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A Special Report from the University of Miami

April 21, 2016 DReynolds

Dr. Ben Kirtman, Professor and Director of the Cooperative Institute of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, is one of the world’s leading climate scientists, a co-author of the NOAA Climate Prediction Task Force and the IPPC’s most recent report, as well as someone who has been very kind to help educate me about climate change and sea rise over the last few years. He and many other exceptional educators all over the University such as Dr. Hal Wanless, Professor and Chair of the School’s Department of Geological Sciences, are at the absolute cutting edge of the study of sea level rise science, the social and health impacts that climate change will increasingly have on our world, alternative energy solutions that we must commit to and the policy making issues that will help us solve this growing crisis.

The University of Miami is, in my view, uniquely positioned to both study and help solve this growing crisis and, although I admit being biased (I am a graduate of the school’s Summer Scholars Program in Tropical Marine Biology and plan to study Ecosystem Science & Policy there this coming summer as well as follow my mom, dad and grandfather, all of whom are Miami grads, by applying late this year for undergrad admission), I am deeply proud and excited that the new University President, Julio Frenk, has made climate change a major focus of his administration, of part of what he calls The Relevant University. In his recent Inauguration speech Dr. Frenk made his commitment to helping the world on its climate concerns clear when he said;

For instance, rising sea levels—a major threat to Miami as well as the rest of the world—was discussed repeatedly during my listening exercise. Climate change is an arena where virtually every academic discipline has something to contribute, and where the institution is already showing the way forward. In the coming months, we will announce a new University-wide effort to expand our considerable expertise in sea level rise. This is exactly the kind of transformative, global contribution that Miami can and should be making to the search for sustainable solutions.

So with these thoughts in mind I am pleased to share the news of the University’s campus wide focus on climate change and to share with you their brand new overview that shows the depth of their commitment and ability to help our community and world. As we say around these parts, it really is “All About The U’!

Ben Kirtman, climate, Climate Change, Delaney Reynolds, Eco Warrior, Global Warming, Harold Wanless, Miami, miamiecowarrior, miamisearise, Miamisearise.com, Sea Level Rise, Sea Rise, State of Florida, The Sink or Swim Project, University of Miami

9½ Minutes

March 13, 2016 DReynolds

Want to quickly learn about climate change politics? All you needed to do was watch last week’s Presidential debates from Miami and consider a few numbers:

Two

That’s the number of Presidential debates held in Miami this week. One for the Democrats at Miami Dade College and one for the Republicans at the University of Miami.

Four

The total number of hours the candidates debated here in Miami, two hours at each debate for each party.

Six

The number of candidates still running for President and participating in the debates. Within this number, here’s another; Four, that’s the number of candidates that actually addressed climate change and sea level rise (meaning two, Trump and Cruz were never asked about, nor mentioned the topic).

Two

The total number of questions the media had for the candidates between the two nights on climate change and sea level rise. One each night.

10:30 PM

The approximate time at which the moderators brought up climate change and sea rise and within that number, here’s another; 1½ hours, that’s how far into a two hour debate it took before the candidates were asked about this topic each night.

9½

Nine and half minutes.

That is the total amount of time that the candidates and mass media devoted to this critical topic during both debates while here in Miami. Nine and a half minutes on an issue that will define my generation’s time on the planet.

At 10:27 PM the Democrats were asked about climate change and discussed it until 10:32, for five minutes. Senator Rubio was asked about the topic in the Republican debate around 10:30 PM and he and Govenor Kasich spent four and a half minutes sharing their views.

Since the debates, some have expressed being pleased that the moderators even asked about the topic and that some of the candidates talked about it. I don’t see it that way, I feel as if the moderators, Univision and CNN, let our community and country down by not asking more, by not pressing each candidate into sharing their views and discussing the topics in more depth.

The topic also deserved far more time, especially given where the debates were located. We know, and knew, that both Democrats support change, Sanders being very aggressive about what must happen; Clinton seeming more moderate in her views.

I learned that Kasich is open minded and wants, he said, to embrace alternatives including solar power. Rubio was, once again, a terrible disapointment. A total Fail as my friends and I would say. I could write an entire blog about how disapointed I was over his scripted answers and lack of leadership and, although I can’t yet vote, I can say that he will never, ever, receive a vote from me in the future and that the sooner we replace the man as our Senator with someone of substance, the better.

Whoever each party nominates, the candidates and media will be back in Florida before the election in November. And when that happens we must demand that the media and each candidate deeply discuss their views on global warming, climate change and sea level rise.

If we have any doubt that rising seas are a problem in our community, click here to see an article from today’s Miami Herald about the emergency measures that the City of Miami Beach is making because of this growing problem. And if you have any doubts that this is a global problem, click here to read an article about how Alaskan kayak tour outfitters are worried that the glaciers that they guide visitors to see will be gone within just a couple of years.

Now, allow me to end with a few more numbers…

2015

The hottest year on record in 136 years of data.

2045

The year in which it is predicted that seas may have risen by as much as 2 to 3 feet.

2100

The year in which it is predicted that seas could rise anywhere between 6 and 10 feet, if not higher.

It’s time to get started solving the problem and the next American President needs to help us (please) lead the way. Spending more than a few minutes on the topic in coming debates and months would be a good way to start. We and our planet deserve more than the 9½ minutes they collectively spent on it this week. Our country deserves nothing less and our planet, as well as my generation, demand it.

2016 Florida Democratic Primary, 2016 Florida Republican Primary, 2016 Presidential Election, Bernie Sanders, Climate Change, CNN, CO2, Delaney Reynolds, Democrat, Democratic National Party, Donald Trump, Eco Warrior, Florida Primaries, Global Warming, Hillary Clinton, Independent, John Kasich, March 9th Presidential Debate, Marco Rubio, Miami, Miami Herald, miamiecowarrior, miamisearise, Miamisearise.com, Politics, Republican, Republican National Party, Sea Level Rise, Sea Rise, South Florida Politics, South Miami, State of Florida, Ted Cruz, The Sink or Swim Project, Univison

If I Only Had A Brain

March 7, 2016 DReynolds

“I could while away the hours

*Conferrin’ with the flowers***

Consultin’ with the rain.

And my head I’d be scratchin’

While my thoughts were busy hatchin’

If I only had a brain.”

Let me start by stating the obvious. I’m only sixteen and I’m not old enough to vote. Heck, I do not have a political affiliation, but unlike the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, I do have a brain and my brain leads me to wonder if most of the politicians running for president either have one or are willing to use the one that they have.

Frankly, it does not matter to me if our next president is a Democrat, Republican, or Independent. What does matter to me is that whoever gets elected to the highest office in our government is dedicated to lead our country, and the world, to make the critical changes that are needed in order to both slow and stop global warming and sea level rise before places like South Florida disappear, underwater, forever.

The way the Presidential candidates are acting by avoiding this topic suggests they might not have or be using their brain. How else can one explain the lack of conversation in nearly any of the political debates thus far? The lack of questions from the mass media in these ‘debates’ also makes me wonder what they are thinking, or if they are thinking, or well, if they have a brain so to speak. How else can anyone explain so little discussion or debate or even questions on an issue that’s this important to our nation and the world?

In my view, the candidate that paints a vision for a future that does not rely on fossil fuels, a future where a place like the “Sunshine State” can become the “Solar State” (and in the process generate most of our power from solar power), a future where he or she inspires our country’s creative minds to find innovative solutions to our power needs like President Kennedy once did when announcing that America would find a way to put people on the moon in just a few short years, and someone that generally makes solving climate change and sea level rise one of his or her top priorities is a candidate that I am confident tens of millions of voters will be inspired by and vote for.

Sadly, the presidential debates for both parties have had little to no discussion about the candidates’ views on climate change. This week, here in Florida, that must change for many reasons including:

1) Voters and children of voters, including children in my generation who will soon inherit this growing global problem, deserve answers and desperately want solutions.

2) By the time that I am about 60 years of age, in about 45 years, scientists predict that seas will rise three feet, if not higher, here in South Florida. Three feet of sea level rise in a place like South Florida that is already close to sea level will be catastrophic in places like the Florida Keys, Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, the Everglades, and others.

3) Many local communities including Pinecrest, South Miami, and Miami Beach are forced to lead the way in seeking solutions while our state’s governor and many of the people running for president stand by and do or say absolutely nothing. Miami Beach, for example, is in the process of spending $ 450 Million on a pumping system to remove the salty sea water that has covered many of its streets in recent years, and yet that is only the start of the solutions that that island community will need if it is going to survive.

If these local communities and their thoughtful leaders understand that we can’t wait to start seeking solutions and changing, then how is it that these supposedely educated people running for President avoid and deny the topic? I apologize for being so direct, but I have to ask whether they are stupid or just protecting the same industries and approaches that have caused this problem by pumping carbon into our atmosphere and oceans? And while we are at it why is the media not making a bigger issue of all of this for all of us?

Does Marco Rubio, for example, a former City Councilman from the City of West Miami, not care about this in his own community? Does he not care about his children’s future here in South Florida? How else can you explain how often he deines the role man has played over time in causing sea level rise or his lack of a vision to address this problem in a meaningful way? He’s either protecting his special interest supporters or not using his brain, but either is unacceptable.

4) According to the Army Corps of Engingeers, it is predicted that within 29 years the City of Key West will be subject to 15 inches of sea level rise above today’s levels and that it will suffer from flooded streets covered in salt water 300 days per year.

5) According to the World Resources Institute, Miami has the largest amount of exposed assets and the fourth-largest population vulnerable to sea-level rise in the world. Most experts estimate that updwards of $100 Billion (and growing) of property in South Florida is at risk from sea level rise over the next few decades.

6) According to NOAA, 2015 was the warmest year on record in 136 years of data breaking the record set just one year earlier in 2014.

I could go on and on with more scientific facts and figures, but the point is that the world’s climate is changing, that humans have played a significant role and in a place like South Florida sea levels are rising more each year. Our country and the world desperately needs a leader that understands that this is a serious issue that is not going away and is, in fact, accelerating to the point that it will soon change entire communities, enviroments and lives forever if the citizens of the world don’t act and if our leader’s don’t lead. Republican Debate

This week’s Republican debate on the campus of the University of Miami, as well as the Democratic debate at Miami Dade College, offers each candidate and the media a unique opportunity to take a deep dive into the topic of climate change. There is nowhere in the United States of America where the topic of global warming, and especially sea level rise, is more important than here in South Florida.

The time has come for the media to demand that each candidate express their views on global warming and sea level rise, whether it is a concern that they will address if elected, and if so, answer how they will lead our country and our community in the future as we strive to solve the coming catastrophe. Voters and viewers of all ages deserve nothing less than a robust debate so that we can all understand the candidates views and decide who is best able to lead our country and the world on this very important topic.

Here’s to hoping that CNN and Univision will demand real answers about what each candidate will do to help America address our planet’s warming climate and rising temperatures before it’s too late and in doing so that some of the candidates will stop acting like the Scarecrow who sings…

“I’d unravel every riddle

For any individual

In trouble or in pain.

With the thoughts you’ll be thinkin’

You could be another Lincoln

If you only had a brain.

Oh, I could tell you why the ocean’s near the shore.

I could think of things I never thunk before

And then I’d sit and think some more.

I would not be just a nothin’

My head all full of stuffin’

My heart all full of pain.