Beach renourishment, Florida. Image source: ©© Florida Sea Grant
“Beach nourishment projects like this have become commonplace along the US East and Gulf Coasts. These projects have immediate environmental impacts through burial of nearshore habitat and increased turbidity during project placement.The cumulative environmental impacts of doing this repeatedly on the same beach while conducting projects from Maine to Texas is unknown. But, we should be concerned. ” —Robert S. Young, PhD, Director, Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, Professor, Coastal Geology, Western Carolina University.
Excerpts;
The shores shrink, the tourists scatter, the tax base shrivels. That’s what troubles many communities across the state forced to shoulder the expensive burden of beach renourishment…
Too often, communities can’t afford the huge expense of rebuilding their beaches.They changed their minds this year, after watching more of their coast disappear. Residents, now willing to pay up, hope the state will step up too…
Read Full Article, The Naples Daily News (11-17-2016)
Shrinking Shores: Florida sand shortage leaves beaches in lurch, The Naples Daily News (11-17-2016)
Beaches are built one truckload at a time as the main ingredient in the State’s beach renourishemnt program – offshore sand – gets harder to find…
Sand’s end, The Verge (11-17-2016)
Miami Beach has run out of sand. Now what?…
Water world: rising tides close in on Trump, the climate change denier; Guardian UK (07-07-2016)
Climate change has barely registered as a 2016 campaign issue, but in Florida, the state which usually decides the presidential election, the waters are lapping at the doors of Donald Trump’s real estate empire…
The Beach Boondoggle; Op Ed by Robert Young, The New York Times (10-12-2016)
Coastal geologist criticizes beach renourishment efforts; By Robert S. Young, PhD; The State (08-17-2016)
Rob Young, who heads the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University, said the government is subsidizing coastal development with renourishment money – and that’s costing taxpayers. Communities across the country have spent millions of dollars renourishing beaches. Those efforts encourage people to rebuild after every major hurricane…
Palm Beach Mid-Town Dredge Project, A Youtube Video (02-04-2015)
“Beach nourishment projects like this have become commonplace along the US East and Gulf Coasts. These projects have immediate environmental impacts through burial of nearshore habitat and increased turbidity during project placement.The cumulative environmental impacts of doing this repeatedly on the same beach while conducting projects from Maine to Texas is unknown. But, we should be concerned. ” —Robert S. Young, PhD, Director, Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, Professor, Coastal Geology, Western Carolina University
Is Beach Renourishment Worth The Money? WWAY News (02-16-2015)
Beach replenishment may have far reaching impacts on ecosystems;” Phys.Org (03-29-2016)
UC San Diego biologists who examined the biological impact of replenishing eroded beaches with offshore sand found that such beach replenishment efforts could have long-term negative impacts on coastal ecosystems…
Economy Winner, Environment Loser in Renourishment; Pensacola News Journal (12-02-2015)
Piling sand to stop erosion ultimately made the land sink, study says, NOLA (12-26-2015)
Editorial: Beach Replenishment is No Cure-All, Asburry Park Press (05-14-2015)
The Conservation Crisis No One Is Talking About, TakePart (09-21-2016)
Beaches around the world are disappearing. No, the cause isn’t sea-level rise, at least not this time. It’s a little-known but enormous industry called sand mining, which every year sucks up billions of tons of sand from beaches, ocean floors, and rivers to make everything from concrete to microchips to toothpaste…
