Florida A&M University College of Law Scholarly Commons @ FAMU Law Lectures and Presentations Center for International Law and Justice (CILJ) 1-27-2016 The Injustice of Sea Level Rise: Ethics and Evidence, Lies and Liability--Slides and Data Presentation Professor Keith Rizzardi St. Thomas University Follow this and additional works at: http://commons.law.famu.edu/cilj-lectures-pres Part of the Administrative Law Commons, Environmental Law Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, Law of the Sea Commons, and the Water Law Commons Recommended Citation Rizzardi, Professor Keith, "The Injustice of Sea Level Rise: Ethics and Evidence, Lies and Liability--Slides and Data Presentation" (2016). Lectures and Presentations. Book 8. http://commons.law.famu.edu/cilj-lectures-pres/8 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for International Law and Justice (CILJ) at Scholarly Commons @ FAMU Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lectures and Presentations by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons @ FAMU Law. For more information, please contact linda.barrette@famu.edu.
The Injustice of Sea Level Rise: Ethics & Evidence, Lies & Liability Keith W. Rizzardi Associate Professor St. Thomas University School of Law
South Florida 1995 CR EMBAYMENT ZONE OF HIGHER TIDES TP CS Sea level rise images courtesy of Dr. Harold Wanless, Chair, Dept. of Geological Sciences, Univ. of Miami
+2 foot rise (mhhw = +4.5 above 1929 MSL) CR TP CS Sea level rise images courtesy of Dr. Harold Wanless, Chair, Dept. of Geological Sciences, Univ. of Miami
Tamiami Trail +4 foot rise (mhhw = +6.5 above 1929 MSL) Sea level rise images courtesy of Dr. Harold Wanless, Chair, Dept. of Geological Sciences, Univ. of Miami
Tamiami Trail +5 foot rise (mhhw = +7.5 above 1929 MSL) Sea level rise images courtesy of Dr. Harold Wanless, Chair, Dept. of Geological Sciences, Univ. of Miami
1. ETHICS? Ask hard questions.
Miami Skyline, 2014 LINK
High tides now regularly flood parts of Miami Beach, Florida
High Tide on Main Street, Miami Peak high tide trend from 1998 through 2014 Dr. Zhaohua Wu, FSU
Daily decisions Planning & zoning Building & landscape architecture Water management & permitting Investment & financing
Architects Engineers Lawyers Planners Realtors
State Bar Code of Professional Conduct Lawyers may not (a) make a false statement of material fact or law to a third person; or (b) fail to disclose a [material?] fact to a third person when disclosure is necessary to avoid assisting a criminal or fraudulent act by a client See, e.g. [Florida &] Virginia version of ABA rule 4.1
American Institute of Certified Planners Certified planners shall not deliberately or with reckless indifference fail to provide adequate, timely, clear and accurate information on planning issues. Code Of Ethics And Prof l Conduct B.1 (2009),
American Institute of Architects Architects shall not counsel or assist a client in conduct that the architect knows, or reasonably should know, is fraudulent or illegal, nor engage in conduct involving the wanton disregard of the rights of others [and] shall not knowingly make false statements of material fact. Code of Ethics & Prof. Conduct, Rules 2.104 and 2.106, 4.103 (2012)
National Association of Realtors Realtors shall avoid exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction. CODE OF ETHICS, Art. 2 (2012)
American Society of Civil Engineers Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties [with] zero tolerance for bribery, fraud, and corruption. CODE OF ETHICS, Canons 1, 6
2. EVIDENCE? Climate Science 101
Weather? I m not a scientist?
I m not a scientist? Weather? Hurricanes?
Million Metric Tons of Carbon Global Carbon Emissions from Fossil Fuels 9000 6750 4500 2250 Data: U.S. Department of Energy/CDIAC 0 1850 1875 1900 1925 1950 1975 2000
Global Temperature ( C) Global Temperature by Decade 1881 2010 14.5 14.2 14.0 Average 13.7 13.4 Data: World Meteorological Organization, The Global Climate 2001-2010, A Decade of Climate Extremes Summary Report," Fig. 1, 2013
GLACIERS: Before and After
Evaporation Precipitation The Hydrological Cycle Sources: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy; Getty Images; Pond5 Water Returns to the Sea
Heat Content (10 22 Joules) 20 Global Ocean Heat Content 1955 2014 15 10 5 0-5 -10 5 year average, 0-2000 m depth 1 year average through 2014 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2014 Data: NOAA/NESDIS/NODC Ocean Climate Laboratory, updated from Levitus, S., et al., World ocean heat content and thermosteric sea level change (0-2000), 1955-2010, Geophys. Res. Lett. 39, doi:10.1029/2012gl051106, 2012. 2012 American Geophysical Union. Reproduced/modified by permission of American Geophysical Union.
3. LIES? Policy and / or fantasy?
[Florida Department of Environmental Protection] officials have been ordered not to use the term climate change or global warming in any official communications, emails, or reports Miami Herald (Mar. 8, 2015)
Climate change: the thing that shall not be named
Climate change: the thing that shall not be named
2030 2050 2060 2100 Common Region / Different Approaches 60 60 Sea Level Rise (inches) 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 Key West Sea Level Broward CCTF Science and Technical Subcommittee Projection (2009) Miami-Dade CCATF Projection (2008) SFWMD Projection for 2060 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (June 2009) 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 Sea Level Rise (inches) 0 0-5 -5-10 -10 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100 Increasing Uncertainty
North Carolina: HB 819 (2011) 113A-107.1. (a)the General Assembly does not intend to mandate the development of sea-level policy or the definition of rates of sea-level change for regulatory purposes.
North Carolina: HB 819 (2011) Sec. 2 The Coastal Resources Commission and the Division of Coastal Management of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall not define rates of sealevel change for regulatory purposes prior to July 1, 2016.
Scientific disagreement
Scientific denial
4. LIABILITY: Who can I sue?
SLR: the preview New Orleans after Katrina
ATLANTIC SURGING, VIRGINIA SINKING
American Society of Civil Engineers
Food 2000 2050 2090
Fisheries
Transportation A1A Fort Lauderdale after Sandy
(IN)JUSTICE? and legal opportunity
SLR: the preview New Orleans after Katrina
FRAUD? Knowing Misrepresentation [Material] fact Causing detrimental reliance
ISSUE SPOTTING? Claims Plaintiffs FEES, TOO! Defendants Defenses Remedies
the deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet: Both everyday experience and scientific research show that the gravest effects of all attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest. Encyclical Letter of the Holy Father Francis On Care for our Common Home June 18, 2015
High tide, Marshall Islands, Majuro Atoll (2011)
Art.3 Art.9 Right to live, liberty, security No arbitrary exile Art.12 No arbitrary interference with home Art. 13 Freedom of residency Art. 17 No arbitrary deprivation of property Art. 25 Right to adequate standard of living Art. 28 Right to realize the rights in the UDHR
CLIMATE REFUGEES: International immigration law? U.S. Compacts of Free Association Republic of the Marshall Islands Federated States of Micronesia Republic of Palau Alien Acts of Finland & Sweden Victims of environmental disaster
WHAT CAN I DO?
Study
Inform
Adapt
Retreat
Lead