Racing the Rising Tide: Preparing for Sea Level Rise Along Georgia’s Coast

Abstract

This paper explores sea level rise’s impact on Georgia’s coast, in terms of both the built and natural environments. Global warming will continue to raise sea levels around the world as the atmosphere warms and glaciers melt at an increasingly alarming pace. Sea level rise has far-reaching impacts on the environment, economy and social cohesion of a community. Fiscally, governments may be forced to spend substantial sums of money on emergency response, insurance payouts, and rebuilding flooded infrastructure. Economic activities may be disrupted and communities torn apart. These are just a few of the problems associated with sea level rise, and are a few of the problems sought to be addressed by coastal hazard planning. Specifically, some issues raised in this paper include: (1) How should governments prepare for sea level rise and coastal flooding at the federal, state and local levels?; (2) Are the land use control tools sought to be employed by local governments legally defensible and economically feasible for a government?; (3) Which tools may be most effective in adapting to sea level rise along Georgia’s coast?