North Carolina OKs Sea Policy Change Ban

North Carolina House and Senate lawmakers have voted to prohibit any state agency from making policies on sea-level change until 2016 and have called for the scientists to do more studies.

Their bill now goes to Gov. Beverly Perdue.

The issue arose after Coastal Resources Commission scientists warned in 2010 that sea levels could rise by more than 3 feet by 2100 and threaten more than 2,000 square miles of coastal land.

But a group called NC-20 that favors coastal development criticized that report and said historic trends suggest the seas will only rise 8 inches by the end of this century.

“What we have done is ask them to use a blend of models, to use historical data, to use some real science that we can all trust when we start making laws here in North Carolina,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Pat McElraft, a Republican.

Opponents said lawmakers are hiding from the hard facts.

“This bill is basically like saying to your doctor, `Don’t do any tests on me, and certainly if you’re going to do tests and you find something wrong don’t tell me for four years because I don’t want to do anything about it,”‘ said Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat.