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Picture this, all right, sunny Miami,

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you're thinking beach day, right?

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And then boom, the streets are flooded,

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not from a storm, no way, just get this, the tide.

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We're talking king tides, the king, you know,

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and like this week, Miami's, well,

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they're bracing for impact.

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It could be a record breaker, seriously.

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And what's really got people talking,

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it's not just like your shoes getting wet on the sidewalk,

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you know, the Herald, they're saying it could be

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two feet above normal.

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Think about that for a second, two feet of water.

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That's streets, yards, even some homes at risk.

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This is serious stuff.

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Two feet, you're kidding, I mean,

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they're not playing around, are they?

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I heard they're even opening up those parking garages,

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you know, the big ones, for people to move their cars,

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get them to higher ground, geez.

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This isn't just like a high tide,

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this is like the oceans coming over for a visit.

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Right, it's a crazy situation.

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And you know, in a way, it's like a preview.

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It's what a lot of coastal cities

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might be dealing with down the line.

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See, king tides, they're natural,

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part of the whole cosmic dance, right?

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Amplified by the full moon, and guess what?

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We've got one this weekend, perfect timing.

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Of course we do, why not, right?

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But here's the thing, what we're seeing in Miami now,

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this level of, I don't know, chaos,

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that's where climate change rears its ugly head.

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So it's like a double whammy.

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On one hand, you've got the moon doing its thing,

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pulling those tides, but then on the other hand,

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you've got that higher baseline sea level

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thanks to climate change, and it's almost like, what,

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moving the goalposts?

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The impact is just way worse.

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Exactly, it's like it really drives home

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how even these small changes in sea level,

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well, they can cause huge problems.

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And here's another thing, king tides, right?

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They happen all year round, new moon, full moon,

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you know the drill, but in Miami, the worst ones,

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they always seem to hit in the fall.

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You'd think it'd be spring, wouldn't you?

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More storms and all that.

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Yeah, it seems kind of, I don't know,

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counterintuitive, doesn't it?

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So what's the science behind that?

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Why is fall the king tide season in Miami?

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Well, it's not just the moon's pole, you know?

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There's a lot at play here.

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Ocean temperatures, the pressure in the atmosphere,

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wind patterns, they all seem to peak in the fall.

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Add that to the mix and you get some seriously high tides.

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Right, right, so Miami's dealing with this

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cosmic alignment right now, but you know what really

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struck me?

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I was reading the Miami New Times piece,

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and they said it's like each king tide,

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it's a sneak peek, like a preview of what higher sea levels

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will do, but permanently.

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Yeah, they called it a preview of Miami's future,

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and they're not wrong.

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Each one of these king tides, it's like a real life

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simulation.

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It shows us what those higher sea levels are gonna look like

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every single day, not just for a couple of hours,

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but all the time.

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It's like Mother Nature is giving us a sneak peek, right?

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Behind the curtain.

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And let's be honest, it's not exactly the happiest ending

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to the movie, but hey, knowing it's coming,

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that's gotta be valuable, right?

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Maybe we can actually do something about it.

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Absolutely, it's like, think of it like this.

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Each king tide, it's like a real life simulation.

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It's showing us where the weak points are,

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what we need to fix, it's information we can use.

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Right, so instead of just freaking out

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when the water starts rising, we can actually

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get ahead of it.

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Which brings us to that NASA study you were talking about

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earlier, what's the big takeaway there, what'd they find?

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Well, this study, it's a big deal.

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It's not just about Miami.

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They're saying that by the 2030s,

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we're gonna see this huge surge in these high tide floods.

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And get this, along all US coastlines.

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Hold on, all of them, the whole country.

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By the 2030s, that's what, like next week

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in climate change years, that's crazy.

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So what's the deal, why that timeline?

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It's a few things coming together really.

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Of course, you've got rising sea levels,

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that's the big one, right?

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But there's also this, well, it's kind of a natural wobble

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in the moon's orbit.

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And that's gonna shake things up a bit, literally.

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A wobble?

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Like what, like a spinning top about to fall over?

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Kind of, yeah.

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See, the moon's orbit, it's not a perfect circle, right?

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It's got this little wobble, and that wobble,

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well, it messes with its gravitational pull on the earth.

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It's a whole cycle, and guess what?

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We're about to enter this period where that wobble

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lines up perfectly with the rising sea levels,

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and it's gonna amplify everything.

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Tides are gonna be even more extreme.

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So we've got climate change, rising sea levels,

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and now the moon's wobbling around,

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and that's gonna mess with all the US coastlines.

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This is getting a bit intense.

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Yeah, it's a lot.

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And it's not just about how high the water gets.

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The NASA study, they emphasize this, it's the frequency.

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It's how often these floods happen,

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these tide clusters, they call them,

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that can really mess a city up.

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Because, I mean, if it's just a couple times a year,

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you can deal, right?

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But every other week, or every week,

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that changes everything.

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Exactly, think about it.

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Businesses have to shut down, people can't get to work,

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buildings get damaged, it's just snowballs.

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And then there's the public health risk, right?

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The study even talks about contaminated water,

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overflowing cesspools, that kind of stuff.

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Yeah, so it's not just wet shoes,

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it's like the whole ecosystem of a city

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gets thrown out of whack.

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This is starting to sound less like a science report

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and more like a, I don't know, a disaster movie.

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Yeah, it's not a movie, right?

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This is the reality we gotta prepare for.

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But hey, there's some good news here.

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That NASA study, with all that data,

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89 tide gauges they used, that's a lot of data points.

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It's like they're giving us a roadmap, right?

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We can actually see where and when these floods are gonna hit.

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Okay, so knowledge is power, right?

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But what do we do with it?

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Is it just building higher sea walls

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and crossing our fingers?

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It feels like this is bigger than just, you know,

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slapping up some higher sea walls and calling it a day,

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right?

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This is like a whole different way of thinking

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about living on the coast, isn't it?

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Yeah, no, you're right on the money there.

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It's not about just like holding back the water.

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It's about adapting, you know, changing how we do things.

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And the interesting thing is that NASA study,

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they actually highlighted some cities

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that are already doing some really cool stuff,

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like using natural barriers, you know,

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or they're elevating important infrastructure.

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And get this, some are even planning

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what they call managed retreat.

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Managed retreat, that sounds kind of, I don't know, serious.

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Like are we talking about waving goodbye

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at parts of the coastline?

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It's not giving up, it's more like strategic relocation.

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But yeah, it's a tough conversation to have for sure.

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But honestly, what's the alternative?

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We just keep reacting, you know,

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throwing money at bigger and bigger sea walls.

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But eventually the water's gonna win, right?

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Like we're seeing in Miami.

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Yeah, those king tides, they don't miss around.

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But that NASA study, all that data, 89 tide gauges,

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that's amazing.

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But you know what I find really interesting?

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Imagine what they'll know in 10 years,

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the data they'll have.

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They'll be able to predict these floods

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down to the minute, right?

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Oh yeah, absolutely.

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It's gonna be like having a crystal ball

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for coastal flooding.

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And that's powerful stuff.

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We can actually be proactive.

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We'll know where to put the resources,

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how to build smarter.

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Yeah, exactly.

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And maybe, I don't know,

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maybe we can even start to like change our whole mindset,

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right?

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Instead of being afraid of the ocean,

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maybe we can figure out how to live with it a little better.

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100%.

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It's not about saying goodbye to the coast.

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It's about understanding it, respecting it,

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learning to live alongside it, you know?

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It's a challenge, no doubt.

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But it's also an opportunity.

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We can rebuild and we can do it better,

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more resilient, more sustainable.

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No, that's what I like to hear.

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A little bit of hope.

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Expert speaker, this has been,

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well, it's been eye-opening really.

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Thanks for breaking it all down for us.

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Happy to do it.

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The more we understand this stuff,

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the better we can deal with it.

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That's what we're all about here.

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And listeners, you heard it here first.

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Climate change, it's changing everything,

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even the tides.

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So, stay informed, stay curious.

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And hey, stay dry out there.

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We'll see you on the next Deep Dive.