Balboa Island has to decide if it believes in global warming

The May issue of Orange Coast magazine is a special issue called "Our Ocean" that looks at, among other things, the upwelling phenomenon that has led to the abundance of seals, dolphins, sea lions, and whales off the SoCal coast. Another piece, Knee-Deep in Doubt by Patrick J. Kiger, is the talker. It focuses on the dilemma faced by tiny, affluent and conservative Balboa Island in Newport Harbor, which you could call Southern California's canary in the coal mine on rising seas and global warming. Should the city spend up to $80 million to raise the seawall that protects the island's 2,500 residents from the measurably rising Pacific Ocean, or should the god Republicans of Balboa put their faith in Rush Limbaugh and friends that global warming is an international conspiracy of scientists?