Virginia isn’t prepared for rising sea, study warns

Virginia stands to lose more from rising sea levels than almost any other state on the East Coast but is doing the least to understand and combat the problem, a new study concludes.

In a report released Wednesday, the Norfolk-based environmental group Wetlands Watch cites existing scientific estimates that between 50 and 80 percent of the state's tidal wetlands, coastal dunes and beaches could disappear under rising waters over the next 100 years.

If unchecked, such losses could be catastrophic, the group describes - enough to "negate any progress made towardrestoration of the Chesapeake Bay's ecosystem." Former Gov. Jim Gil-more, who is now a Republican presidential candidate, signed the Chesapeake Bay Agreements in 2000 that, among other actions, committed Virginia to "evaluate the potential impact of climate change on the Chesapeake Bay watershed, particularly with respect to its wetlands, and consider potential management options."

That has never occurred.

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