# What happens when Florida vanishes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 21, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024 "2015-12-21T20:28:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/21 "2015-12-21T22:40:30Z")
We could just get the Chinese to rebuild it. I mean, they have experience building islands out of some reefs in the South China Sea, so they should be able to rebuild Florida using the same methods. And they must have a plan to keep them above water in the supposed 20 meter rise, so they will be our go to folks on this one!! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/22 "2015-12-21T22:54:19Z")
Al Gore’s revenge will finally be complete. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/23 "2015-12-21T22:55:12Z")
> [@XT](#): > > We could just get the Chinese to rebuild it. I mean, they have experience building islands out of some reefs in the South China Sea, so they should be able to rebuild Florida using the same methods. And they must have a plan to keep them above water in the supposed 20 meter rise, so they will be our go to folks on this one!! 2 big problems: One is drinking water, the ocean as we are talking is seeping into potable water sources and more are being lost as time goes by. Making dams and barriers will not prevent that also because of problem 2: The second problem is what the ground in Florida is made of: > **[South Florida sea-level rise, saltwater intrusion » Yale Climate Connections](https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2014/11/new-video-focuses-on-south-florida-sea-level-rise-saltwater-intrusion/)** > > This month's 'This is Not Cool' video by Peter Sinclair focuses on mounting challenges facing residents and property owners in south Florida as saltwater intrusion and rising sea level become increasingly problematic. > [@](#): > > A giant sea wall like those for New Orleans and the Netherlands is no option, Associated Press correspondent Tony Winton reports, infeasible for south Florida because, as an urban planner explains, “our ground system is porous limestone. It’s a kind of fossilized sponge.” ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/24 "2015-12-21T22:58:21Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > 2 big problems: One is drinking water, the ocean as we are talking is seeping into potable water sources and more are being lost as time goes by. Making dams and barriers will not prevent that also because of problem 2: > > The second problem is what the ground in Florida is made of: > > [South Florida sea-level rise, saltwater intrusion » Yale Climate Connections](http://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2014/11/new-video-focuses-on-south-florida-sea-level-rise-saltwater-intrusion/) The Chinese can do anything!!! Besides, those ‘islands’ they are building in the South China Sea are on the same sort of limestone base. We could get them to build us a high speed rail line there as well, just to get the full effect! What could go wrong??? ETA: As for water, the Chinese seem so good at water management I say we turn that problem over to them as well. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/25 "2015-12-21T23:23:01Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > My house is north of Orlando but south of Sanford So is mine. But it will be uninhabitable too, due to salinization of the groundwater and mosquito infestations. We have a lot of vultures in the area already - just imagine what it will look like with all the dead bodies of drowned sinners for them to feast on. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/26 "2015-12-21T23:38:23Z")
Florida will be destroyed long before sea levels cover it. Florida is built on porous rock - basically old coral. The only thing keeping seawater from soaking into it and killing all the plants is the pressure from a constant flow of fresh water from the rest of North America in a giant underground “river.” With just a little bit of sea level rise, that wall of freshwater could be overrun and the pressure of saltwater win the battle. And there’s no way to built a wall to keep it out since it would be going underground. Just an interesting thing I read recently. P.S. I see XT posted a video about this. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/27 "2015-12-21T23:39:55Z")
> [@XT](#): > > We could just get the Chinese to rebuild it. I mean, they have experience building islands out of some reefs in the South China Sea, so they should be able to rebuild Florida using the same methods. And they must have a plan to keep them above water in the supposed 20 meter rise, so they will be our go to folks on this one!! Then the Chinese will claim it as their territory. Which is fine with me. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/28 "2015-12-21T23:45:59Z")
Release the flotilla! Keep that space claimed! ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/29 "2015-12-22T00:08:46Z")
> [@XT](#): > > The Chinese can do anything!!! Besides, those ‘islands’ they are building in the South China Sea are on the same sort of limestone base. We could get them to build us a high speed rail line there as well, just to get the full effect! What could go wrong??? > > ETA: As for water, the Chinese seem so good at water management I say we turn that problem over to them as well. This might be a Poe, but just in case… What the Chinese are doing is not cheap at all when looking at the effort and materials brought in, what would work for an island works only by ignoring the water needs for a large population, meaning that what the Chinese are doing (and what would do in Florida) is military in nature. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/30 "2015-12-22T00:30:39Z")
The world will weep at losing it’s premier source for bizarre and messed up news. Can Germany step up to the plate? > [@XT](#): > > Now, if California falls off into the ocean due to The Big One, that would be another matter. Sea levels are one thing. But California’s faults are [transform faults](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transform_fault), so the land is moving parallel to the faultline. The [extreme coast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Plate) is however moving slowly southward, so the drive from SF to LA will be getting much shorter in a few millenia! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/31 "2015-12-22T00:41:19Z")
\*\*What happens when Florida vanishes? \*\* A lot fewer funny news stories. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/32 "2015-12-22T00:43:58Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Florida will be destroyed long before sea levels cover it. > > Florida is built on porous rock - basically old coral. The only thing keeping seawater from soaking into it and killing all the plants is the pressure from a constant flow of fresh water from the rest of North America in a giant underground “river.” With just a little bit of sea level rise, that wall of freshwater could be overrun and the pressure of saltwater win the battle. This sounds to me like it could be true, but that it shouldn’t be accepted without substantial evidence. I wonder if the engineers, who insure the safety of the eighth of the Netherlands that’s below sea level, would buy this. Yes, I know, the Netherlands has higher population density and no hurricanes. But this needs to be a judgment based on peer-reviewed evidence and statistics, not seat-of-the-pants guessing. As things are now, geo-engineering approaches to global warming are perceived as much too dangerous: > **[Geo-engineering: Climate fixes 'could harm billions'](https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30197085)** > > Schemes to tackle climate change could prove disastrous for billions of people, but might be required for the good of the planet, scientists say. However, if large areas of land, like Florida, and other places around the world with comparable situations, were being lost, the political calculus would switch. People who today want to do nothing would want to do too much, and politicians couldn’t ignore them. So I’m thinking that Florida won’t vanish. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/33 "2015-12-22T00:45:22Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > What’s the legal status of private property which becomes part of the ocean? Can the owner of record mount No Trespassing signs to buoys? What if it’s no longer in territotial waters? I can only quote this from memory, from a news story after one of our more emphatic hurricanes. A small island was half destroyed, but new drifts built up new area on the island, so the effect was as if the island had “moved.” The west half is gone, but there’s now a completely new east extent. The way the news reported it, they simply re-surveyed the island and re-distributed property so all property-owners ended up with the same area they’d had before…even if it was in a new location. You can do this on a small scale. A statewide scale? Probably wouldn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/34 "2015-12-22T01:05:03Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > This might be a Poe, but just in case… > > What the Chinese are doing is not cheap at all when looking at the effort and materials brought in, what would work for an island works only by ignoring the water needs for a large population, meaning that what the Chinese are doing (and what would do in Florida) is military in nature. Poe for sure. The Chinese aren’t actually very good at water management. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/35 "2015-12-22T01:21:28Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > This sounds to me like it could be true, but that it shouldn’t be accepted without substantial evidence. I wonder if the engineers, who insure the safety of the eighth of the Netherlands that’s below sea level, would buy this. Yes, I know, the Netherlands has higher population density and no hurricanes. But this needs to be a judgment based on peer-reviewed evidence and statistics, not seat-of-the-pants guessing. There’s already plenty of evidence. It’s not some theory, it’s quite well-known and accepted. Florida already has a freshwater management system that keeps the seawater out, for now. Here’s a reference I found that explains it in detail: > **[wri92\_4174\_spechler.pdf](https://fl.water.usgs.gov/PDF_files/wri92_4174_spechler.pdf)** > > 1940.24 KB The Netherlands isn’t on top of a giant sponge, so their job is relatively easy. To build walls to keep saltwater out of Florida would require digging something like ten feet in a giant trench along the entire coast of Southern Florida and installing an underground seawall. Let’s see the Dutch do that. Also found this: [http://floridaclimate.org/docs/water\_managment.pdf](http://floridaclimate.org/docs/water_managment.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/36 "2015-12-22T01:37:57Z")
Florida vanishes? No more pandering to the Cuban vote; no more hanging chads, no more worrying about which party is going to carry that state. Shuffle board sales plummet. Net-Net seems like a positive to me! ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/37 "2015-12-22T01:39:17Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Florida vanishes? No more pandering to the Cuban vote; no more hanging chads, no more worrying about which party is going to carry that state. Shuffle board sales plummet. Net-Net seems like a positive to me! Yeah, I wouldn’t use this as the best argument for preventing global warming. 😛 Too many people might be like ‘yeah, but on the up side Florida vanishes…!!’ ---
**Author:** ![Annadroid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Annadroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annadroid)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/38 "2015-12-22T01:39:41Z")
Actually the North AM plate is moving westerly and the eastern edge of the Pacific plate is moving NW. Part of CA will eventually end up in China, not FL. You would have to import the Chinese to fix the FL water problem. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/39 "2015-12-22T01:47:16Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Florida vanishes? No more pandering to the Cuban vote; no more hanging chads, no more worrying about which party is going to carry that state. Shuffle board sales plummet. Net-Net seems like a positive to me! but poor Georgia… All those refugees. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024/40 "2015-12-22T01:47:28Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > The world will weep at losing it’s premier source for bizarre and messed up news. Can Germany step up to the plate? > > Sea levels are one thing. But California’s faults are [transform faults](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transform_fault), so the land is moving parallel to the faultline. The [extreme coast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Plate) is however moving slowly southward, so the drive from SF to LA will be getting much shorter in a few millenia! Big deal, we’ll all have flying cars by then and it won’t matter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-florida-vanishes/741024.md?page=3)