Climate Change and Sea Level Rise in South Florida: The View of Coastal Residents

Description

South Florida is frequently cited as the part of the United State of America as most susceptible to the devastation accompanying sea level rise. Several scholarly studies have shown the negative impact of coastal location in Florida on housing values. Are the residents of South Florida concerned? Is susceptibility to sea level rise actually affecting the housing market in terms of demand, the availability of home mortgages, or house prices? Are people living at particular risk from sea level rise aware of this risk and more open to new information about climate change? Do they support policies and laws to mitigate the pace and extent of climate change? Answers to these questions are not only of general interest, but they are also key to our understanding of the human dimensions of this problem. This book describes the results of a detailed survey in which respondents viewed a local map displaying flooding to their own community that would result from a Category 3 hurricane in 2033. It discusses political party identification and ideology that has an overwhelming impact in shaping views about sea level rise and climate change. This book has enormous implications for the effectiveness of communicating risk information. The text is important if we, as a nation, are to design communication strategies that will lead to broader policy to combat or mitigate this risk. Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Introduction (Risa Palm, Toby Bolsen)....Pages 1-3 The Science of Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise (Risa Palm, Toby Bolsen)....Pages 5-13 A Partisan and Polarized Issue in the United States (Risa Palm, Toby Bolsen)....Pages 15-40 The South Florida Study Area (Risa Palm, Toby Bolsen)....Pages 41-60 Study Methods and General Findings (Risa Palm, Toby Bolsen)....Pages 61-80 Results from South Florida Experiment (Risa Palm, Toby Bolsen)....Pages 81-92 Denial of Risk (Risa Palm, Toby Bolsen)....Pages 93-103 Prospects for Mitigation (Risa Palm, Toby Bolsen)....Pages 105-113 Back Matter ....Pages 115-134