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Many Worry About Rising Sea Levels In The Northeast

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Resting on the Massachusetts coast, Scituate has seen its fair share of storms. (David W. Siu/Flickr)
Resting on the Massachusetts coast, Scituate has seen its fair share of storms. (David W. Siu/Flickr)

Residents living on the Massachusetts coast rely on seawalls to keep the angry ocean at bay. But the man-made barriers aren't impenetrable, as Scituate residents learned after the Christmas-weekend storm in December. The powerful winter storm flooded streets and houses and caused millions of dollars in damage, including to Scituate's vital seawall.

As Boston Globe environmental reporter Beth Daley wrote in Sunday's newspaper, coastal storm surges like the one in December could become all the more dangerous in future decades as the ocean level rise thanks to global temperature increases. Meanwhile, the state's first line of defense — seawall barriers — are growing older.

Guest:

  • Beth Daley, environmental reporter, Boston Globe

More:

This program aired on April 4, 2011.

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