Climate Change Is Making 'Coastal Squeeze' Worse

It may seem to be common sense if you own beachfront property to protect it by building sturdy barriers between your abode and the water, especially as sea levels continue to rise. However, this measure of self-defense is actually contributing to the demise of America's shorelines, because as sea walls are erected, "the beach has nowhere to go ... [so] it vanishes underwater," reports the New York Times. This coastal "armor" put up by homeowners exacerbates so-called passive erosion, or "coastal squeeze," and it has a domino effect, as described by the Times: "When one portion of beach is armored, water can find its way around the barriers to chew at the beach next door ... which means that once one owner puts up a sea wall, neighbors often follow suit." Phys.org notes that coastal squeeze also affects biodiversity and our drinking water.

A study published late last year in the journal Nature Communications showed that about one-third of global coastlines have already seen such a "hardening," and the researchers predict that by the year 2100, more than a quarter of the world's total beaches are "likely to face severe beach loss." Some are pushing back—including environmentalists, regulators, and surfers—and they're using an ancient Roman law from the sixth century AD to back them up. That law, since adapted by the US and other countries, dictates that the sea and "the shores of the sea" are for public use. In the US, that currently means in most states that any patch of beach below the high-tide line should be accessible for free to the public. What it comes down to, per University of Michigan urban planning professor Richard Norton: "Are you going to save the beach house, or do you want to save the beach?" More here.