Fight or Flight: Coastal Community Adaptation

The ClimateReady Podcast: Adapting to Climate Change & Uncertainty

In 2017 nearly 10 percent of U.S. citizens were affected by major disasters. Hurricane Harvey that year was estimated to have resulted in more than $120 billion alone to southeastern Texas. After a tradition of coastal management that paved over wetlands, channelized floodplains, and pushed poor communities into low-lying areas, many coastal communities now also experience sea level rise, saltwater intrusion, and increasingly severe weather. In this episode of ClimateReady, we bring in author, professor, and photographer Elizabeth Rush to discuss her latest book "Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore" (https://milkweed.org/book/rising). We interview Elizabeth to find out more about vulnerable coastal communities around the United States — from New York to Louisiana to California. In Rising, climate change is no longer a problem of the future but an imminent threat. Through poignant stories, we hear how communities handle these realities on their own terms. Following our main interview, we asked Elizabeth to read an excerpt from her book that would be especially relevant for our listeners. She examines the complexities around “risk” and arrives at some really insightful conclusions about how perceptions are shifting over time. --- Elizabeth Rush's website: http://elizabethrush.net/