Reference no: EM134024188

Problem

Human activities have a considerable impact on beach processes of erosion and deposition. We fill marshes, construct dikes, and bulldoze dunes or trample their natural stabilizing vegetation. We hasten erosion when we build roads, houses, hotels, and other structures along the waterfront. Once these structures have been built, people attempt to protect their investments by preventing beach erosion. One approach is to construct artificial offshore structures such as breakwaters. Although, some help with beach erosion locally, they almost invariably accelerate erosion in adjacent areas.

Another approach to mitigate beach erosion is beach replenishment: adding sand to beaches to replace that lost by erosion. Sand may be dredged from harbors or pumped from offshore sandbars. Dredging disrupts marine organisms, it is costly and replenished beaches can be short-lived. For example, a massive dredging project that cost more than $17 M replenished 5 miles of beaches along the San Diego coast in 2000. Within months, more than one-half of the sand was gone.

The expense of maintaining coastal zones raises two basic questions: Who benefits? Who should pay?

Some people believe that the interests of those who own coastal properties are not compatible with the public interest, and it is unwise to expend large amounts of public funds to protect the property of only a few. People argue that shorefront businesses and homeowners are the chief beneficiaries of shore protection measures, that they often deny the public access to the beaches in front of their property and therefore they should be paying for the majority of the cost of maintaining the shoreline.

Answer each of the following questions separately, numbering each of your answers to match the number of the question.

I. Do you think the beach replenishment project is a wise use of taxpayers' money? Who should pay: the federal government, state government, local government, or coastal property owners? Get the instant assignment help.

II. Coastal erosion is not a problem for beaches, only for people who want to build on them. Do you believe that we could give up building in the coastal zone? Should communities adopt zoning plans that prohibit building on undeveloped lands within, say, 150-200 feet of the shore?

III. Coastal erosion will become more serious if the current rise in sea level-about an inch every 8 years-continues as global warming causes seawater to expand or the polar ice caps to melt. Many of the world's major cities would be threatened by this rise in sea level. What are some of those cities? How might they protect themselves?