Posting #3
Topic: Leaders
Title of Article: Feinstein, business leaders, say new levees urgently needed to keep Silicon Valley above water
Author: Associated Press
Publication Name: The Washington Post
Date of Publication: April 12, 2012
Length of Article: 458 words
Business execs and Senator Dianne Feinstein have launched a 10-year one billion dollar program to keep some of the country's most innovative centers of technology from sinking - literally. Most of the money will go towards building an earthquake and storm proof levee system in the South Bay, namely Silicon Valley. Cash cow companies such as Apple, Facebook, and Google have headquarters set up in this technology-abundant region of California. Climatologists predict soggy times for Silicon Valley in the next fifty years due to the rising sea level which is a result of the climate change. To protect the corporate campuses as well as billions of dollars, Dianne Feinstein is in need of an impressive budget to tackle the upcoming problem. New levees would be built in order to control the sea level from reaching catastrophic proportions, and the rest of the budget would be reserved for the restoration of the acres upon acres of wetlands in the South Bay. The newly restored wetlands would not only become a thriving ecosystem, but it would also help to prevent any future flooding. At this stage, the coalition expects federal funding to cover for half of the cost, state funding to count for a quarter, and the last quarter to come from local taxes and/or corporate donations. Local business tycoons and corporations that are based in Silicon Valley are being urged to help foot the bill seeing as the program would benefit them the most. Dianne Feinstein strongly endorses this plan. It would be the largest wetlands restoration project in the nation.
Global warming has put Silicon Valley in a very difficult position. While Silicon Valley is home to many successful business ventures, it is at risk for immense flooding within the next half century. Raising the funds for this new levee system is important to the well-being of the community and the wetlands. If the money is not raised, then major businesses may need to relocate and then the industry of Silicon Valley will be severely damaged.
I wonder if investments will be put in place at other points in the bay. There are multiple points of land depression throughout the area, and surely Silicon Valley isn't the only land worth saving. It's probably just the area that can afford to focus on the situation so proactively. But it sounds like this will be a problem that's very applicable to our lifetime, and it will be interesting to see how that changes the culture in and around the bay. Hopefully we don't have a Hurricane Katrina disaster so close to home. Weird to think that an area where we think we're so protected, we're actually greatly endangered. I'm glad these execs are taking initiative for the long term.
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