The eye of Hurricane Aaron this season's first passed about 450 miles east of Florida yesterday as it continued moving north in the Atlantic.

But the storm, which rapidly intensified last week, is a reminder of just how vulnerable South Florida is to the impacts of climate change.

For our series tipping point, William Brangham recently traveled to the region

to explore how climate startups, local governments, and researchers

are working to make the area more resilient amid potential federal funding cuts that could hinder those efforts.

In an industrial warehouse in Miami, modern concrete printing is replicating

something nature has done for millions of years.

It's actually the world's fastest concrete 3D printer.

Anya Freeman is the founder of kind designs, a climate and construction startup.

It's kind of hypnotic to watch. It's very satisfying.

It's like frosting on a cake.

In roughly an hour, these thin layers of concrete

will have added up to a 10-foot-tall seawall,

a barrier for where ocean meets land

to protect property from the water.

But it's not just the printing that makes these unique.

The texture and elaborate design mimics the roots of Florida's

ubiquitous mangrove trees, creating what Freeman calls a living sea wall.

So we have a library of designs customized for different marine habitats that's local.

So in this case, this is the Miami Beach project.

It has the mangrove roots design.

And the point is to attract native species.

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