"In the most dire predictions, South Florida’s delicate barrier islands, coastal communities and captivating subtropical beaches will be lost to the rising waters in as few as 100 years."
"Had the barrier islands never been developed, they would form natural buffers between the sea and the mainland. But, as America's infatuation with the beach grew, so did the value of proximity to it."
"At opposite ends of the country, two of America’s most golden coastal enclaves are waging the same desperate battle against erosion. With beaches and bluffs in both Malibu and Nantucket disappearing into the ocean, wealthy homeowners are prepared to do almost anything—spend tens of millions on new sand, berms, retaining walls, and other measures—to save their precious waterfront properties."
"The Broad Channel project offers a preview of the infrastructure outlays that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is envisioning as part of a new $20 billion plan to protect the city’s 520 miles of coast over the next decade from rising sea levels."
"The ruling is expected to make it much easier — and less expensive — for towns to proceed with a $25 million dune reconstruction project meant to protect homes built along fragile barrier islands."
"For 400 years, New York has embraced, spurned, ignored, harnessed, and feared the water that made its greatness possible. Now our relationship must get even more complex."
"There was a bigger issue underlying the back-and-forth: How far should government go in allowing landowners to protect their beachfront properties, given that many solutions, like building hard beach barricades, can in some cases cause worse erosion nearby?"
"By century's end, rising sea levels will turn the nation's urban fantasyland into an American Atlantis. But long before the city is completely underwater, chaos will begin."
"Hurricanes and storms are nothing new for Florida. But as the oceans warm, hurricanes are growing more intense. To make matters worse, this is happening against a backdrop of sharply rising sea levels, turning what has been a seasonal annoyance into an existential threat."