On one hand, they tell us this is all about science. On the other, they show us that ‘climate change’ is really all about Progressive politics, in this case, putting everyone in a box and making it about race, which, interestingly, highlights that Progressives do not think much of communities of color, thinking them to weak and stupid to do things on their own
How can we address the effects of climate change on communities of color?
Climate change is a massive, complex, globe-spanning issue that affects every facet of our lives. And like most problems at its scale, it’s bound to affect the poor and people of color most significantly.
How can we address that in South Florida? That’s a question posed by a reader to the Florida Influencer Series, which taps the collective wisdom of 50 influential Floridians on topics important to the state in the run-up to the November election. This week, the issues are the environment and climate change, vital topics for residents who live at “ground zero†for sea-rise threats.
But singling out impacts to communities of color in particular can be difficult in Miami because, as Zelalem Adefris, resilience director of Catalyst Miami, put it, “Most of Miami is a community of color.â€
“In Miami, it’s more of an economic issue,†she said.
The most at-risk population are poor people. They have the least amount of resources to escape the effects of climate change, by buying products or services to make weathering the changes easier. There is also increasing concern about the concept of “climate gentrification†— low-income residents being pushed out of higher elevation zones in South Florida. But in a region booming with redevelopment and market demand that have rapidly turned once struggling neighborhoods into trendy areas, many factors could be at work, including climate concerns.
And there we have the gentrification issue laid out, placed under the banner of ‘climate change’.
But what is clear: When the water comes (experts predict we’ll see three to five feet of sea rise by the end of the century), poor people will be the most exposed to the impacts. Effects on health will likely come before anything else.
Really? I wonder how they know that, because absolutely no East Coast tide gauges show that occurring. The Miami Beach gauge hasn’t worked since 1981. You’d think NOAA would want that data for the city. The Vaca Key gauge breaks down to 1.21 feet over 100 years, consistent with what would be expected with a Holocene warm period. The next closest east coast long term gauge, all the way up in Mayport, Florida, shows .86 feet per 100 years. Key West shows .79 feet.
Data and facts matter.
Anyhow, if you’re thinking “well, what are they doing?”, good question, because this isn’t about climate solutions, it’s about left wing hysteria activist solutions
Activists are increasingly sounding the alarm about the trend, including Catalyst Miami, New Florida Majority and the CLEO Institute. Miami’s sea level rise committee dedicated its most recent meeting to the topic. Board members asked city staff to research possible policy choices that would protect low-income homeowners from being forced out of their homes before they find a new place to live, like a delay on paying property taxes for a few years until the property is sold.
Whatever causes it, gentrification is clearly happening in these neighborhoods, and it’s pushing low-income residents out of some of the area’s highest ground. In Liberty City, only about 4 percent of homes were worth more than $100,000 in 2000, according to Florida International University’s Neighborhood Changes project. By 2014, more than half of homes were worth more than $100,000.
And this is why so many do not take it seriously, because these nutters place everything under the banner of climate change. If they really cared they’d start by telling people to stop visiting the Miami area for vacations.
