Sea Level Rise and We Video & Film

About eighteen months ago I flew aboard a helicopter, shooting aerial footage of Miami Dade County’s wastewater treatment plants. The plants are located on the South Florida coastline, at Biscayne Bay. We at Multivision Video & Film were working for a large infrastructure client that was interested in winning a project bid for a large contract to help the County fix their aging wastewater infrastructure, and comply with some federal EPA mandates. It was an eye-opening experience.

Just seeing the fragile nature of these treatment plants as they relate to the waterfront ecosystem got me thinking about the plants’ eventual plight, all at the hand of the inevitable rise of our oceans over the next several decades.   Many of our video production services have been used to communicate about Florida’s environment during the last two years.

Ever since I took that trip, sea level rise has become a passion of mine, and I have spent a lot of time attending conferences, lectures and seminars on the topic. The more I have learned, the more I am convinced of the threat to Florida and the entire coast of the USA, as well as other coastal cities around the world.

Subsequent to that helicopter flight I have brought my concerns to Florida International University, and have found that there was already a lot of work being done in this area. We are working at FIU to start a Sea Level Rise Institute to offer our expertise to municipalities and governments, and eventually evolving into a “thought-leader” on the topic.

Last month I was invited to join a group of FIU scientists and members of the Everglades Foundation leadership on an airboat excursion into Everglades National Park to see what sea level rise will mean to the “River of Grass.” People tend to think that rising seas will only affect the coastal areas and beaches. That, I learned couldn’t be further from the truth.

I hope to spend quite a bit of my time, and Multivision’s video production resources and capabilities, helping to communicate the importance of this impending change in our environment, and emphasizing the importance of sustainable planning and design in all future development in Florida and all coastal communities around the world.