China’s international lending projects have big potential impacts on oceans and coasts. By cooperating more closely with host countries, Beijing can make those projects more sustainable.
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.
Puerto Rico’s tourism industry is booming as nations lift COVID-19 travel restrictions, but development is displacing people who have lived along its coastlines for years.
In principle, some portion of the shoreline is public land along virtually all US coasts. But these can sometimes overlap with private property interests, creating confusion and conflict.
NOAA’s 2021 high-tide flooding outlook shows where the risks are highest and growing. Some communities are seeing 20 or more days of flooding a year now.
Recent flooding may have reduced the remaining coral population by 90%. Combined with damage from fishing, boating and coastal development, the species may be gone in a decade.
Birds found along the Gulf Coast have evolved to ride out hurricanes and tropical storms. But with development degrading the marshes where they live, it’s getting harder for them to bounce back.
Healthy seagrasses form underwater meadows teeming with fish and shellfish. A successful large-scale restoration project in Virginia could become a model for reseeding damaged seagrass beds worldwide.
Michael Beck, University of California, Santa Cruz and Pelayo Menéndez, University of California, Santa Cruz
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.
Puerto Rico was once home to about 110,000 Taínos, an indigenous people decimated by the Spanish conquest. Their ancient homeland was located in the area hit hard by recent earthquakes.
‘Building back better’ refers to making communities more disaster-proof and resilient after they take a hit. But instead, some US owners are building back bigger homes in vulnerable places.
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.
Chemical pollution and hunting pushed Ospreys to the edge of extinction in the mid-20th century. Today, they have rebounded and can be spotted worldwide, often nesting on manmade structures.
The Trump administration is sharply reducing environmental protection for wetlands and streams across the US. This roundup of stories spotlights the many benefits that such water bodies provide.
Mangrove forests along the world’s tropical and subtropical coasts store enormous quantities of ‘blue’ carbon – especially in river delta zones, where soil builds up quickly.
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.
Hurricanes frequently move inland in the southeast US, causing widespread river flooding, but emergency plans focus on protecting people in coastal communities.
Widespread flooding in North Carolina from Hurricane Florence shows the need for better advance planning in inland areas of the south and mid-Atlantic, especially near rivers.
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.