The Audubon Society of Florida, which is represented on the conference
Program Committee, has issued a report on how climate change is affecting the state.

Sea level rise poses a serious threat to south Florida's water supply through salt water incursion. As sea levels rise, coastal and wetlands habitats are seriously altered and flooding risks increase, the Audubon report points out.

Increased hurricane and tropical storm intensity and storm surges are expected. Audubon cites a 2007 scientific and economic study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that ranked the city of Miami among the top 10 most vulnerable metropolitan areas worldwide in terms of assets exposed in a 100 year storm-related flooding event.

Floridians can expect more extreme weather patterns, including droughts and heat waves as well as algae blooms and associated impacts, including seagrass and fish die-offs.

Florida has the largest reef system in America and the third largest barrier reef in the world, which is already stressed by human pressures. "This system, rich in biological diversity, is already ongoing severe coral bleaching events, which weaken corals ability to ward off disease and cause serious mortality," the Audubon report states.

Development pressures and human water supply demands have already seriously degraded the Everglades and other wetlands systems, and the impacts of climate change add additional stress for wetland species, warns the report.

In May, the Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition, also on the conference Program Committee, released a report recommending a series of steps to combat the effects of rising sea levels, extreme weather and declining ocean health.

"We need more than just planning, we need action today," said National Wildlife Federation senior global warming specialist Patty Glick, a co-author of the report.

The report, "Preparing for a Sea Change in Florida," is the "beginning of a long dialogue" in Florida about how to deal with global warming, said Gerald Karnas, Florida climate project director for the Environmental Defense Fund.