California will face billions of dollars in spending to cope with the consequences of rising sea levels if low-lying communities along the coast are ultimately submerged, as scientists predict, Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday.
Browns remarks came a day after the release of two studies finding that a slow-motion and irreversible collapse of a massive cluster of glaciers in Antarctica has begun and could cause sea levels to rise worldwide by four feet within 200 years.
"If that happens, the Los Angeles airport's going to be underwater," Brown told reporters at a presentation of his revised state budget proposal in Los Angeles. "So is the San Francisco airport."
Also underwater, he added, would be the San Onofre nuclear power plant.
"Youre going to have to move all that," Brown said. "Thats billions, if not tens of billions. Luckily, we can take a few years." He joked: "Maybe my next years budget will handle that."
Class, let's see if we all understand this mystery of nature. Water moves uphill and defeats the law of gravity.
Sea level to the LA Airport is about 125 feet, give or take high or low tide. Newton's law of gravity is no longer true. The democrats say it is so. Is that about it? I'm selling and...
As Brown reviewed highlights of his revised $156.2-billion spending proposal for the fiscal year starting July 1, he stressed plans to pay down state debt, expand healthcare coverage and shore up the teachers' retirement system to prevent it from running out of money.
Brown says rising sea levels could force costly move of LAX*-*Los Angeles Times
