Panel Discussion: Global Warming and Sea Level Rise:What it means to the Everglades and Us

For most of its history, that massive rain-fed series of wetlands, lakes and rivers we call the Everglades flowed from just below Orlando and through Lake Okeechobee south to the tip of the Florida peninsula, as well as east and west towards the coasts. More than a century's worth of extensive urban and agricultural development has not only reduced the wetlands' size in half, but fertilizer from upstream agricultural areas has polluted the water, degraded the ecosystem and harmed wildlife in the remaining Everglades.

Sea Level Rise - The projected increase of sea level rise affects both the natural areas and developed areas of the Everglades.  In our coastal cities, sea level rise will increase the pressures for flood control and water supply on a system already strained to the breaking point.   In the natural areas of the Everglades, saltwater encroachment into freshwater marshes will cause rapid retreat of coastal mashes.  Everglades restoration is our best hope of keeping the Everglades wet and holding back the saltwater invasion.

Dr. Stephen Edward Davis III, a native of Ohio, graduated from Georgetown College in 1993 with a B.S. degree in biology and environmental science. He then received a M.S. degree in biological and environmental science from Morehead State University in 1995, and he attained his PhD from Florida International University in 1999 with ecological research focused on Everglades mangrove biogeochemistry. In his role as the Everglades Foundation’s Ecologist, Davis draws upon his research and teaching experience that dates back two decades - - most recently at Texas A&M University where he was Associate Professor of wetland ecology. Among his Foundation duties, Davis leads science efforts focused on Everglades restoration, ecological forecasting of restoration scenarios, and impact of sea-level rise.
     

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EVERGLADES FOUNDATION