14 DAY TRIAL // In an unprecedented move, California's Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, urged state agencies to compile a thorough report by the end of 2010, detailing the possible effects of sea level rise on habitats across the large border that the state has with the Pacific Ocean. The coast line stretches uninterrupted for more than 800 miles (some 1290 kilometers), so the threat that rising water poses is very real, and state authorities apparently don't want to be caught off-guard.
"Given the serious threat of sea level rise to California’s water supply, population and our economy, it’s critically important that we make sure the state is prepared. We have to adapt the way we work and plan in order to manage the impacts and challenges that California and our entire planet face from climate change," said Schwarzenegger, in a written press release.
"California must begin now to adapt and build our resiliency to coming climate changes through a thoughtful and sensible approach with local, regional, state and federal government using the best available science," Executive Order S-13-08 added. Furthermore, the governor urged architects and construction experts to also account for predicted sea level rises when building new infrastructure, such as roads and bridges.
"The longer that California delays planning and adapting to sea level rise the more expensive and difficult adaptation will be," Schwarzenegger said. The National Academy of Sciences will be in charge of the new survey, aimed at identifying structural vulnerabilities throughout the state, places that will be the first affected in case of rising water levels.
Environmentalists and ecologists saluted the new measure and said that such aggressive stances must be employed by state authorities nation-wide. Such approaches tackle climate change and sea level rise even before they can inflict major damage. This course of action was prompted because water in California already rose by 7 inches, over the last century, and an even greater increase is expected over the next century as well.