Living Shorelines


Book Description

Living Shorelines: The Science and Management of Nature-based Coastal Protection compiles, synthesizes and interprets the current state of the knowledge on the science and practice of nature-based shoreline protection. This book will serve as a valuable reference to guide scientists, students, managers, planners, regulators, environmental and engineering consultants, and others engaged in the design and implementation of living shorelines. This volume provides a background and history of living shorelines, understandings on management, policy, and project designs, technical synthesis of the science related to living shorelines including insights from new studies, and the identification of research needs, lessons learned, and perspectives on future guidance. Makes recommendations on the correct usage of the term living shorelines Offers guidance for shoreline management in the future Includes lessons learned from the practice of shoreline restoration/conservation Synthesizes regional perspectives to identify strategies for the successful design and implementation of living shorelines Reviews specific design criteria for successful implementation of living shorelines Provides detailed discussions of social, regulatory, scientific and technical considerations to justify and design living shoreline projects International perspectives are presented from leading researchers and managers in the East, West and Gulf coasts of the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia that are working on natural approaches to shoreline management. The broad geographic scope and interdisciplinary nature of contributing authors will help to facilitate dialogue and transfer knowledge among different disciplines and across different regions. This book provides coastal communities with the scientific foundation and practical guidance necessary to implement effective shoreline management that enhances ecosystem services and coastal resilience now and into the future.




Mitigating Shore Erosion Along Sheltered Coasts


Book Description

Like ocean beaches, sheltered coastal areas experience land loss from erosion and sea level rise. In response, property owners often install hard structures such as bulkheads as a way to prevent further erosion, but these structures cause changes in the coastal environment that alter landscapes, reduce public access and recreational opportunities, diminish natural habitats, and harm species that depend on these habitats for shelter and food. Mitigating Shore Erosion Along Sheltered Coasts recommends coastal planning efforts and permitting policies to encourage landowners to use erosion control alternatives that help retain the natural features of coastal shorelines.




Living Shorelines


Book Description

Living Shorelines: The Science and Management of Nature-based Coastal Protection compiles, synthesizes and interprets the current state of the knowledge on the science and practice of nature-based shoreline protection. This book will serve as a valuable reference to guide scientists, students, managers, planners, regulators, environmental and engineering consultants, and others engaged in the design and implementation of living shorelines. This volume provides a background and history of living shorelines, understandings on management, policy, and project designs, technical synthesis of the science related to living shorelines including insights from new studies, and the identification of research needs, lessons learned, and perspectives on future guidance. Makes recommendations on the correct usage of the term living shorelines Offers guidance for shoreline management in the future Includes lessons learned from the practice of shoreline restoration/conservation Synthesizes regional perspectives to identify strategies for the successful design and implementation of living shorelines Reviews specific design criteria for successful implementation of living shorelines Provides detailed discussions of social, regulatory, scientific and technical considerations to justify and design living shoreline projects International perspectives are presented from leading researchers and managers in the East, West and Gulf coasts of the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia that are working on natural approaches to shoreline management. The broad geographic scope and interdisciplinary nature of contributing authors will help to facilitate dialogue and transfer knowledge among different disciplines and across different regions. This book provides coastal communities with the scientific foundation and practical guidance necessary to implement effective shoreline management that enhances ecosystem services and coastal resilience now and into the future.




The Role of Ecosystems in Disaster Risk Reduction


Book Description

The uptake of ecosystem-based approaches for disaster risk reduction (DRR) is slow, however, despite some success stories. There are multiple reasons for this reluctance: ecosystem management is rarely considered as part of the portfolio of DRR solutions because the environmental and disaster management communities typically work independently from each other; its contribution to DRR is highly undervalued compared to engineered solutions and therefore not given appropriate budget allocations; and there are poor interactions between policymakers and researchers, leading to unclear and sometimes contradictory scientific information on the role of ecosystems for DRR. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of knowledge and practice in this multidisciplinary field of ecosystems management and DRR. The contributors, professionals from the science and disaster management communities around the world, represent state-of-the-art knowledge, practices, and perspectives on the topic.




The World's Beaches


Book Description

Take this book to the beach; it will open up a whole new world. Illustrated throughout with color photographs, maps, and graphics, it explores one of the planet’s most dynamic environments—from tourist beaches to Arctic beaches strewn with ice chunks to steaming hot tropical shores. The World’s Beaches tells how beaches work, explains why they vary so much, and shows how dramatic changes can occur on them in a matter of hours. It discusses tides, waves, and wind; the patterns of dunes, washover fans, and wrack lines; and the shape of berms, bars, shell lags, cusps, ripples, and blisters. What is the world’s longest beach? Why do some beaches sing when you walk on them? Why do some have dark rings on their surface and tiny holes scattered far and wide? This fascinating, comprehensive guide also considers the future of beaches, and explains how extensively people have affected them—from coastal engineering to pollution, oil spills, and rising sea levels.




The North Carolina Shore and Its Barrier Islands


Book Description

The North Carolina Shore and Its Barrier Islands is the latest volume in the series, Living with the Shore. Replacing an earlier volume, this thoroughly new book provides a diverse guide to one of America's most popular shorelines. As is true for all books in the series, it is based on the premise that understanding the changing nature of beaches and barrier islands is essential if we are to preserve them for future generations. Evidence that the North Carolina shore is changing is never hard to find, but recently the devastation wrought by Hurricane Fran and the perilous situation of the historic lighthouse at Cape Hatteras have reminded all concerned of the fragility of this coast. Arguing for a policy of intelligent development, one in which residential and commercial structures meet rather than confront the changing nature of the shore, the authors have included practical information on hazards of many kinds--storms, tides, floods, erosion, island migration, and earthquakes. Diagrams and photographs clearly illustrate coastal processes and aid in understanding the impact of hurricanes and northeasters, wave and current dynamics, as well as pollution and other environmental destruction due to overdevelopment. A chapter on estuaries provides related information on the shores of back barrier areas that are growing in popularity for recreational residences. Risk maps focus on the natural hazards of each island and together with construction guidelines provide a basis for informed island management. Lastly, the dynamics of coastal politics and management are reviewed through an analysis of the controversies over the decision to move the Cape Hatteras lighthouse and a proposed effort to stabilize Oregon Inlet. From the natural and historic perspective of the opening chapters to the regional discussions of individual barrier islands, this book is both a primer on coastal processes for the first time visitor as well as a guide to hazard identification for property owners.




A Season on the Wind


Book Description

Every spring, billions of birds sweep north. This vast parade often goes unnoticed, except in a few places where these small travelers concentrate in large numbers. One such place is along Lake Erie in northwestern Ohio. Millions of winged migrants pass through the region. Now climate change threatens to disrupt patterns of migration and the delicate balance between birds, seasons, and habitats




A New Coast


Book Description

“This is a timely book... [It] should be mandatory reading..." — Minnesota Star Tribune More severe storms and rising seas will inexorably push the American coastline inland with profound impact on communities, infrastructure, and natural systems. In A New Coast, Jeffrey Peterson draws a comprehensive picture of how storms and rising seas will change the coast. Peterson offers a clear-eyed assessment of how governments can work with the private sector and citizens to be better prepared for the coming coastal inundation. Drawing on four decades of experience at the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Senate, Peterson presents the science behind predictions for coastal impacts. He explains how current policies fall short of what is needed to effectively prepare for these changes and how the Trump Administration has significantly weakened these efforts. While describing how and why the current policies exist, he builds a strong case for a bold, new approach, tackling difficult topics including: how to revise flood insurance and disaster assistance programs; when to step back from the coast rather than build protection structures; how to steer new development away from at-risk areas; and how to finance the transition to a new coast. Key challenges, including how to protect critical infrastructure, ecosystems, and disadvantaged populations, are examined. Ultimately, Peterson offers hope in the form of a framework of new national policies and programs to support local and state governments. He calls for engagement from the private sector and local and national leaders in a “campaign for a new coast.” A New Coast is a compelling assessment of the dramatic changes that are coming to America’s coast. Peterson offers insights and strategies for policymakers, planners, and business leaders preparing for the intensifying impacts of climate change along the coast.




Free the Beaches


Book Description

The story of our separate and unequal America in the making, and one man's fight against it During the long, hot summers of the late 1960s and 1970s, one man began a campaign to open some of America's most exclusive beaches to minorities and the urban poor. That man was anti-poverty activist and one‑time presidential candidate Ned Coll of Connecticut, a state that permitted public access to a mere seven miles of its 253‑mile shoreline. Nearly all of the state's coast was held privately, for the most part by white, wealthy residents. This book is the first to tell the story of the controversial protester who gathered a band of determined African American mothers and children and challenged the racist, exclusionary tactics of homeowners in a state synonymous with liberalism. Coll's legacy of remarkable successes--and failures--illuminates how our nation's fragile coasts have not only become more exclusive in subsequent decades but also have suffered greater environmental destruction and erosion as a result of that private ownership.




Living on the Edge of the Gulf


Book Description

A new look at the West Florida and Alabama Gulf shoreline, in the context of burgeoning development and revised coastal regulations.