“Dr. Beach” unveils his Top 10 Beaches in the US – CNN Travel
Florida’s St. George Island State Park earns the top slot. The barrier island park offers nine miles of pristine beaches along the Gulf Coast. With nature trails for biking and hiking, plus birding, fishing, boating and camping…excellent swimming and sunbathing. It’s also a prime spot for stargazing with limited light pollution and an observation platform for night sky exploration. The beach has “some of the whitest, finest sand in the world,” said (Stephen) Leatherman (aka Dr. Beach)…“The water is crystal clear and clean, far from any sources of pollution on this offshore barrier island…”
Buying out threatened oceanfront homes is not a crazy idea – Coastal Review
The oceanfront shoreline of Rodanthe has one of the highest erosion rates on the U.S. East Coast (recently upwards of 20 feet per year). Many homes that were initially constructed well back from the beach are now at risk of constant flooding and imminent collapse. A typical response to this erosion in Dare County (and most coastal communities) would be the implementation of a beach nourishment project. It is unclear whether this is practical for Rodanthe, as the geologic setting is problematic…
The Foul Chartreuse Sea – Yale Climate Connections
Researchers in Kotzebue, Alaska, are investigating why their town is increasingly playing host to harmful cyanobacteria.
Dead fish were everywhere, speckling the beach near town and extending onto the surrounding coastline. The sheer magnitude of the October 2021 die-off, when hundreds, possibly thousands, of herring washed up, is what sticks in the minds of the residents of Kotzebue, Alaska. Fish were “literally all over the beaches,” says Bob Schaeffer, a fisherman and elder from the Qikiqtaġruŋmiut tribe…
Barcelona’s beaches could vanish as authorities abandon ‘enhancement’ – the Guardian
For the 1992 Olympic Games, Barcelona rediscovered the sea. It beefed up its beachfront using thousands of tons of sand, and the area is now packed with tourists and lined with beach bars. Barcelona’s beach may be partly artificial, but it’s big business. The way things are going, however, soon there won’t be any beach at all. Across Catalonia, rising sea levels and winter storms are eating away at the coastline…
Lost Lands: Mining the Mekong – the South China Morning Post Films
Cambodia’s appetite for sand has exploded as construction continues to fuel economic growth in the capital Phnom Penh. But as the thirst for sand grows, so does the uncertainty over the future of the river. Two families who rely on the river for a living share their stories of how sand dredging is causing pain and concerns for the future.
Global heating has likely made El Niños and La Niñas more ‘frequent and extreme’ – the Guardian
Scientists say greenhouse gases have already affected climate patterns in the Pacific that could lead to more severe weather, floods and heatwaves…Dr Wenju Cai, lead author of the study from Australia’s CSIRO science agency, said the models showed a “human fingerprint” from 1960 onwards. But some other scientists not involved in the study had reservations about the findings, raising concerns about the reliance on modelling….
The Earth Transformed: An Untold History – Reviewed in the Atlantic
In his sweeping new book, Peter Frankopan looks at how the climate has changed human society—and how we have changed the climate.
Does climate change directly influence the weather we experience? Until recently—for the past 40 years or so—that question has followed nearly every major hurricane or flood, every record snowfall or heat wave. In some people, it provokes instant denial, often political or economic, often rooted in prideful ignorance…
Long Story Shorts: What is a Coastal Geohazard? – Hakai Institute
Life can be pretty hazardous if you live on the coast—on top of wild weather events like hurricanes and tropical storms, you might find yourself in the middle of geological hazards like earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides. But did you know that one geohazard can domino into another, creating a cascade of chaos?…
French Government Will Destroy Houses of Storm Survivors – the Epoch Times
The French government has decided to stay firm on its decision to destroy more than 1,500 houses in areas of “extreme danger” along the Atlantic coast. The decision follows the deaths of 53 people from storm “Xynthia,” the violent winter storm that battered Europe’s west coast on Feb. 28. Hope had risen among residents that they could save their homes following a statement made by Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux…”There could be individual, precise, and discrete situations that could need a deepened analysis…”