Catalan coast and Balearic Islands have been ravaged by Storm Gloria

A storm surge on the east coast of Spain has swept 3km (two miles) inland, devastating land in the Ebro river delta south of Barcelona.
Sea level rise could reshape the United States, trigger migration inland

AIl shows climate change-driven sea-level rise could trigger mass migration to cities inland.
Millions of future climate refugees may need protection, U.N. committee warns

Refugees fleeing their native countries due to the effects of the climate crisis in future years may not be forced to return if their lives are in danger, the United Nations Human Rights Committee said in a ruling Monday.
The ‘Blob,’ a massive marine heat wave, led to an unprecedented seabird die-off

From 2015–2016, 62,000 dead common murres washed onto U.S. and Canadian Pacific coast beaches. All together, an estimated 10 to 20 percent of the region’s total population was wiped out.
Malaysia sends back trash, says won’t be world’s waste bin

Shipments of unwanted rubbish have been rerouted to Southeast Asia since China banned the import of plastic waste in 2018, but Malaysia and other developing countries are fighting back.
Asia’s hunger for sand is harmful to farming and the environment

Singapore’s added construction plan (in brown), 01-2020. Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care Singapore’s expansion has been a colossal undertaking. It is not merely a matter of coastal reclamation: Singapore is growing vertically as well as horizontally. This means that the nation’s market needs fine river sand—used for beaches and concrete—as well as coarse sea […]
Microplastics affect sand crabs’ mortality and reproduction

Sand crabs, a key species in beach ecosystems, were found to have increased adult mortality and decreased reproductive success when exposed to plastic microfibers, according to a new study.
Unsustainable sand mining is threatening lives along the Mekong River in Cambodia

Sand river mining in the Puna Tsang Chu, Punakha, Bhutan, January 2020. Photograph:Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care. As of 2011-2012, when investigative filmmaker Denis Delestrac and team, were first collecting and unveiling sand mining datas and information from the professionals involved, they found and reported that “the Sand business was estimated to be a […]
A great carbon reckoning comes to architecture

Practitioners have finally begun taking a more nuanced approach to the carbon emitted by new buildings. Are they too late?