Military installations across Central Florida are economically important to local communities.
As climate change poses a growing threat, there are concerns about how those military installations will be impacted.
Rising seas threaten infrastructure while warming temperatures pressure outdoor productivity. This affects communities where military installations are a vital part of the economy.
Dale Ketcham of Space Florida says the Space Coast is uniquely vulnerable as home to the Kennedy Space Center, a crucial gateway for government and commercial space flight.
“If you look down, if you take satellite imagery, you can see the ocean is dramatically encroaching on launch pad 46, and so we have to go through a lot of exercises to figure out how do we protect that.”
The Biden administration released several reports last week on climate change and national security. The United Nations climate conference COP26 got underway over the weekend.
