How climate change could sink NJ’s tax base — and not just at the Shore

October 3, 2022 | njspotlightnews.org

As flooding associated with rising seas and intensifying rainfall gets worse, a hidden danger lurks, one that threatens to crimp the ability of New Jersey’s coastal towns to fund their essential operations.

NJ SEED: NJ is often cited for overreliance on property taxes and the rising of the seas seems to add to that claim especially for costal municipalities. The last ice age ended about 12,000 years ago and land ice has been melting ever since. Climate has been continuously changing from the time earth was formed to today and into the infinite future. As climate changes occur humans adopt. The current rate of sea rise is about 1 to 1.4 inches per decade. While maybe not time to begin building arks, it is time to begin planning for how to mitigate coastal flooding and saltwater intrusion into groundwater reserves. Perhaps it’s time to send a delegation to Holland to learn how to reclaim land from the sea.