Published: Friday, February 13, 2015 at 2:57 p.m. Last Modified: Friday, February 13, 2015 at 4:17 p.m.

SARASOTA - Living in a global, digitally connected world, Southwest Florida leaders need to start thinking of the region as a creative center, futurist and author David Houle told the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce on Friday.

At the same time, the community should begin edging away from defining itself primarily by its beaches.

Houle contends rising sea levels brought on by continued global warming will cause many beaches to disappear as early as the 2030s or 2040s.

"Ask people outside Florida what they think of as Florida, and they say Disney World and beaches," Houle told the chamber's annual kickoff breakfast, attended by 450 and held at the Polo Grill. "That is not a strategy.

"The issues the state has to face in next 15 years are water usage, education and completely redoing the transportation, energy and communications infrastructure in the state," Houle said.

The author of six books, "futurist in residence" at the Ringling College of Art & Design and a Herald-Tribune columnist, Houle splits time between Evanston, Illinois, and Sarasota.

His new book, written with Ringling professor Tim Rumage and due out in April, will argue that world leaders need to make drastic changes to prevent environmental catastrophe.

Such thinking should be at the forefront in Southwest Florida, where a growing population and an eroding shoreline will have a dramatic impact going forward.

Houle also argues technological advancements are rippling through society and are affecting the very development of children.

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Local business leaders told to start thinking of region as a creative center