Coastal zones set agenda on climate

KEY WEST, Fla. – With the start of hurricane season, meteorologist Matt Strahan regularly scans computer screens for signs of a storm brewing near this famously carefree island.

Strahan figures that few of the people he is there to protect are as worried as he is about a less imminent but far-reaching threat: Global warming is causing the world's oceans to expand, and they gradually could swallow coral reefs such as Key West.

Likewise, rising sea levels could haunt dozens of coastal cities, including San Diego, San Francisco, Boston and New York.

Global warming is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and hurricanes. Rising temperatures likely will damage fisheries, increase heat-related deaths, hasten the spread of infectious diseases and alter where crops can grow.

Government agencies, politicians and activists are slowly ramping up their efforts to adapt to these projected changes. No national program exists to coordinate such a monumental mission, so the work largely has fallen to state and local governments.

Like most of the country, the San Diego region has yet to create a comprehensive plan for coping with global warming.

“We are just seeing so many areas at the local level that we probably would need to do some sort of serious rethinking about,” said Linda Giannelli Pratt, a climate change expert for the city of San Diego. “It's still a little fuzzy.”
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