The Consequences of Sea Level Rise in the Florida Everglades

Christopher Joyce provides a detailed account of the environmental threats to the Everglades, as made manifest by climate change and sea level rise. 

Because of climate change and sea level rise, the ocean is starting to seep into the swampland. If the invasion grows worse, it could drastically change the Everglades, and a way of life for millions of residents in South Florida.

In addition to the habitat concerns that have motivated organizations like the National Audubon Society in Florida to push for the conservation of the Everglades, encroaching sea water is now a threat to the [Biscayne] aquifer, which provides the primary source of fresh water for the South Florida metropolitan area. "As seawater seeps up from underneath, through the limestone bedrock, it is contaminating the aquifer and the Everglades above it," explains Joyce.