DeepSummary
The podcast episode discusses the impacts of sea level rise in coastal cities like Charleston, South Carolina and Norfolk, Virginia. It explores how past practices of land reclamation and filling in wetlands and creeks have exacerbated flooding problems. The episode highlights the disproportionate impact on marginalized communities like public housing residents and heirs' properties owned by Black families.
Green infrastructure solutions like restoring marshlands and designing parks to absorb floodwaters are presented as potential ways forward. However, the concept of 'managed retreat' or relocating people away from high-risk areas is acknowledged as a complex and sensitive issue that needs to be addressed thoughtfully and equitably.
Overall, the episode underscores the urgency of the situation, the need to learn from past mistakes, and the importance of finding solutions that not only mitigate flooding but also address environmental injustices and prioritize the most vulnerable communities.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Past land development practices like filling in wetlands and creeks have contributed to increased flooding in coastal cities.
- Sea level rise is disproportionately impacting marginalized communities, such as public housing residents and heirs' properties owned by Black families.
- Green infrastructure solutions like restoring marshlands and designing parks to absorb floodwaters offer potential ways to mitigate flooding.
- The concept of 'managed retreat' or relocating people from high-risk areas is a complex and sensitive issue that needs to be addressed thoughtfully and equitably.
- Floodwaters can contain various contaminants, posing potential health risks to residents.
- There is an urgent need to acknowledge past mistakes, prioritize vulnerable communities, and find innovative, equitable solutions to address sea level rise.
- Environmental injustice is a critical factor, as marginalized communities often bear the brunt of flooding due to past development decisions that prioritized other neighborhoods.
- Finding solutions requires atoning for past mistakes, embracing green infrastructure, and acknowledging the disproportionate impact on Black communities and those without the means to relocate.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “We're not going to be able to wall in the world from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. We're just not.“ by Mark Welbert
- “A lot of people throw around the word retreat, but my thing is you can't throw around the word retreat if you don't have a plan for everyone.“ by Al George
- “We don't know the whole suite of contaminants we're introducing, but really, if it's raining or flooding, people should just know, don't go in the water because there will be in it. Literally. It's just gross.“ by Margie Mulholland
- “My plan was, I'll just remodel it some so when I retire, everything's good and I can do what I want. And then the water came and it changes everything.“ by Karen Spates
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Episode Information
Broken Ground
Southern Environmental Law Center
9/23/20
Find out what we learned about sea level rise in the South. Who will be hit the hardest? What can we do? How can we navigate a path forward?