I’ve come to Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world.
It launches some of the military’s most important combat missions
to places like Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.
Governor, this is the second most vulnerable area, next to New Orleans,
in terms of the sea level rise.
Right now, our best estimate is approximately a two-foot rise
by the year 2050.
Two feet?
Exactly.
The major thoroughfare coming into the base would be
under water anywhere from two to three hours every single day.
That’s on normal days.
But the thing that really concerns us is the probability of storms.
It can increase sea level rise by four, five, six or more feet.
We get a Category 1 storm here,
we’re already putting our piers under water.
So, you get a Cat. 2 storm and half the base is now under water.
At least 18 other major naval bases, critical to our defense
are at serious risk.
Not 50 years from now, but today.
And the only real solution to sea level rise is
curbing fossil fuels.
I’m sure when you started, you never
thought about that you’d get to deal one day with the
challenge of global warming, sea levels rise, right?
Right.
With a threat from nature?
Throughout my career, somebody that came up flying airplanes early on,
it was probably something that I didn’t give a whole lot of thought to—
Right.
But these days I give a lot of thought to it.
If we don’t start now, in 20 years
we’ll be looking back, and we’ll be saying, “Why didn’t we?”
Why didn’t we listen to the science and the engineers?
Climate change is happening and we need to plan for it.
I mean, here is a Vice Admiral with 40 years in the Navy
warning that we have got to act quickly.
Our leaders are now warning that our oil addition is gravely threatening our national security.
But do we have the will and the way to end this dangerous addiction?
