Global Warming

If the earth warms at rates predicted by some studies, the oceans will rise for two main reasons - the expansion of the existing water as it heats, and the addition of additional water as the polar ice caps melt. Sea level is rising at nearly an inch a century now, before the projected impacts of excessive carbon dioxide in the atmosphere affect the climate. Places like the Eastern Shore, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Suffolk, could become offshore sandbars. Imagine the buildings in downtown Norfolk being recycled as oyster reefs.

Many of the wealthy families in Richmond have second homes along the Rappahannock, Piankatank, and James rivers, or at "the beach." Virginia's business leaders may be conservative politically, but they are also conservative when dealing with business risk. The Virginia State Climatologist may challenge the data or the interpretations of projected sea level rise or changes in climate, but the insurance company and banking executives in particular recognize the need to be prepared - just in case... They know that the risks of flooding during a major storm will rise to an unacceptable level long before fish swim through the windows of the 20-story buildings in Norfolk, and that slight changes in climate could create new opportunities for agriculture (farmers in southeastern Virginia are already growing cotton again...) while limiting the economic potential of some existing crops.

What will flood in Virginia - if sea level rises 5-10 feet, or more...
What will flood in Virginia - if sea level rises 5-10 feet, or more...
(Source: Environmental Protection Agency -
Maps of Lands Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise:
Modeled Elevations Along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coasts)

Climate
Geography of Virginia