The Future of the Beach

About this episode

We love our beaches. We build homes beside them, vacation on them, and spend billions of dollars trying to keep them from disappearing. But beaches are supposed to move—and as sea levels rise, keeping them in place is becoming more expensive, more difficult, and possibly impossible.  So what happens when the sand, the money, and the time start running out? Coastal geologist Rob Young says we’re going to have to make some hard choices about what we protect, what we let go, and who pays for the risk.  For more information, studies, and data about beach nourishment, buyouts, and adaptation at the coast, check out the Program for the Study of the Developed Shoreline's website.  Additional resources: Rebuild by Design NOAA's Sea Level Rise Viewer The Water Institute's Community Resilience Center This episode was hosted by Executive Producer Carlyle Calhoun. Our theme music is by Jon Batiste, and our sound designer is Emily Jankowski. Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWN