Scientists have been warning about climate change causing sea levels to rise for decades. Now, a recent
study has made the risk of sea level rise even more dire.
Over 5,500 toxic sites across the country -- facilities that handle
sewage, oil and gas, industrial pollutants, and toxic waste -- are at heightened risk of coastal flooding due to climate change.
The numbers are staggering. And it's time for state legislatures to take this risk seriously and act.
Sign now to tell these state legislatures: make a plan to guarantee that these hazardous sites are moved away from coasts!The process of sea level rise is simple, but terrifying: as the planet's glaciers melt, the amount of water in the ocean will increase. Warmer water also takes up more space, something scientists refer to as thermal expansion.
But sea level rise doesn't only risk sweeping entire neighborhoods away.
This process also
threatens to create a whole slew of toxic contamination for people, plants, and animals living nearby, even in communities that aren't fully eroded from the rising sea.
The study also found that these communities were more likely to have "
households in poverty, Hispanic residents, linguistically isolated households, car-less households, older adults and non-voters" than communities not near these sites. These are already vulnerable people being put in harm's way!The scariest part? Because of the greenhouse gas emissions already emitted for the past many decades,
flooding of these facilities is incredibly likely, regardless of how we reduce emissions in the coming years. Reducing emissions is a critical step to protecting our infrastructure long term, but more and more evidence shows that we will have to mitigate some devastating impacts of climate change regardless.
80% of the hazardous facilities that are at risk of coastal flooding are currently located in Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Louisiana, California, New York, and Massachusetts.
Those state legislatures must take this threat seriously and make plans to relocate these facilities to prevent toxic pollution NOW! Sign the petition now if you agree!