“Coastlines: The Story of Our Shores” A book by Patrick Barkham

It is often said that Britain is a maritime nation but, writes Patrick Barkham in his new biography of the British shore, we might be more accurately described as “a coastal nation, happiest when looking seaward”. Examining our enduring love of the seaside “Coastlines” addresses themes of childhood, passion, war, industrialism, art and faith, and the ways in which each has coloured perceptions of the shore.

And Now for Some Good News About Climate Change

Small things like energy efficient lightbulbs and big ones—like solar panels and light rail transportation—are making a difference. Australian author Tim Flannery counsels cautious optimism by showing how the millions of small actions taken by individuals are driving down oil consumption and points out how new “Third Way” carbon-capture technologies promise to reduce emissions and create massive economic opportunities.

In Retrospect: Between Pacific Tides

Aaron Hirsh celebrates the 75th anniversary of the marine-biology classic by Ed Ricketts, the bohemian scientist who inspired John Steinbeck. A number of writers have observed that what made Between Pacific Tides revolutionary was that its organization is ecological. The book begins at the uppermost zone where a flood tide’s waves barely splash our shoes. And so it goes in each zone, leading us deeper into the intertidal: common to rare; familiar to exotic; obvious to hidden…

Dams – Cutting off our Beach Sand; By Gary Griggs

The total amount of beach sand trapped behind all of California’s coastal dams totals about 200 million cubic yards, or a line of dump trucks bumper to bumper stretching completely around the world nearly four times. “Dams – Cutting off our Beach Sand” is excerpted from “Our Ocean Backyard- Collected Essays, ” a book by Gary Griggs.

Our Ocean Backyard – Collected Essays; A Book by Gary Griggs

For the three billion people on Earth who live in coastal regions, the ocean is figuratively, if not literally, “our backyard.” The oceans enrich our lives in countless ways, but our interactions with them have not always been positive. Gary Griggs, a coastal geologist and oceanographer, is known for making science understandable, enjoyable, and accessible to non-scientists, was asked to write a bi-weekly column, “Our Ocean Backyard” for the Santa Cruz Sentinel.