11-15-2009, 02:22 PM
This is a critically important story, and there are lessons that have been, or at least should have been, learned elsewhere. One of these lessons is that allowing waterfront property owners to build seawalls and other "protective" barriers has a very negative long-term effect. Seawalls accellerate beach sand erosion and only temporarily halt the advance of the ocean. Of course, people whose multi-million dollar homes, hotels, etc., are about to be consumed by the sea will want to build these things and will have the money to do so. It will take political will not yet shown by our local, state, and national leaders to appropriately deal with this issue.