Puerto Rico Problems

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.

Boriqua! is a commonly used term among the people of Puerto Rico when referring to themselves or their country. Puerto Rico, formerly known as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a U.S. Territory. It is a small island, only 100 miles long and 35 miles wide, located in the Caribbean Ocean. It is about 1,000 miles off the tip of Florida in between the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands. The climate is tropical and mild with little variation in the seasonal temperature. The country is composed of one large island and many smaller islands. Puerto Rico is home to 3.6 million people, and its capital city San Juan is home to almost 400,000 people. Spanish and English are the two main languages spoken. The country is one of few in the world that is officially bilingual (NationFacts). The term boricua is linked with Puerto Rico 's native heritage. The word comes from Boriken, the Taíno word for the island (NationFacts), the Great Land of the Valiente and Noble Lord (prfdance.org).

Puerto Rico should become a state because the United States has made it dependent on its aid. Puerto Rico started off as a colony of Spain and became a territory of the United States after the United States won it from Spain. Through statehood, Puerto Rico could see its economy getting better, the right to vote in major elections, and other benefits that come from being a state.

The intensity, frequency, and duration of North Atlantic hurricanes, as well as the frequency of category 4 and 5 hurricanes, have all increased since the early 1980s (Bell 2012). The increase in hurricanes can be linked to higher sea surface temperatures caused by multiple outside sources. Human induced emissions of heat-trapping gases and particulate pollution are two of the possible sources that are affecting the sea surface temperature. Humans are the main contributor contributing to climate change and global warming, but most seem not to care. Not only is the amount of hurricanes increasing, but heat waves are increasing and intensifying in some western parts of the country. Heat waves have become more frequent across The United States in recent decades. Western regions are setting records for numbers of heat waves and droughts in the 2000s. Data collected suggests that the droughts over the last decade in the West represent the driest conditions in the last 800 years (Vose 2005). With varying weather all over the country, the real estate market is beginning to be affected as well. Popular ski capitals will no longer have their icy slopes and eventually the popular beaches will be too hot to visit or will not have any beach left, causing drops in vacation rentals and permanent housing

The sea levels are rising due to the compaction of the groundwater withdrawals, post-glaciation settling, and the effects from the meteor crater in the Chesapeake Bay. The sea levels are slowly rising in present day but with the hurricanes and nor'easters they help aid in making those levels rise faster of a period of time. If the climate warmed two degrees, the sea levels will rise which will cause the beaches to erode and create flooding. Due to sea levels rising, about 13.1 million people in Virginia will be displaced and approximately two billion people in the world. Coastal resilience is the community coming together to build a stronger community after extreme weather storms or any hazardous events. This is to make sure that the community is prepared for the next possible hazardous event so that the impact is less

The overview of vulnerabilities isn’t fully addressed, the climate change is resulting in significant impacts to Massachusetts coastline and ocean waters. The coast is modestly changing in temperature having an impact on sensitive ecosystems, threatening biodiversity and ecosystem-based economies, based off fisheries, tourism, and recreation. Sea level will impact development, infrastructure and natural systems from erosion and storm damage. Impacts may also include loss of life, extensive property damage, destruction of public infrastructure; releasing of sewage, oil,debris, and other contaminants; and loss of commercial and marine-related businesses critical to local,regional, and state economies. Also, areas such as coastal salt marshes,barrier

Integrating Puerto Rico into the United States and changing its political status to state would be a great accomplishment on the United States part. Puerto Rico is facing many obstacles not just economically but also government wise, the structure of the government causes many problems to arise. Also the residents of the island are not provided with all the benefits and rights that are provided by the government to the states, Which is why it would be a great upgrade of the island to be integrated as a state.

Since Puerto Rico was first discovered by Christopher Columbus on November 19, 1493, and Spanish colonization ensued in 1508, Puerto Rico has experienced all of these pressures of identity and culture.

Wind powered surface currents and waves, along with moon and sun powered tides, greatly impact Earth’s coastlines. As warm or cold water ocean currents affect coastal climates, waves release energy, shifting sand and sediments, eroding and replenishing coastline shores; all while tides raise and lower sea level. Florida’s east coast, encompassed by barrier islands, is affected by subtropical ocean waters provided by the Gulf Stream, facilitating warm and humid climates, as well as hurricanes. As these warm ocean waters interact with Florida’s barrier islands, through wave action and tides, its coastline continuously transforms.

Climate change creates significant impacts in the Australian context: in considering sea level rise is one of the most critical condition and as per the IPCC report, in 2100 it will increase by79 centimeters (Department of climate change, 2009). Further, it enhances natural hazards affect on the coastal region as flood, inundation, erosion, and storm surges, which will be a significant threat to the coastal community (Button et al.2013). In addition, sea level rise causes a significant change to beaches, coral reefs, estuaries, wetlands and low-lying islands.

On June 11, 2017, in a referendum not sanctioned by Congress, the people of Puerto Rico voted in favor of statehood. However, with a current debt load of $70 billion, will statehood be granted. Literature listed suggests that granting statehood could possibly address Puerto Rico’s crushing debt, unemployment, and poverty. However, others argue that Puerto Rico’s island loyalty could have enormous implications for the future of the U.S. if Puerto Rico became the 51st state.

Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States since 1898 and in order to change that status citizens of the territory must vote in a plebiscite, a special referendum. The three options available to choose from were to become a state, to remain a territory, or to become an independent nation (Martin). In the November 6, 2012 plebiscite held in Puerto Rico, 54% of the population said that do not like the current commonwealth status of the island (Alexandrino). The next question offered to the population were three solutions following those of the United Nations guidelines. Of the three options, statehood received the highest vote reigning in 61% of the votes. However, over 480,000 people did not answer the second question (Alexandrino).

The definition of coastal resilience is when a community builds a plan to be able to “bounce back” after hazardous events such as flooding, hurricanes, and coastal storms. Resilience is the ability to prevent short-term events from turning into long-term community disasters. In the Hampton roads area we have experienced recurring coastal flooding, in 2013 the government said they were joining as leaders to address these issues, but yet we still are not prepared to handle these hazardous events. There was a debate that was trying to figure out if these climate changes are manmade, I personally do not think that they are, I believe that the world is changing everyday and considering that we are surrounded by water, our circumstances are inevitable.

Climate change is one of the most important challenges of humankind in this century. The ability to adapt, mitigate and reduce carbon emissions will be decisive to preserve the world for future generations. The last IPCC report has provided more evidence regarding the rise in temperature and sea level. Apparently, additional 2°C above the pre-industrial average temperature levels is unavoidable, and it will continue at that level due the accumulation of gases in the atmosphere (Solomon 2009). Climate change will affect people all around the world in different ways, though the capacity to cope with it is different among regions and countries. The Latin America region is notably susceptible to climate change, due its geographical position, population location and its economy relying in natural resources (Vergara et. al. 2013a). The withdrawal of the coral biome, glaciers melting, jungles & forest savannization and strongest climate events are only some of the threats that will affect their inhabitants.

They argue that Hurricane Irma has made the Caribbean islands “uninhabitable” by providing both facts and emotional connections relating to Hurricane Irma’s impact on the environment and people of the area. The authors argue this claim in order to show that Hurricane Irma has basically wiped out all signs of survival in the Caribbean area, which is a rational statement. Without the necessities of life, such as food, water, and shelter, the Caribbean is truly an unsuitable location to live in. The authors use factual information regarding the total destruction caused by Hurricane Irma, while incorporating the emotional appeal to the humans who are impacted and forced to leave everything they have because of the natural disaster. The authors use strong negative connotation and diction such as “destruction,” “death,” “pure terror,” and “absolute destruction,” in order to add to the seriousness of the situation and create a mood of solemness. The authors effectively organize information throughout the article by stating main points and backing them up with multiple pieces of evidence. The authors of the article prove to be very reliable and support all their claims with evidence, which shows high author credibility on the topic of Hurricane