The residents of Virginia’s Hampton Roads and Tidewater areas are well aware of the dangers that climate change and sea level rise present to them and their communities. Not because they see it on TV or read about it in their local newspaper, but because they are living with the constant fear that their neighborhood could be underwater tomorrow.
A Norfolk resident and passionate CCAN volunteer, Bob Baxter, shared his fears with me just last week: “Twice in two years, I’ve had to help my neighbor clean out a flooded home… If the water rises seven more feet, as scientists say could happen in coming decades, then my house will be in danger as well. Something has to be done.”
Hampton Roads is the most populous region in the Commonwealth and home to the nation’s largest navy base. It’s also second only to New Orleans as the U.S. population center most at risk from rising sea levels. But there is currently no legislation on the books that goes beyond studying the issue of coastal flooding to implementing solutions. That is simply reckless and unacceptable.
On Monday, January 26th, over 40 residents of coastal Virginia (including myself) woke up at 6:00 AM to drive to Richmond and let their representatives know that there is no more time for procrastination: we need to act now! These amazing activists were participants in the Virginia Conservation Network’s (VCN) 2015 Conservation Lobby Day. We came from every major city near the coast to urge our representatives to support the Virginia Coastal Protection Act (HB 2205/SB 1428). This bipartisan bill will raise urgently needed funds for coastal flooding protection measures by joining Virginia into a nine-state regional system for capping carbon emissions.
Even though we were met by dreary weather conditions in the morning, the event was an amazing success. We started the day with very constructive meetings with delegates and state senators from both parties. It was truly powerful to witness so many coastal residents explain to their representatives how coastal flooding is a real problem within their districts at this very moment. Our incredible volunteers were not only voicing their concerns, but also standing up for hundreds of thousands of coastal residents, and I truly believe that the General Assembly was forced to recognize that on Monday.
If the day had ended there, then I could already call it a success. But we still had more work to do in Richmond! After a whirlwind morning full of lobbying in the General Assembly office buildings, a few coastal residents joined Mike Tidwell (CCAN’s Executive Director) and I for a meeting with Virginia’s Chief Resilience Officer, Brian Moran, and a couple other members of Governor Terry McAuliffe’s administration.
This meeting allowed some of our most active volunteers a chance to share their stories with a representative of the executive branch. Mike also laid out the benefits of the policy for them and we had a positive discussion on the next steps. It was an added bonus that Secretary Moran is the Co-Chair of the Governor’s Climate Change and Resiliency Update Commission, so he understood the importance of taking immediate and swift action against climate change. So, by shortly after lunchtime, we had lobbied multiple coastal General Assembly members and an important member of the Governor’s administration: I’d say that’s well worth a couple hours on I-64!
The Conservation Lobby Day was a very important step in the movement towards commonsense legislation that will enable Virginia to meet the coming EPA Clean Power standards and provide substantial revenue for coastal flooding adaptation. However, we are still in the middle of a sprint towards the end of the General Assembly session and the passage of the Virginia Coastal Protection Act.
If you really want to see our legislators take this problem seriously, call your state delegate and let him or her know how important the Coastal Protection Act (HB 2205/SB 1428) is!
After that, it’s time to take the next step: e-mail me at harrison@chesapeakeclimate.org to find out how you can get more involved. After all, our future depends on it.