Sand trafficking: a scourge that is worsening in Latin America – El Nuevo Siglo | Insight Crime
![Mining is removing sand from coastal sites, such as this one in Colombia, faster than natural processes can replenish it (photo © Nelson Rangel-Buitrago)](https://coastalcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/science.adj9593-f1-798x807.jpg)
Low risk, difficult to detect and with huge profits, this crime affects most countries in the region. There are several ‘cartels’ in this black market…..
Beach Nourishment: A Critical Look – Gary Griggs | Journal of Coastal Research
![An aerial view of the Virginia Beach Hurricane Protection and Renourishment project. which replenished 1.25 million cubic yards of sand, increasing the beach from 150 and 280 feet wide to as much as 300 feet (Courtesy of the Norfolk District, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers CC BY 2.0 via Flickr).](https://coastalcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/9022723593_f0ad24ace6_k-798x532.jpg)
More than $15 billion, mostly federal dollars, have been spent moving sand to the shoreline for both recreational and shoreline protection benefits. Still, whether in New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Florida, or California, the life span of the sand added artificially to these beaches in many cases has been relatively short and in some instances has been less than a year…
Sand Dollars – CBS News Investigations
![A 2015 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project on Long Beach Island, NJ pumped more than 8 million cubic yards of offshore sand onto the beach to create a dune and berm system designed to reduce storm damages (Courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, public domain, via Flickr).](https://coastalcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/25021680342_d0ed70f100_k-798x532.jpg)
Federal agencies spend millions every year replacing sand on beaches. Some experts say it’s a waste of tax money….
Looting of the sea: the great sand theft – ABC
![Sand mining, Mizoram, India (by Karen Conniff CC BY-NC 2.0 courtesy of Water Alternatives Photos via Flickr).](https://coastalcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/49013400278_cba657eb2d_k-798x532.jpg)
It is the most demanded raw material after water. It is used to make concrete, chips, detergents, paints… and even artificial islands. The big cities are hungry for sand and to satisfy it, the world’s beaches are being plundered….
This Isn’t Your Grandparents’ Summer Heat – Scientific American
![Vintage postcard depicting Summer fun on the beach (uploaded by dan.marv CC BY 2.0 via Flickr).](https://coastalcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/4786817807_71eed4dfe2_k-1-798x517.jpg)
The face of summer is transforming, as people today face more frequent, longer-lasting and hotter heat waves than they did several decades ago…
A Hidden Threat – the Washington Times
![Exposed septic tank of collapsed house in Rodanthe on evening of February 9, 2022 (Courtesy of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, public domain, via Flickr).](https://coastalcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/51873769729_0b4c9ad598_k-798x599.jpg)
Fast-rising seas could swamp septic systems in parts of the South…
The ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is melting faster than scientists thought – Grist Magazine
![A close-up view of the rift separating Pine Island Glacier and iceberg B-46, as seen on an Operation IceBridge flight on November 7, 2018 (Courtesy of NASA | Brooke Medley CC BY 2.0 DEED via Flickr).](https://coastalcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/45802270221_dd69d77f4a_k-798x532.jpg)
Miles of seawater are flowing under Thwaites Glacier, undermining an Antarctic ice sheet and threatening rapid sea level rise….
In Two New Studies, Scientists See Signs of Fundamental Climate Shifts in Antarctica – Inside Climate News
![The Pine Island Glacier spawned an iceberg over 300 sq km that very quickly shattered into pieces, on February 11, 2020. The Pine Island Glacier, along with its neighbour Thwaites glacier, connect the centre of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet with the ocean, and together discharge significant quantities of ice into the ocean (image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, courtesy of the European Space Agency CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED via Flickr).](https://coastalcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/49525854597_8b44fc9632_k-798x636.jpg)
A steep decline of Antarctic sea ice may mark a long-term transformation in the Southern Ocean, and seawater intrusions beneath the Thwaites Glacier could explain its melting outpacing projections…
Denial and Deception – Gary Griggs
![Hackberry Gas Pumps, Route 66, Arizona (by Eric Kilby CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED via Flickr).](https://coastalcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/49143940327_232243e922_k-798x532.jpg)
Earth’s temperature continues to climb to uncharted levels. Two weeks ago, NOAA announced that April was the 11th month in a row that set a new record for the highest monthly temperatures. While there are many enviable records, in sports for example, when it comes to global temperatures, this is not a record anyone wants to own. While 2023 was the hottest year on record since we began tracking temperatures nearly 150 years ago, there is a high probability based on the first four months of this year that 2024 will surpass 2023. Another statistic in which we cannot rejoice…