As Maine's sea level rises about one inch every six years, lawmakers in the state have introduced a bill allowing sea walls to be raised by at most two feet.
Water levels rise as the Earth warms and glaciers melt. Glacier melting is a major climate issue. Greenhouse gas pollution produced by humans is primarily to blame for global warming over the last century. As the Earth heats, ice sheets, caps, and glaciers melt and add volume to bodies of water.
When substantial changes have not been made, glaciers have melted at an alarmingly fast rate. In fact, the speed at which they melt doubled between 2001 and 2021. Concerningly, the speed at which sea levels are rising in the Gulf of Maine is two and a half times faster than it has been in the last century.
This new bill aims to protect Maine's population and infrastructure from flooding and shoreline erosion. When sea levels rise and coastal towns and cities flood, people can lose their homes, jobs, and protection from storms.
State Rep. Bob Foley introduced this bill to keep coastal Maine safe from these threats. He said it was inspired by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection's decision to allow wharves and docks to be raised by two feet after last year's intense storms. These changes aim to protect citizens and land from the rising seas, which will be beneficial for a time. However, sea levels are still rising.
To combat global warming and slow the rise of sea levels, the world needs to reduce its use of fossil fuels. Thirty-one percent of carbon dioxide emissions come from motor vehicles, so reducing time spent in a car by walking, bicycling, or taking public transportation is one way to do your part to protect the planet, its water, and its creatures. Electric vehicles can also help.
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While raising sea walls will not fix the issue at hand, it is a viable solution for an occurrence that cannot be reversed, only helped.
"During last year's storms, waves simply rolled over the tops of sea walls, damaging the property behind them while washing hundreds of cubic yards of sand, rocks and debris off the beaches and into the properties and the roadways," Foley told a legislative committee, per the Portland Press Herald.
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