Anne Arundel County Case Study

As it stands today the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico is losing more and more land; the amount of land lost each year may seem relatively small to the average person, but to scientists who understand the unprecedented rate at which this is happening, there is reason to be alarmed. On the U.S. coast of the Gulf of Mexico there are more reasons for the rising sea level than simply global warming and melting ice sheets or ice caps. In the Mississippi delta, for example, the oil industry is taking so much fluid (oil) out of the ground that the land is sinking and compacting further. There is also a decrease in the amount of sediment reaching the delta due to many man-made structures, such as levees, drudging, dikes, and

People living in Miami are in the face of danger, and for the most part they are not aware of it. Due to high population, Miami is the fourth largest city to become affected by sea level rise. (Ankum et al.) In the next 32-50 years, sea level is expected to rise by as much as two feet. (Ankum et al.) This two-foot rise will have detrimental effects on the urban settings of Miami. The amount of soil erosion that is undergoing at our beaches will greatly increase if a two-foot rise occurs. At a four-foot rise, road connectivity would begin to become affected. At a six-foot rise, Southern Florida would no longer be habitable as it would, for the most part, be underwater. Not much is being invested in mitigation efforts, most of what is being done are short term solutions. Instead of coming up with ideas to prevent and try to slow down the effects of climate change on our environment, we are focusing on ideas such as building up a sea wall, relocating power plants, and redesigning structures.

Since 1880, records show that the sea level has bone up 8 inches. If it goes up six more inches, as the current studies indicate could happen within 20 years, South Florida’s flood control would be devastated. In South Florida, taxpayers are already paying the price for climate change as salt-water pushes through porous bedrock into coastal drinking-water supplies, and rivers and canals choked by heavy rains have a harder time draining into the ocean.

Harford County is a fast growing jurisdiction between 1990 to 2010 the county’s population grew from 182,132 to 244,826. Some of the reasons the county has seen such a great population growth is due to job opportunities. Employment in the county has steadily continued to grow making Harford county have a very low unemployment rates better than other counties in the state of Maryland. (HCHD, 2012).

Many communities are suffering due to coastal erosion. One example is the village of Cocodrie, LA in Terrebonne Parish. This village’s small population and its 220 residential and commercial buildings are surrounded by marshes. In Cocodrie, there is no barrier against hurricanes. Local marinas play host to recreational and commercial fishing, and The Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium is located in Cocodrie. This facility of around 100,000 square ft houses laboratories, classrooms, and a research center. Infrastructure that will be affected by coastal erosion includes paved highway, dirt roads, a bridge, water supply systems, and natural gas lines. By 2050, Cocodrie will be surrounded by open water as the marshlands around the village give way to rising sea levels. Another community affected by this issue is Yscloskey, LA in St. Bernard Parish. The most important part of the economy here is fishing, and highways link the parish to New Orleans fishing communities. The Yscloskey area lies outside of the protective levees and is quite vulnerable to storms. Though losses in Yscloskey are not predicted to be as great as those in Cocodrie, a 16 percent loss by 2050 leaves the infrastructure of Yscloskey even more vulnerable (Coast 2050, 1998, p. 64-66). Local residents in these areas are watching the land disappear along with the beachfronts and Cyprus swamps that were on that land (Marshall, 2014).

The population demographic of Miami-Dade County is the most ethnically diverse County in Florida. According to the US Census Bureau (2015), estimates the foreign-born population to be 1,363,163 million in Miami-Dade County. The population is a mix of 78% white (16% non-Hispanic), 65% of the population being Hispanic or Latino, 19% Black (African-American, Haitian and Caribbean) and 3% other (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). The diverse population Miami-Dade has high rates of uninsured, and underinsured, Americans in the country.

Anne Arundel County is an appealing place to live due to its close proximity to the growing Washington Metropolitan area and the redeveloping Baltimore Metropolitan area. The county is rich heritage and natural beauty. It is well renowned for its access to the Chesapeake Bay, extensive network of community parks/trials, and nature preserves. With 534 miles of linear coastline, the county ranks second for waterfront, after Frederick County, in the state and second in the nation when compared to other counties (Brown & Singh, 2016). In addition, the county is home to the state capital of Annapolis (Appendix A), the region’s largest airport, and the United States Naval Academy. Anne Arundel County is known for boating, fishing, crabbing, water

Sea level rise caused by global warming poses clear threats to coastal populations in Connecticut. In fact, models have depicted that the rate of global sea level rise could elevate by two to five times by the end of this century, and this will affect the health of residents and the state’s economy due to increase the impacts of coastal storms in urban areas (Gornitz et al., 2004). Reports have shown that Connecticut’s coastline has historically been at risk due to coastal storms (Frumhoff et al., 2007). For instance, a 2007 synthesis report of Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA) suggested that there might be an increase in the number of winter storms received in coastal Connecticut (particularly late in the winter). Also, in the

East Montgomery High School is part of the State Board District of Sandhills and is located in the township of Biscoe in the eastern region of Montgomery County North Carolina. Montgomery County was established in 1779, from a portion of Anson County. Located in the piedmont of North Carolina, (http://thomaslegion.net/threenorthcarolinageographicregionscoastalplainthepiedmontandthemountainsmaps.html) where the Uwharrie National Forest encompasses much of the 491.76 square miles of land, the county is predominantly rural and heavily forested.( https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/POP060210/37123,00) Surrounding Montgomery County are the counties of Moore, Richmond, Stanly, Davidson, and Randolph. The County has a total population of

placements in the state of Maryland totaled 11,520. In Prince George’s County, Maryland, as of

Problem Identification: Prince George’s County children and youth face many challenges when it comes to getting a quality education because of political, lack of quality educators, and communities involvement.

a. What makes Arundel think it can make money by buying a package of sequel rights? Is the profit opportunity, if it exists, likely to be sustainable?

The combination of these and other trends was an estimated average sea-level increase of 1.5mm per year between 1961 and 2003, which reached 2.4mm per year in the decade from 1993 to 2003. The decades prior to this trend showed only minor fluctuations in sea-level, suggesting that the current rate exceeds what could be caused by natural cycles. While the exact impact of rising oceans is difficult to determine, it is certain that the consequences will include some degree of flooding, integration of salt water into water tables, and a loss of land due to coastal erosion and submersion.6

According to John King, scientific studies say that the Bay Area’s average tide could increase several feet or more by 2100 due to climate change and rising sea levels. In 2015, ramps connecting to Highway 101 near Mill Valley were already closed 30 times. It is important to find the “political will” to process the long term plans regarding sea level rise that have been denied for the past half century. Sea level rise was not priority of current politics debate in San Francisco compared to issues with homeless camps and gun crisis. San Francisco Sea Level Rise Action Plan’s goal is to get people prepared for slow moving threat to the Bay

Attention Getting Device: On November 21, 2017 NASA published an article on the issue of global climate change which quoted this, ''NASA tool link port-city seal levels to regional ice melts''. NASA has been working to minimize the effect of global climate change and recently it has developed 'NASA tools'. This particular tool links changes in sea level of around 293 global port cities. Most specifically, the tool links changes seen in vulnerable regions, such as Greenland and the Antarctic Peninsula, where ice lands are melting rapidly. Such development will allow coastal planners to be aware and prepare for rising seas level for years to come.