East Coast Beaches Are Disappearing, And Nobody's Listening

The Climate Desk:

Surveying the armored shoreline, Jim Titus explains how the natural sinking of the shoreline and slow but steady sea-level rise, mostly due to climate change, have driven the bay's water more than a foot higher over the past century.

Titus has decided to speak out. He's crisscrossed the country to meet with state and local officials in coastal areas, urging them to start planning now for the slow-motion flood. Yet his warnings have mostly fallen on deaf ears.

Read the whole story: The Climate Desk

Comments

[dragonmaster]

06:50 AM on 05/01/2010

The Connecticut shoreline and beaches- mostly on Long Island sound (the extreme eastern shoreline faces the Ocean) have a growing problem with beach erosion, storm tides, and wetland areas become flooded. By as early as 2030 these problems will become worse as melting arctic ice, Greenland melting and part of Antarctica melt.

It seems probable by now that a 2 degree Celsius rise in temperatures by 2030 is likely- which is bordering on catastrophic- this rise will be more then enough to rise sea levels from 1-3 feet.

Any rise above 2 degrees will spell doom for the planet. Sadly, the 2 degree rise is now baked in- so it seems that many of the Connecticut beaches of mu childhood will likely be gone- or moved.

[cascot]

07:42 AM on 04/30/2010

Proof of his purchase?

Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, have joined the rich and famous who call Montecito home. The LA Times reports that "Incovenient Truth" author spent $8.875 million for an oceanview home on 1.5 acres. The property includes a swimming pool, spa and fountains. Like many other homes in the area this one is a Mediterranean-style home. It has six fireplaces and five bedrooms.

A variety of celebrities live in the area which is located in California's Santa Barbara county. Many celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and Rob Lowe own Montecito homes. It boasts some of California's most expensive real estate. The Gores also own a large mansion in the Belle Meade area of Nashville, Tennessee.

[ReedYoung]

10:51 AM on 04/30/2010

Sorry, guys, when rich folks buy a vacation house in Montecito, that only proves they really are rich and enjoy natural beauty. And "an oceanview home on 1.5 acres" is probably on a hill, a hundred feet or more above sea level and it is *definitely* not a beach front home as some of you folks below have been calling it. If it was on the beach, the realtors would have called it a "beach front home" period.

[jwoww]

02:36 PM on 04/30/2010

but when he flies his private jet back and forth to get there and his residence is when he become a a little hypocritical

[realpolitic]

10:59 AM on 04/30/2010

Gore enjoys the same lifestyle as other very wealthy people. Who cares? I assume his two houses are almost entirely off the grid and he conserves as much as he can. He does have solar panels.

[ReedYoung]

12:21 PM on 04/30/2010

And given the fact that he's "just one guy" I'm more interested in how well he demonstrates the feasibility of living off the grid than in his air travel. Still, on that score, I have to give the nod to Ed Begley, Jr. His friendly competition with Leno on the Green Channel is good tv.

[cascot]

07:40 AM on 04/30/2010

Don't think we have to worry that these changes are anything more than natural cycles... MY PROOF? Al Gore, you remember him? Nowhere to be found to be interviewed when we had record cold and snow this year??? Anyway, HE'S NOT WORRIED ABOUT BEACHES ERODING. He just bought a 9 Million dollar house on Ocean Front property in Montecito (near Santa Barbara, CA!!!). What a HYPOCRIT!!!

[realpolitic]

11:01 AM on 04/30/2010

You mean Gore is too afraid to talk of the weather? Does climate change say it will no longer be cold in winter? You deniers are sadly misinformed.

[realpolitic]

05:06 AM on 04/30/2010

"The most marked coastal changes in Estonia result from a combination of strong storms, high sea-levels induced by storm surge, ice free seas and unfrozen sediments, all of which enhance erosion and transport of sediments above the mean sea-level and inland the mean coastline."

http://www.jstor.org/pss/4299178

"Wave-buoy data collected off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest document that significant wave heights and periods have progressively increased during recent decades. The average deep-water significant wave heights during the winter have increased at a rate 0.032 m/yr from 1978 through 2001, a 0.77-m change, while the increase in wave heights associated with the strongest storms has been even greater. ...This rate of increase... would have produced more than a 6-m landward shift in the mean shoreline during the winter since the late 1970’s."

http://cedb.asce.org/cgi/WWWdisplay.cgi?130701

WHAT CAUSES EROSION?
Erosion occurs when sediments from the shoreline are physically detached and removed. The action of waves on the shorelines can be caused by winds, storms, or boat wakes.

http://shorelines.dnr.state.md.us/downloads/shoreErosionInDepth.pdf

In the United States, said a report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program in 2009, "rising sea levels are submerging low lying lands, eroding beaches, converting wetlands to open water, exacerbating coastal flooding, and increasing the salinity of estuaries and freshwater aquifers."

[realpolitic]

04:47 AM on 04/30/2010

According to a study in Science:

Climate Change Science: Adapt, Mitigate, or Ignore?
David A. King

"Global warming due to increased greenhouse gas emissions poses the most severe problem for governments today. A risk analysis forecasts increased flooding and coastline vulnerability in the United Kingdom and the world. The seriousness of economic damage depends on future global emission scenarios. The U.K. government is planning to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the United Kingdom by 60% by 2050. Global agreement and sustained action to limit carbon dioxide emissions is needed."

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/303/5655/176

[realpolitic]

04:43 AM on 04/30/2010

According to the official State of Delaware website....

"Shoreline erosion is the temporary or permanent loss of sand from the beach or dune systems. Although sea level rise is not thought to cause significant beach erosion in itself, higher water levels in combination with wind-driven waves can cause severe erosion."

"Storms are major causes of shoreline erosion, though storm-induced erosion is rather temporary or local in nature. Man-made structures like groins, jetties, and sea walls also can contribute to erosion by altering the movement of sediment along the coast."

"When combined with wind-driven waves, sea level rise can cause shoreline erosion that leaves boardwalks, hotels and houses along the coastline vulnerable to storm damage."

http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/ClimateChange/Pages/ClimateChangeShorelineErosion.aspx

[doubtingdavid]

12:29 PM on 04/29/2010

algore just bought a new home with six fire[places and five bedrooms on the ocean front. Seems he's not too worried about oceans rising and beaches disappearing. Now he can have an even larger carbon footprint!!! LIES DO PAY!!! Allyou buffoons who have contributed to his farcical Global WArming scam should ask if he will let you timeshare in his new digs. ALGORE: KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON FOR YOU!!!

[ReedYoung]

10:50 PM on 04/29/2010

Do you have copies of the real estate records? A newspaper article, at least?

Do you have ANYTHING BESIDES SHOUTING AND OVERUSE OF "!!!!!!" ?

[SFTor]

11:45 PM on 04/29/2010

The link to the newspaper article is directly below.

[cascot]

07:42 AM on 04/30/2010

Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, have joined the rich and famous who call Montecito home. The LA Times reports that "Incovenient Truth" author spent $8.875 million for an oceanview home on 1.5 acres. The property includes a swimming pool, spa and fountains. Like many other homes in the area this one is a Mediterranean-style home. It has six fireplaces and five bedrooms.

A variety of celebrities live in the area which is located in California's Santa Barbara county. Many celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and Rob Lowe own Montecito homes. It boasts some of California's most expensive real estate. The Gores also own a large mansion in the Belle Meade area of Nashville, Tennessee.

[hidenout]

11:21 AM on 04/29/2010

Al Gore hedging his bet

http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-hotprop-gore-20100428,0,4103538.story

[orbs]

07:01 AM on 04/29/2010

Beach errosion is perfectly natural.

There's no reason to listen to anything about saving the Earth's ever shifting shores.

[Uncle Bill]

06:08 PM on 04/29/2010

Even if they are rocky? They don't shift too easily, take Long Island for instance - no not Fire Island, Long Island the entire Island is rubble brought to its present home by the conveyer effect of a previous glacial era. Sandy beaches and barrier islands of sand move and reshape themselves constantly, rocky shores and outcroppings like New Moore Island, Long Island and the Giant's Causeway, not so much.

[realpolitic]

06:15 AM on 04/29/2010

According to a study,

"To develop improved estimates of (1) flooding due to storm surges, and (2) wetland losses due to accelerated sea-level rise, the work of Hoozemans (1993) is extended to a dynamic analysis. It considers the effects of several simultaneously changing factors, including: (1) global sea-level rise and subsidence; (2) increasing coastal population; and (3) improving standards of flood defence."

"In all cases there is a global rise in sea level of about 38 cm from 1990 to the 2080s. No other climate change is considered. Relative to an evolving reference scenario without sea-level rise, this analysis suggests that the number of people flooded by storm surge in a typical year will be more than five times higher due to sea-level rise by the 2080s. Many of these people will experience annual or more frequent flooding, suggesting that the increase in flood frequency will be more than nuisance level and some response (increased protection, migration, etc.) will be required. In absolute terms, the areas most vulnerable to flooding are the southern Mediterranean, Africa, and most particularly, South and South-east Asia where there is a concentration of low-lying populated deltas. By the 2080s, sea-level rise could cause the loss of up to 22% of the world's coastal wetlands."

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VFV-3XR2V33-6&_user=10&_coverDate=10%2F31%2F1999&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1315986918&_rerunOrigin=scholar.google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=7b616e4e259dede1fa8f1c6699dcada1

[SFTor]

06:11 PM on 04/29/2010

Is it 2080 yet, RP?

And how many times can you use the word "could" before it gets a little embarrassing?

[MGhamma]

07:03 PM on 04/29/2010

Could say the same thing about you siftor, or should I call you michale?

[realpolitic]

09:05 PM on 04/29/2010

Well, you have to ask the scientists who wrote the study. Scientists are trained to use precise language. I know you prefer the bombastic certainty you hear on Fox News and that's why you are hostile to the scientific community.

[gorgol]

06:14 AM on 04/29/2010

WHO CARES...the FLORIDA BEACHES will soon be ruined by oil...its OVER for us here..
those currents will take the oil..around Key West and up the WEST COAST....coating the whole coastline of FLORIDA....let them disappear.....we've again "POOPED" where we sleep.

[gaysofla]

12:00 PM on 04/29/2010

As a South Florida resident, I have to admit that oil spill has be worried about our beaches and oceans.

[SFTor]

01:53 PM on 04/30/2010

I think you mean the East Coast, gorgol.

According to a friend of mine in the industry offshore oil spills are inevitable. Drill in deep water at the limit of your technical capabilities, and this will happen in other words.

In this case what happened was that they hit a methane pocket that held large amounts of the gas under high pressure.

More catastrophes like this one will occur as long as we drill offshore with the current technology.

[realpolitic]

12:31 AM on 05/01/2010

"Oil spills are inevitable."

Not according to the oil industry.

[foolonthehill]

04:35 AM on 04/29/2010

Too bad the country is bankrupt. But I guess those who can afford to live on the beach can pay for this themselves. I prefer a hill. Much better view. No significant erosion.

[KIVPossum]

03:15 AM on 04/29/2010

With or without GW coast lines have changed, and will continue to do so. Anyone who builds on a sand dune and expects it to remain stationary is delusional.

[Uncle Bill]

05:53 PM on 04/29/2010

Good news! There are places where you CAN build on a sand dune and it will likely be stable for over 100 years with simple management. Bad news for the beach crowd- those dunes are here: http://www.thenebraskasandhills.com/Home.html

Otherwise, you'd best not think in terms of permanence for most beaches in the continental US.

[cincinnati]

02:56 AM on 04/29/2010

I think the states and local governments should take on the costs involved. Likewise those that live on the coast, on it or very close and so threatened, should have realized this and must bear their own related costs.

When you chose to live in an area with known problems, whether it is earthquakes on the West coast, or hurricanes in the Gulf, you take on those dangers. Those of us in the Midwest like our fellow citizens, but we chose to live in an area with few dangers, and rarely cost the other taxpayers anything.

[SFTor]

03:26 AM on 04/29/2010

No tornadoes in your neighborhood? No flooding rivers? (Ever heard of The Great Dayton Flood in 1913?) How about winter storms and blizzards?

[cincinnati]

05:03 AM on 04/29/2010

Sure, and I expected such a reply. But rarely more than the usual one can expect any where on the planet. Federal help and money is extremely rare and even then small compared to the coasts. I'm very sympathetic, I have a close relative not far from Houston, and I like it there, the ocean is very soothing, walking in the sand, the entire experience. But it is daring Mother Nature Big Time.

And of course those farmers, etc. living too close to the Mississippi, etc. can expect damage often too. Don't use common sense and pay for it.

[SFTor]

03:33 AM on 04/29/2010

As far as people bearing their own costs, they do to an extent at least. It's called insurance.

For a place like New Orleans it gets a little trickier, unless we agree to resettle the entire population to the Midwest.

[ReedYoung]

11:57 PM on 04/29/2010

"For a place like New Orleans it gets a little trickier"?

You say you're a Liberal?

[SFTor]

02:33 AM on 04/29/2010

If you build something stationary on a coastline, especially a sandy one, expect it to stand still, while the coastline moves.

You may like the results, and then again maybe not.

[realpolitic]

04:22 AM on 04/29/2010

Why did they build a sea wall? Because of the rising waters flooding the beaches due to climate change. Everyone understands this simplicity, but you.

[SFTor]

05:15 AM on 04/29/2010

RP, please give me one example of a seaside community or installation that has experienced problems due to ocean level rises caused by climate change. ONE.

Chesapeake Beach does not count. They are dealing with erosion, which is as natural as the hair under your arms. Please get this, so I can believe that there is hope for you yet.

[realpolitic]

05:31 AM on 04/29/2010

Maybe they did not print my comment. The entire east coast of the US, if you read the article. Bangladesh. Tuvalu Islands, to name a few.

[ReedYoung]

12:14 AM on 04/30/2010

YOU LIE!

"No RP, I said seaside communities that HAVE EXPERIENCED problems, as in experienced already. None of the locations you mentioned have had such problems. None. Zero. Nada. So try again, RP."

http://www.google.com/search?q=tuvalu+flood

So try again, SFor brains.

[realpolitic]

04:29 AM on 04/30/2010

How much of Bangladesh is flooded each year, do you know? How can Bangladesh have no problems with flooding when the seas off its coasts have risen by eight inches, the Himalayan glaciers that feed its huge rivers are melting, the arable land is being ruined by salt water incursion, and the continent itself is slowly sinking? Man, you better explain that one to the Bangledeshi authorities!

How can Tuvalu have no problems with flooding when it is several feet above sea level in the middle of the Pacific and the sea waters have risen eight inches in the last 120 years?

[realpolitic]

10:35 AM on 04/30/2010

You say Bangladesh has had no problems with flooding and that they are not getting more serious? Your naivety is startling. Man, what a joke are your comments! Your arrogance must seriously isolate you when you need admiration so much. What a pity!