Hats off to our local officials who came out in force Feb. 11 to learn more and inspire the packed room of concerned citizens about the costs of sea level rise and climate change for our area.
Mayors Becker (Lewes), Voveris (South Bethany) and Cooke (Dewey Beach), along with town commissioners Gary Persinger and Diane Hanson from Dewey Beach, and Stan Mills and Kathy McGuiness from Rehoboth Beach attended the gathering. They were joined by environmental leaders Kathy Phillips and Matt Heim from the Assateague Coastal Trust (ACT) and Rob Rector from the MERR Institute in watching the sea level rise film, "Facing the Surge."
Filmmaker Diogo Freire attended to lead the discussion following the screening. Freire started the Adaptation Now project in 2014 (http://www.adaptationnow.com/facing-the-surge/) to increase awareness about climate change and to empower citizens to take action.
He participated in 60 screenings from Maine to Florida during his 2016 Coastal Tour and is currently working on a new film, Saving Snow, addressing the impacts of climate change on winter sports.
The event was organized by the nonpartisan group Citizens Climate Lobby of Lower Delaware, and co-sponsored by the Center for Inland Bays, along with MERR Institute and ACT.
Also, a tip of the hat to the Dewey Beach staff for making the Lifesaving Station and video equipment available to us and for being wonderful hosts.
We also appreciate those who came out on a nippy Saturday to watch the film and learn about policy solutions to curbing climate change such as putting a fee on polluting carbon/global warming emissions and returning 100 percent of the fee to every American household in the form of a dividend.
Those who want to attend future events and learn more about the revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend approach to addressing climate change should contact charliegarlow350@gmail.com.
Joan Flaherty
Citizens Climate Lobby of Lower Delaware
Rehoboth Beach