California officials hope to soon begin holding public meetings to gather information for a sea-level-rise assessment report that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has asked the National Academy of Sciences to prepare by Dec. 1, 2010. But finding money for the contract is an issue.
Schwarzenegger asked the academy in November to convene a panel with representatives from the state’s resources agency, department of water resources, energy commission, coastal commission, ocean protection council and others to plan for sea-level rise. The report is to include sea-level-rise projections—with the range of uncertainty—the probable impact on state infrastructure and an assessment of research needs.