Thomas K. Ruppert, a coastal planning specialist with Florida Sea Grant and thought leader on legal policy around sea-level rise adaptation and other areas of environmental law, has been selected as the assistant provost for coastal resilience and director of the new Virginia Coastal Resilience Collaborative (VCRC) at William & Mary.
The state wants to quickly rebuild the Sanibel Causeway, heavily damaged by Ian, and the only road onto a barrier island. But researchers say the focus should be on building more resilient infrastructure for a changing climate.
Environmental groups say as Gov. Ron DeSantis aims to strengthen infrastructure against sea level rise, he has failed to show much action on what is causing climate change and address the state’s reliance on fossil fuels.