By Catherine Cooper on April 04th, 2014

By Catharine Cooper.

The effects of rising seawater conjure images of Bangladesh and Greeces Kriti Islands places destined to disappear by the end of the century under encroachment of the sea. But what about here in Laguna? What might a one-foot rise mean for our beaches? A three-foot rise? At what point do preventative mechanisms to protect private property trump the publics right to beach access?

Two current struggles provide a framework for conversation. The first and closest to home is Broad Beach, in Malibu, where as much as 60 of beach had been lost in the past decade. As the sea continued to encroach into the front lawns of the rich and famous, they took matters into their own hands first with a sand berm that caused a huge uproar and finally with a 13 high wall of jetty-like stones.

The net effect has been a temporary solution at best, and one that has rendered what used to be a well-loved beach, unusable. The thin strip of sand in front of the revetment that is exposed during low tide is never dry enough to lay down a towel.

Bill Patzert, a climatologist at NASAs Jet Propulsion Lab, in Pasadena, calls it the Invisible Beach. The protection of a handful of property owners has eliminated access to the public.

On the other side of the country, in Nantucket, homeowners along Baxter Road, which fronts a steep cliff face called Sconset Bluff, are in a face-off that similarly pits the wealthy against the public. A lingering noreaster in March 2013 caused the surf to pound the unprotected bluffs for days. The resulting erosion chewed away at the foot of the slope, and one of the houses on the edge simply fell into the sea.

Remaining homeowners are desperate for a solution and have tried everything from a type of drain pipe buried under the sand to some burrito-shaped barriers of coir and jute.The drain system clogged and was abandoned; the burritos developed into individual islands as the sea simply swept over and around them.

At question are more than just property rights and beach access. The coastal bluff environment is integral to the health of the seas. And while we can slow erosion by extreme measures, it rarely stops it.

Sarah Oktay, vice-chairman of the Nantucket Conservation Commission states, Its a natural process If you take beach bluffs or dunes and you cover them in rocks so it cant go anywhere, then it no longer provides that feeder material to downdrift beaches, so youll lose the beach in front of those rocks and youll lose the beach downdrifts. Its basically telling your neighbors, Well, I want my home more than you want your beach.

More here:

Beaches vs. Homeowners