Living Shoreline Campaign on St. Pete Beach
By Hanna Panagrossi & Zoe McGrath Why Did We Do it? As residents of St. Petersburg, Florida, we recognize that our white sand beaches and crystal clear ocean are some of the biggest draws to tourists and people looking to move to the area. We also recognize as a seaside town, we are going to experience some of the fastest and most devastating effects of sea level rise brought on by climate change. We felt that it was our responsibility, as residents, to advocate for the protection and preservation of our beach town. With that, we embarked on this campaign with the hope to enact change strong enough to keep our town safe enough for future generations to enjoy. What is a Living Shoreline? Sea level has been increasing at about 3.3 mm each year in since the early 1990s. The rising sea level can largely be attributed to increasing global temperatures; the warmer temperatures cause thermal expansion of the water and are melting land ice which adds input to the sea level. Different ...