BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Scientists and doctors in Broward County agree — we’re fighting more flooding, higher tides, and extreme heat as a result of climate change around the world.
So much needs to change, but we have to start somewhere.
Although a lot of data has been collected, not enough has been explained, according to Broward County Commissioner Beam Furr.
“We have all this information but it doesn’t do you any good if it’s just sitting on a shelf,” says Furr.
Furr, who is also chair of the Climate Change Taskforce for Broward County, says this is why he wanted to organize data and allow Broward residents to interact with one another.
This is why the county has launched a new online environmental resilience dashboard — a new way to see the big picture and guide environmental decisions and investments in Broward County.
“A good example is for transportation,” explains Furr. “We’ll know where to raise the roads. We’ll know where the vulnerable parts are, We’ll know where we’re going to have to apply more drainage.”
Broward’s Chief Resilience Officer, Doctor Jennifer Jurado, helped create the dashboard, which outlines environmental initiatives, problem areas, and future problems.
Residents can search properties by address for specific data.
“It was modeled after our COVID dashboard,” says Jurado, “in which as a community, we were tracking COVID compliance with social distancing and mask wearing.”
Residents themselves can also document flooding and waste issues, where they will be able to see what areas use the most water or look into clean energy. The site also provides residents with resources to minimize their footprints on the environment.
This initiative is all about sharing information and getting people involved in helping out environment before climate change takes a toll on the community. Plus, it allows leaders to change habits and prioritize environmental issues much more efficiently.