2022 Six Part Series on “Sand Dealers” – Le Monde
Published in 2022, links to Le Monde’s Series on Sand are provided here…
Can the ‘sand motor’ save West Africa’s eroding coast? – Grist Magazine
As sea levels rise, engineers are using massive Dutch-inspired sand sculptures to protect shorefront settlements…It’s called the “sand motor,” and it comes from the Netherlands, a low-lying nation with centuries of experience in coastal protection…
Six Spongy Sea Creatures Suggest Warming Might Be Worse Than Thought – the New York Times
Research on a long-lived but rarely seen species in the Caribbean is helping scientists piece together a revised history of climate change…
Inside the Crime Rings Trafficking Sand – Scientific American
Organized crime is mining sand from rivers and coasts to feed demand worldwide, ruining ecosystems and communities. Can it be stopped?…
Prepare for a ‘Gray Swan’ Climate – the Atlantic
The next climate extremes are both predictable and unprecedented, and they’re coming on fast…
Dredging, beach replenishment continues in Monmouth County – PBS
Tens of millions of dollars pour into the state each year to fund beach replenishment efforts ..
“…we are doing it with the intent of preserving the economic usefulness of oceanfront properties that are being threatened by erosion and shoreline migration, sea-level rise and storm waves and so forth…That methodology (used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) is flawed because it uses property value to determine the benefits of nourishment and our belief is that our property values aren’t the correct way to assess the utilization or return on public funds. A better way of doing that is looking at what are the public benefits.”
– Andy Coburn, Associate Director for the Study of Developed Shorelines | Western Carolina State University
Can the tourism industry survive the climate crisis? – the Guardian
From the Solomon Islands to Denali national park, how five communities reliant on tourism are coping as climate change upends their industry…One of the terrible ironies of the climate crisis is that some of the most beautiful – and popular – places in the world are also the most vulnerable. Which means as temperatures rise, extreme weather events increase, water sources dry up and natural habitats die, these places are facing another devastating loss: tourists…
The Unsustainable Harvest of Coastal Sands – Science
Although coasts form a crucial part of the natural wealth of the planet, their conservation is increasingly jeopardized owing to the growing human footprint. With 50% of the world’s population living within 150 km of a coastline, increasing urbanization and population pressures are threatening these fragile ecosystems…
Sea Isle’s Beach Replenishment Project to Start in Spring – Sea Isle News
Sea Isle City approved a $3.2 million funding package Tuesday to pay for its share of a beach replenishment project that will restore parts of its eroded shoreline with 640,000 cubic yards of fresh sand…(that) is part of a $33.7 million project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that will include replenishing the storm-damaged beaches and dunes in the southern end of Ocean City and Strathmere…