Considering Venice Fl but Wondering

[wjnewell]

My wife and I are considering Venice Florida as a potential retirement location. But now we are wondering whether we should be concerned that Venice and much of Florida may be impacted by rising sea levels and flooding as the climate changes and becomes warmer. I know there is a lot of controversy about whether this will in fact happen but seems like it should be part of the consideration.

If the climate is changing (even if it is natural and cyclical), potentially Florida may be half its size at some future point. This would mean many of the coastal communities of Florida could potentially be under water.

I'm wondering if anyone else thinking of retiring to Florida thinks this is something to consider?

Bill

[REWahoo]

Bill, buy a gondola and don't worry about rising sea levels.

[LRDave]

You'll need to watch out for the humidity-caused heart disease as well....

[wjnewell]

I found this publication that outlines the potential problems Florida faces. Human health is one of the areas of concern if temperatures rise. http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/florida/florida.pdf

[REWahoo]

Bill, why would you consider moving to a place where you had concerns about flooding? And why are you asking about global warming on a retirement forum? Do you think you'll find climate change expertise here?

[Moemg]

I retired to Venice in 1995 . It is a delightful city . I would forget the sea levels and enjoy it now . What you are worrying about may not happen in your lifetime . I have since moved to Sarasota but Venice is still my favorite city in Florida .

[MichaelB]

Who knows? A little bit of flooding might be beneficial. It would clear out some of the overbuilding that went on in Florida, especially the coastal areas. It could also be a good way to build up an inadequate portfolio, by buying beachfront property before it becomes beachfront.

[donheff]

All the global warming scenarios play out over 100+ years. You will be dead before anything noteworthy happens. If you are worried about leaving a house in a flood plain to your heirs -- rent.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff All the global warming scenarios play out over 100+ years. You will be dead before anything noteworthy happens. If you are worried about leaving a house in a flood plain to your heirs -- rent.

+1

[NW-Bound]

I would worry about hurricanes before global warming would even cross my mind.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff All the global warming scenarios play out over 100+ years. You will be dead before anything noteworthy happens. If you are worried about leaving a house in a flood plain to your heirs -- rent.

But I bought some of those funny looking light bulbs and put 'em in our closet fixtures (DW didn't like the light for reading), and our neighbor bought one of them 'green cars', I think he said it was a 'high-breed' (maybe I've got that wrong, it looked silver to me?). I thought that was supposed to save us from global warming?

Should I still be worried?

-ERD50

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Bill, why would you consider moving to a place where you had concerns about flooding? And why are you asking about global warming on a retirement forum? Do you think you'll find climate change expertise here?

He's here for the abundance of free opinions... worth what you paid for them, and available in bulk discounts quantities.

If I was expecting global warming to be a problem then I'd take the three-meter number, buy property at the 12-15 elevation contour, and set up some seawalls. In 25-30 years my property would be waterfront, and its value would go through the roof!

[JPatrick]

Just back from that area a few days ago.
I would say the traffic will kill you long before nature does.

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 But I bought some of those funny looking light bulbs and put 'em in our closet fixtures (DW didn't like the light for reading), and our neighbor bought one of them 'green cars', I think he said it was a 'high-breed' (maybe I've got that wrong, it looked silver to me?). I thought that was supposed to save us from global warming? Should I still be worried? -ERD50

Not for yourself but maybe the kids. Seriously, according to the info I read we are at or past a tipping point beyond which the negative effects of GW are inevitable. To me that means accomodation is what we are facing, not avoidance. I still like a lot of the low carbon stuff but primarily because they could lead to energy independence (a national security imperative IMHO) not because I think we could realistically move fast enough to stave off the effects of GW. I drive a hybrid.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords If I was expecting global warming to be a problem then I'd take the three-meter number, buy property at the 12-15 elevation contour, and set up some seawalls. In 25-30 years my property would be waterfront, and its value would go through the roof!

I've been thinking about doing that too, when (wishful thinking) DC literally goes underwater and parts of WV become oceanfront.

[ERD50]

I thought of an easier solution for the OP. Move near Al Gore.

RE semi-tongue-in-cheek comment on 'funny light bulbs' and 'high-breeds':

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff Not for yourself but maybe the kids. Seriously, according to the info I read we are at or past a tipping point beyond which the negative effects of GW are inevitable. To me that means accomodation is what we are facing, not avoidance.

I pretty much agree with that. Well, I guess I don't actually know what the combined effects of carbon/GW will be, and whether we are past a tipping point or not, but the literature does seem to point to the need for adaptation; avoidance may be largely futile (although they don't seem to paint it that way).

From 'Conclusions' in that pdf linked earlier (bold mine):

Quote:

Florida can avoid devastating harm by taking common-sense actions before it is too late. Florida needs a plan to reduce the power-plant and automobile pollution that causes global warming. The state can begin to do this by using energy more efficiently and cleanly. Florida also needs to develop the capacity to adapt to some global warming threats with minimal disruption and cost. Similar actions are also required at the national level because Florida cannot solve such a broad problem alone.

So just apply some 'common sense actions' and we will avoid all this (they paint a pretty bleak picture in there)? And then secondly, we can just spend a little to adapt.

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff I still like a lot of the low carbon stuff but primarily because they could lead to energy independence (a national security imperative IMHO) not because I think we could realistically move fast enough to stave off the effects of GW. I drive a hybrid.

I'm all for eliminating waste, reducing pollution, and improving energy efficiency and conservation in ways that make sense. I question whether energy independence is all that important, but it does seem our economy is too closely tied to the price of oil - some energy diversification would probably be a very good thing.

I'd look more closely at a hybrid if I had to drive a lot of miles. They don't make economic sense for me at this point. I strive to reduce the miles I drive, and a mile not driven is what saves the most energy and pollutes the least (as in, not at all). The lower pollution levels of hybrids are attractive (assuming the owners conserved miles driven first), even if the economics don't work for someone. That also assumes the extra batteries/motor don't offset too much of the benefit (have yet to see a good study on that).

A few years back, a 'greenie' type friend of ours was 'bragging' a bit about how proud she was that her husband traded in his Cadillac for a Hybrid. I talked a bit about the advantages of a hybrid, how they recover wasted energy from braking, the engine can be a bit smaller as it gets a boost from that wasted energy. So they were happy. Then I asked them - ' But, how many miles is the person who bought your old Caddy driving it? If they put a more miles on it than you did (it was a second car for them), then overall, wouldn't we be experiencing even more pollution and gas consumption than before he traded it in?'

I got the kind of face and expression that reminded me of that Spinal Tap clip... 'but, but, but, these go to eleven' (but, but, but... it's 'green!)! That was enough 'fun' for me, I quickly followed up with ' Hey, how about another beer!'

I just think there is so much more low-hanging fruit in conserving person-miles than there is in the diminishing return of fuel economy (going from 15 to 30 mpg saves 2x more fuel than going from 30 to 60 mpg). The feds should listen to their own EPA people, and change the fuel economy stickers to show gallons-per-thousand miles instead of mpg. That makes it far easier to compare actual fuel consumption. Comparing mpg requires a 'harmonic mean' calculation, which few people could do, and fewer yet could do in their head. It's an easy comparison with gallons per thousand miles.

-ERD50

[wjnewell]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPatrick Just back from that area a few days ago. I would say the traffic will kill you long before nature does.

Good point!

[wjnewell]

Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I agree with your thoughts about fuel efficiency. What puzzled me about that article on Florida was that Florida alone taking "common sense measures" can't really (in my mind) make a significant impact on global warming. Seems that Florida especially because it lies so close to sea level will experience the effects as they occur more than other areas.

As some others have stated in this thread, most likely many of us will not be around to see what ultimately happens with all of this but we will be (if we are lucky) around for another 30 or so years and the effects (if Global Warming is real and if we are beyond the tipping point) will be cumulative and gradual. So there likely will be some effects experienced within the next 30 years.

Thanks for your comments.

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPatrick Just back from that area a few days ago. I would say the traffic will kill you long before nature does.

Luckily the heavy traffic only lasts a few months !

[jimnjana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wjnewell My wife and I are considering Venice Florida as a potential retirement location. But now we are wondering whether we should be concerned that Venice and much of Florida may be impacted by rising sea levels and flooding as the climate changes and becomes warmer. I know there is a lot of controversy about whether this will in fact happen but seems like it should be part of the consideration. If the climate is changing (even if it is natural and cyclical), potentially Florida may be half its size at some future point. This would mean many of the coastal communities of Florida could potentially be under water. I'm wondering if anyone else thinking of retiring to Florida thinks this is something to consider? Bill

Since according to NASA the sea levels have actually fallen the last two years, I think for future planning unless your time horizon is several centuries, you are probably pretty safe. I'd be more concerned about making sure I selected a neighborhood that was not prone to local flooding during heavy down pours/tropical storms etc... Most newer developments handle rain unbelievably well.