Thread by @JohnMoralesNBC6

I don’t know if it’s being forced to watch the frequency at which deeper and more widespread saltwater inundation is impacting some neighborhoods in South Florida, or if it’s the inner demons released when teenagers like #Greta admonish adults, but this fall ...

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I’ve had an inordinate number of, um, skeptics (I’m trying to be kind) bending themselves into pretzels trying to contradict what we in #miami and Fort Lauderdale are plainly seeing with our own eyes:

the cities are under siege from the surging seas.

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They throw around all their expertly-gathered (#sarcasm) alternative facts, like “what do you expect when you build on a swamp?” Let me enlighten you:

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The parts of South Florida that are experiencing sunny-day floods have been part of the built environment and have stood high and dry for decades. While there are pictures of King Tide flooding going back to the mid 20th century…

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that saltwater inundation was never as deep, widespread, or frequent as it is today.

Another favorite is “the land is sinking, therefore sea level isn’t rising”. Land is only subsiding in a small portion of South Florida’s geography, mainly areas facing Biscayne Bay…

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…where mangroves were torn out and replaced with fill material. The west side of #MiamiBeach is a prime example. It should be noted that buildings, of which we have hundreds, are built on pilings driven deep into the limestone and therefore do not sink.

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There’s the “I’ve lived on the coast of [pick your state] for 30 years and the ocean is exactly where it was back then!” What you’ve seen in your local beach is different from what’s going on in Miami. Sea level doesn’t rise evenly across the planet.

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While the present globally averaged rate of #sealevelrise is greater than a foot per century, in #Miami it’s rising at a 50% greater rate – up 5 inches just since the mid-1990s.

And there’s always people blaming it on the weather.

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If you look at my Twitter feed, you’ll plainly see that I discuss all the factors influencing these record high tides, including an onshore wind flow, which has played a role this month, and the current small contribution from distant storm Melissa.

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There’s also the alarming slowing of the Gulf Stream, which means less water is being transported away from Florida.

With the tide this weekend running 16 inches above predictions based on the 1983-2000 NOAA baseline, I can safely say that…

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No less than one-third of what’s flooding parts of our area is directly linked to #sealevelrise.

Dear skeptics (being kind again):
I know it’s stressing you out that all those pesky scientific predictions about the consequences of global warming have been coming true.

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Sorry to remind you again that there’s an overwhelming mountain of evidence pointing to the severity of the #climatecrisis caused by us humans.

It might be inconvenient. But it’s the truth.

See what I did there? 🤔😆🤣

12/12 fin

#ClimateEmergency