Public News Service: "Report: Rising Sea Levels to Impact Chesapeake Bay Region's Economy"
A piece syndicated across Virginia radio stations discusses a new RFF report about job loss due to Chesapeake Bay sea level rise.
A new report finds rising sea levels in Chesapeake Bay will cost the surrounding regions jobs.
The Resources for the Future report finds, in Virginia's Chesapeake Bay area, almost 180,000 - or 7.4% of jobs in the region - will be exposed to 100-year floods by 2050.
In turn, this means $6.1 billion in wage income is at risk during the same period.
Of Virginia's 134 counties, 42 will be impacted by rising sea levels by 2050.
Yanjun "Penny" Liao, a fellow with Resources for the Future and a co-author of the report, said some state-level solutions involve better coordination between resilience planning and economic-development incentives.
"So, in order for the economy to adapt to increasing risk in some of these highly exposed areas, it's important to structure what the grants are doing," said Liao. "And, don't put it in the most exposed places."
