Big Ideas Float on the Eastern Seaboard
In 2017 the state of Maine made the largest commitment of any U.S. state to wind power — 1600 megawatts are anticipated from a massive installation of wind turbines more than 14 miles offshore of Martha’s Vineyard. The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center claims this coast has some of the best wind speeds in the world.
Here’s another future-thinking project on the Eastern Seaboard: The New Hampshire Coastal Action Workgroup has a comprehensive plan to help homeowners worldwide whose dwellings are threatened by extreme weather and rising seas. Since 2009 the collaboration of 24 groups has spearheaded over 100 projects promoting resilience for coastal New Hampshire. These are “living shoreline” projects that use natural materials to stabilize, protect from surges and expand storage for flood water. Living shorelines provide habitat and are more adaptable than “hardened shoreline” such as seawalls.
If you’ve been looking for an opportunity to visit New Hampshire, consider attending the Coastal Climate Summit on June 20 to learn the many paths toward coastal resilience. You can find out more at NHCAW.org.
Moving down the coast, we find another great sea project happening in Key Largo. We’ve all heard about the endangered coral ecosystems around the world. Maybe you’ve watched the Netflix documentary Chasing Coral. One solution has taken off at the at the Coral Restoration Foundation. Ecologists are restoring these Rainforests of the Sea by farming colonies of endangered coral. Divers suspend finger-sized fragments of coral in the sunny, nutrient-dense Florida seas. In 6 to 9 months colonies of coral have grown large enough to be planted onto the Florida Reef Tract — the third largest barrier coral reef in the world. The planted coral thickets are now spawning naturally, a sign that the plan works.
You’re invited to celebrate the success at a soiree on April 28. Details about the Foundation’s 6th Annual Gala, dubbed “Raise the Reef,” can be found online at CoralRestoration.org.
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Solutions in Sustainability celebrates 2018 — International Year of the Reef. This story is the text version of radioBANG episode 1803, available on SoundCloud.com.
