US: Just 20 inches could make a disastrous difference

Robert Lalasz interviews for the Nature Conservancy Christine Shepard, a member of the Conservancy’s Coastal Resilience project, about a study on sea-level rise and storm surges along the southern shores of Long Island, a scenario that could apply to lots of other U.S. coastlines. "Part of the point of this study was to create maps that communities can use to develop targeted approaches to hazard mitigation. We created a social vulnerability index to help map these communities so that hazard mitigation policies or grants could be targeted towards communities that are socially vulnerable, to reduce their risk," she says.