North Carolina Should Move With Nature on Coast

sandbags-NC
Sandbags -Mirlo Beach Looking North – Hatteras Island – NC12. Photo source: ©© County of Dare

Excerpts;

The problems on Topsail beach should convince state lawmakers and regulators that it’s time to reconsider the developer-friendly approach to North Carolina’s low-lying coastal areas.

Sandbags can’t hold back the sea. Neither will a state policy allowing “terminal groins,” barriers of rock and steel that run perpendicular to the shore in a futile effort to make a shifting coastline stable…

Read Full Article Article, News Observer

Erosion Worsens at Topsail North Beach, JD News (12-01-2014)

“North Carolina: The Beaches Are Moving,” A Video featuring Orrin Pilkey, PhD
World famous coastal geologist Orrin H. Pilkey takes us to the beach and explains why erosion has become a problem…

“Seawalls Kill Beaches,” Open Letters by Warner Chabot And Rob Young, (10-03-2014)

Sandbagged: The Undoing of a Quarter Century of North Carolina Coastal Conservation, Op Ed by Gary Lazorick (07-04-2011)
Rows of houses with overlapping sandbag walls create huge problems. The walls do as much damage to the beach as hardened seawalls. Removing the sandbags from one property potentially damages all of the others…

Seawall ‘Option’ Won’t Wash, Post & Courier, (10-23-2014)
Hard erosion control devices aren’t generally allowed on South Carolina beaches, and with good reason. Here’s why: Seawalls actually can accelerate erosion, often on adjacent property.

Shoot the Messenger: Carolina’s Costly Mistake on Sea Level Rise, By Dr. Robert S. Young, Director, Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines / Western Carolina University

Denying Sea-Level Rise: How 100 Centimeters Divided The State of North Carolina, by Orrin H. Pilkey (04-23-2013)

From Coast To Coast, Vanity Fair (07-23-2013)
At opposite ends of the country, two of America’s most golden coastal enclaves are waging the same desperate battle against erosion…

A Tale of Two Cities: Miami, New York and Life on the Edge, Climate Central (08-22-2014)
Walking along the waterfront in Fort Lauderdale and admiring the 60-foot yachts docked alongside impressive homes, it’s hard to imagine that this city could suffer the same financial fate as Detroit…

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