical facilities from flooding and sea rise."

Salem's $54,665 will assist it in shoring up the shoreline along Collins Cove, and Ipswich will use its $63,300 to assess vulnerable areas along the Ipswich River including at the public boat landing near Town Hall.

Better to be prepared than wait until the waters to come where they've never been before.

Editorial here.