←back to thread

Should we drain the Everglades?

(rabbitcavern.substack.com)
116 points ksymph | 5 comments | 16 Sep 25 19:33 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
Show context
hwc ◴[16 Sep 25 23:45 UTC] No.45269769[source]▶
I used to live in this part of the country. There's an insane amount of disregard for the environment and climate. Yes, new buildings have to be reinforced against hurricanes. But they are still building new houses only a few meters above sea level, as if sea level rise wasn't already unavoidable.

And on the largest scale, there is a limit to the amount of fresh groundwater that wells along the South Florida coast can get. Once they exceed that amount, they'll be pumping brackish water seeping in from the ocean. Then they have to desalinate the brackish water.

But the last time I was there, they were still building new houses.

replies(2): >>45270450 #>>45270546 #
deadbabe ◴[17 Sep 25 01:37 UTC] No.45270546[source]▶
“a few meters above sea level” is still not sea level. That’s a good 12-15 feet to work with.
replies(1): >>45270616 #
1. KingMob ◴[17 Sep 25 01:48 UTC] No.45270616[source]▶
Iirc, there are scientific estimates that Greenland's ice sheet alone would raise sea levels by 24 ft if it melted.

12-15 ft may really not be enough for very long.

replies(4): >>45270666 #>>45275388 #>>45277939 #>>45284973 #
2. hedora ◴[17 Sep 25 01:56 UTC] No.45270666[source]▶
It’s already probably not enough to weather a 25-100 year storm (looking forward to compute storm frequency).
3. hwc ◴[17 Sep 25 13:07 UTC] No.45275388[source]▶
My parents bought a house 11 feet above sea level. The right combination of high tides and storm surge could easily flood that any time. It hasn't happened yet, but the sea level could rise a foot or so in the next generation, making flooding more likely every year.
4. deadbabe ◴[17 Sep 25 16:26 UTC] No.45277939[source]▶
So let me ask you, is a house really a product meant to last forever and ever, or should it be something that you get maybe 30-40 good years out of it and then dispose it and rebuild?

I don’t get this idea where if a building can’t stay in a spot forever, it should not be built at all. Why not build and enjoy while you can?

When the land floods it floods, you move on. Until then don’t worry about it.

5. Suppafly ◴[18 Sep 25 03:30 UTC] No.45284973[source]▶
Not to mention being 15 ft above sea level doesn't help if the shore keeps washing away. A lot of the houses being moved/abandoned on coasts now are above sea level, but the sea level is undercutting the cliffs they are built on.