Having a summer home along the Eastern Shore in Maryland, I wanted to find information in the news about rising sea levels along the coast of Maryland. In a new report on sea level rise explains that Maryland should plan for a sea level rise of 2 feet by 2050. This report was produced by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science as a response to Governor O’Malley’s Executive Order on Climate Change and “Coast Smart” Construction. The Governor made a statement on the issue of sea level rise saying, “we must stay abreast of the latest climate science to ensure that we have a sound understanding of our vulnerability and are making informed decisions about how best to protect our land, infrastructure, and most importantly, the citizens of Maryland.” Much like in the lab for this week, this report includes maps predicting the 2ft, 4ft, and 6ft flood projections for the coast of Maryland. Due to the fact Maryland has 3,100 mils of tidal shoreline and low lying rural and urban lands that could potentially be impacted. The reports experts’ best estimate for the amount of sea-level rise in 2050 is 1.4ft. The estimates are based on different contributors to sea level rise such as thermal expansion of ocean, melting glaciers in Greenland and Antarctic, changing ocean dynamics such as the slowing of the Gulf Stream, and vertical land movement. To combat this issue, Governor O’Malley established the Maryland Commission on Climate Change on April 20, 2007. Just 5 year later, O’Malley ordered an executive order that requires State agencies to consider the risk of coastal flooding and sea level rise to capital projects. Since then, the Department of the Environment and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have updated Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Having a house in Rock Hall, Maryland, I was directly affected by this executive order. My family’s insurance has changed based on these maps since the executive order was made. Sea level rise is only one impact from climate change on the Chesapeake Bay which is the water my house sits just 10 feet from. Other influences include algae blooms, desalinization, and sea surface temperature rises. All create a scary outlook for my summer home but there is time for mitigation, preservation, and conservation to decrease the vulnerability along the coast.

Reference: “Sea Level Rise Projections for Maryland.” Sea Level Rise Projections for Maryland. University Of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.umces.edu/sea-level>.