Two vital buffers against climate change are just offshore

A new study finds that about 31 million people worldwide live in coastal regions that are “highly vulnerable” to future tropical storms and sea-level rise driven by climate change. In some of those regions, however, powerful defenses are located just offshore.

Will floating turbines usher in a new wave of offshore wind?

As locations for wind energy fill up onshore and near-shore, companies are deploying floating turbines that can be sited in deep waters, out of view from the coast. Proponents contend the new technology could boost the wind industry, but daunting challenges, including costs, remain.

Connecting coastal processes with global systems

We live, work, and play at the coast. About 40 percent of the world’s population currently lives near the coast. By 2100, more than twice as many people could live in areas susceptible to flooding, given sea level rise, urban growth, and high carbon dioxide emission scenarios.

Put ‘super beachfront’ lots off limit

Super beachfront lots, many platted in the 1940s and ’50s, are properties that were reclaimed by the ocean but have since re-emerged, thanks to taxpayer-funded beach renourishment.