John Schwartz and Richard Fausset, The New York Times; North Carolina, Warned of Rising Seas, Chose to Favor Development
[Kip Currier: Food for thought for all stakeholders (--particularly anyone, anywhere, concerned and involved with matters of scientific research, data, modeling, ethics, law, and policy--) as the Carolinas prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Florence.
The article's takeaway insight is in the last three sentences, excerpted and highlighted in bold below.]
"The leading scientific model used to
forecast storm surge and its effect on coastal areas, known as Adcirc,
was created in large part by Rick Luettich, director of the institute of
marine sciences at the University of North Carolina.
In
a telephone interview during a break from boarding up the windows of
his home in Morehead City, on the coast, Mr. Luettich noted that before
2012, the state pursued progressive policies that put it in the
forefront of coastal management. When the legislature pushed back
against the clear scientific evidence underlying climate change, he
said, “it came as a shock.”
There is a lesson in that, he said.
[Bold and red added for emphasis] “The
process of converting scientific research into policy is one that we
take for granted at times,” Mr. Luettich said. “What we learned is that
you can’t take that for granted. We need to have a closer dialogue with
policymakers, to make sure we’re on the same page.”
