First - St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman has made
a big issue out of Climate change.
Unfortunately, most of
his concerns are more political than practical.
What is important is
the fact that Kriseman’s efforts have been more politically grandiose than
effective and in reality, his actions would indicate a complete lack of
understanding of the primary impact of climate change on Florida: sea-level
rise and storm surge due to tropical storms.
Here is a quote from a
Kriseman Campaign Flyer: “Because of the dangers climate change poses to our
city, I pledged to transition St. Pete to a 100% clean energy city. We
are preparing for rising seas, volatile weather, and increases in the number of
powerful storms.”
If Kriseman and his
administration were actually capable of reaching that goal, which they are not,
it is unlikely that it would stop the water rising in Tampa Bay.
High tide flooding is
already prevalent along the downtown coast line of St. Petersburg and will
continue to get worse.
Clean energy and “carbon footprint” are two of the key
buzz words in the climate-change argument.
These two terms are invoked by politicians because they are the mechanisms'
whereby massive amounts of money can be made by prospective large campaign
contributors.
Let’s look at two of
the most glaring examples of Kriseman's real sea-level rise position.
If you really believe
in climate change, then you must accept the fact that the sea level is going to
rise.
When you are the Mayor
of a low-lying coastal City, your climate-change concerns should be how do I
protect my City practically and financially. And how do I make development
decisions that are not compromised by the impending results of climate change
over the next two decades.
Downtown
development – Pier Park
Kriseman has pushed
the $20+ million development of Pier Park, which essentially sets at sea level.
Was that a wise utilization of public funds?
Thinking in the
climate change/sea rise level rise community says that Beach Drive will likely
be somewhere between 2nd and 3rd Avenue if the sea-level rise predictions are
even close to being accurate.
Maybe a better
expenditure of those funds would have been to begin to set aside funds to buy
back coastal lands to eliminate the impending disaster.
Renewable energy,
green buildings and all the rest of the climate-change hoopla make great political fodder, but a
Mayor, who believes that the climate is actually changing will not waste his
taxpayer’s money on things the results of climate change and sea-level rise may
swallow well before the end of their useful life.
Wastewater
treatment – The South West Wastewater Plant
News Channel 8 Jeff
Paterson September 15, 2016: St. Pete mayor blames
climate change for release of wastewater into Tampa Bay
Kriseman must not
bother to read his own press clippings.
The South West
Wastewater treatment plant literally sets at sea level. However, he is pouring
millions into this sea level endangered facility and making plans for it to
become the major wastewater treatment facility for the entire City.
What happened to his climate-change
argument in this scenario?
More importantly what
will St. Pete do when the water level starts to rise at the South West plant,
or a major storm surge makes it inoperable?
That’s a climate
change/sea rise level rise question that deserves an answer.
These are just two of
the sea level rise issues Rick Kriseman has created while he “worries” about
climate change.
Climate change with
Rick Kriseman is the same as it is with all Democrat politicians. It is a great
stump speech issue, but when it comes down to applying the climate-change
problem to real-life decisions, Rick Kriseman simply does not have the will.
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