Opinion Today: Why we should make peace with letting our shorelines wash away

Soon we won't be able to keep up with beach erosion.

View in browser|nytimes.com July 20, 2024 As climate change hastens beach erosion, trucking or shipping huge quantities of sand to replenish beaches is likely to become economically untenable and logistically impractical. Photo Illustration by Tam Stockton By Sarah Stodola Ms. Stodola is the author of "The Last Resort: A Chronicle of Paradise, Profit and Peril at the Beach." While visiting the Indonesian island of Nias in 2017, I spent an afternoon on one of the more glorious beaches I've ever seen. It left such an impression on me that when I returned to the island — known occasionally by Westerners for its stupendous surf wave — years later, I made a point of revisiting it. This time, the size of the beach had shrunk, by my estimate, 60 percent. As I sat on what was left of it, I got a glimpse of why: Two young boys appeared with wheelbarrows, loaded them up with sand, then pushed them to the new resort going up behind us, the sand destined to be mixed into concrete. Here was a resort meant to take advantage of a beautiful beach, but instead destroying it by transferring its sand from the shore to its walls. I saw countless examples of sand's significance and its vulnerability over the next few years, which I spent researching my book, "The Last Resort: A Chronicle of Paradise, Profit and Peril at the Beach." While some beaches, especially in developing countries like Indonesia, are mined for their sand, those that beach-loving vacationers flock to are continually washing away and being built back up with hauled-in sand, the costs and logistics of which grow more untenable every day. In a guest essay this week for Times Opinion, I argue that beach communities will soon have to make tough decisions about which shorelines to maintain. But the reckoning may come with a silver lining. In addition to sand mining, beaches are disappearing thanks to sea level rise, intense storms, parched rivers and sinking land. But they are also disappearing because we demand that they remain in one place. Take one look at sand — of course it's meant to move around. Left to their own devices, beaches will migrate, and they'll ebb and flow. But by and large they won't disappear. Like so many parts of travel in the 21st century, the old approaches to enjoying the beach are no longer working. For beach vacations of the future, we're better off accepting this reality and meeting the sand where it is. READ SARAH'S FULL ESSAY Guest Essay The Beaches of the Future Are Going to Surprise Us Replenishing sand is likely to become economically untenable and logistically impractical. But that doesn't spell the end of beaches. By Sarah Stodola THE WEEK IN BIG IDEAS Tallulah Fontaine Guest Essay These Teenagers Needed Help, and What They Got Was a Nightmare We need a safer, kinder and more effective approach to treating troubled teenagers. By Maia Szalavitz Illustration by The New York Times Guest Essay We Owe Shannen Doherty an Apology Gen X's quintessential bad girl was never really all that bad. By Jennifer Weiner Vanilla Chi Guest Essay Anchovies Are Always a Good Idea This diminutive fish has been making other things taste great for millenniums. By Christopher Beckman Illustration by Sam Whitney/The New York Times Pamela Paul 'Finish the Job' Is a Terrible Slogan Democrats need their own Project 2025 — fast By Pamela Paul Illustration by Sam Whitney/The New York Times Guest Essay Why the False Narratives About Trump Are Likely to Spread We have less information than ever before about the impact that our underregulated social media platforms have on our politics. By Julia Angwin We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Games Here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here. Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com. If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Opinion Today newsletter from The New York Times. To stop receiving Opinion Today, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018