But some of the effects of global warming have already arrived in South Florida, as coastal cities flood more frequently and overheated corals turn white and die. The region's temperatures have not gone up, however, and many scientists say climate change has had little effect on hurricanes.
While most climate scientists agree the Earth has warmed over the past century, they say it's extremely difficult to assess the impact of slight temperature increases on complex natural systems.
"There is general consensus among scientists that climate change is occurring and that human activities are influencing that," said James W. Jones, director of the Florida Climate Institute at the University of Florida. "A lot of the controversy stems from the fact there's a lot of uncertainty about how much it's changing and how fast it's changing. ... We need to go into the middle of this debate and not say nothing is going to happen and not say the sky is falling."
Sea level rise
Storm sewers spew water into the street. Rowboats glide through residential neighborhoods. Water laps over thresholds.
The most immediate, easily measured and incontrovertible impact of global warming on South Florida is a rise in sea levels that has already generated flooding in coastal cities.
The tide station in Miami Beach has registered an increase of seven inches since 1935, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. An older station in Key West has measured an increase of eight inches since 1920.
Higher temperatures raise sea levels because water expands as it warms, although the melting of polar ice packs is expected to accelerate the increase. With sea levels higher, storm surges at high tide have pushed water through storm sewer systems into the streets of eastern Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and other coastal cities.
"Tides come up through the pipes and explode out of the grates," said Dr. John Golia, who lives in the Hendricks Isle section of Fort Lauderdale.
Although the conditions for increased flooding have existed for years, scientists say it's only in the past years that storms have arrived at the right tidal conditions to push water into neighborhoods. Read the full report here.
Source: by David Fleshler, Sun Sentinel, Kanas City.
