Booming prices for coastal properties are a mark of our reluctance to reckon with the climate change that is already upon us. We must start to properly account for and act on climate risk.
The Army Corps of Engineers is planning a sea wall 6 miles long and flood gates. The infrastructure might protect downtown from a hurricane storm surge, but most of the area will still be vulnerable.
Despite their enormous value, mangroves are being removed at an alarming rate. A new tool aims to help communities reverse mangrove loss and tap into conservation programs and funding.
A new study estimates that mangroves prevent over $65 billion in damage from coastal storms every year, and says mangrove protection should be funded in the same way as infrastructure like seawalls.
Michael Beck, University of California, Santa Cruz
A new report shows that coral reefs reduce damage from floods across the United States and its trust territories by more than $1.8 billion every year – and pinpoints that value state by state.
Coastal development is destroying marshes, mangroves and other wetlands that provide valuable protection from hurricanes and storms. Research shows these benefits can be worth millions of dollars.
How do the narrow ribbons of sand that line the Atlantic and Gulf coasts withstand the force of hurricanes? The answer lies in their shape-shifting abilities.
Many US coastal towns are building defenses to protect against rising seas and storms. This can encourage people to stay in place when they should be moving inland.
Many properties are at risk from rising sea levels, with owners and councils at odds over the costs of defending these. NSW law reform may lead to more forward-looking climate change adaptation.
Managing the impacts of rising seas for some communities is being made more difficult by the actions of governments, homeowners – and even some well-intentioned climate adaptation experts.
Queensland Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney’s decision, revealed this week, to order a Brisbane council to remove future sea-level rise from its planning regulations seems a rather short-sighted thing to do…
Michael Beck, University of California, Santa Cruz
Coral reefs: fragile, delicate, and in danger? Actually coral reefs can be the first line in defence against incoming storms, reducing the power of incoming waves by 97%, even during hurricane-force winds…