Welcome to Locally Sourced, a biweekly Covering Climate Now newsletter for journalists working to localize the climate story. Share this newsletter with colleagues and journalism students interested in localizing the climate story. Vea la versión en español de “Fuentes Locales.”
Story Spark: Shoreline Loss
Over a billion people, roughly 15% of the world’s population, live within a few miles of the coast and bear the brunt of climate change’s most dramatic impacts. While Earth’s shorelines and beaches constantly change as sand and soil shift, climate change–fueled storms and higher seas amplify coastal erosion as more frequent and larger waves take a bigger “bite” out of our beaches. In the US, this coastal erosion is responsible for nearly $500 million in property loss per year, with houses collapsing into both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
While every coastline in the world is impacted by erosion, the rate of shoreline loss differs with some areas experiencing relatively minor changes each year, while others, particularly in the American Southeast, see 25 feet or more disappear into the ocean every year. To visualize this, imagine your favorite place on the water — now picture that the water’s edge has moved roughly three parking spaces closer to you. This shoreline retreat continues year after year, until the landscape you once knew becomes unrecognizable.
Beach “renourishment” and other shoreline erosion control projects look to stem this hemorrhaging of sand — but at great cost. North Carolina, for example, has spent more than $1 billion on beach renourishment since the 1950s. This solution isn’t permanent; the process of pumping millions of pounds of sand to replenish diminished beaches must be repeated every 3 to 5 years.
The impacts of global shoreline loss extend far beyond simply beaches disappearing, as long-lived coastal communities now must debate whether retreating further inland is the best (or only) option forward. Additionally, coastal wetlands and marshes, which are disappearing three times faster than forests, often act as the first line of defense against storms — which are becoming increasingly more intense due to climate change.
Stories We Like
- France 24 highlights how a coastal community is fighting a losing battle against the rising ocean, with some calling for the town to move inland by the end of the century.
- In Washington state, tribal and rural communities must take action as the Pacific swallows buildings and erodes coastlines, the Daily Yonder reports.
- Grist examines a potential solution to manage beach erosion called a “sand motor,” a sculpted landscape that works with nature rather than against it.
- In Inverbervie, a small town on the northern coast of Scotland, storms intensified by climate change carve chunks out of the exposed coastline. The Guardian reports how local communities are (and are not) taking action.
- Many saltwater marshes near the Gulf of Mexico are “drowning” as seas are rising faster than wetlands are able to grow. The Washington Post dives into how Louisiana communities are reacting and adapting.
- In a three-part series, WHQR and the Assembly extensively cover how accelerating flood events and worsening beach erosion is an evolving problem for North Carolina that “won’t stop even if we keep burying our heads in the sand.”
- Villages along Nigeria’s coastline have lost not only their homes, but also their livelihoods and loved ones’ graves as the ocean encroaches, Al Jazeera reports.
Expert Tips
Olga Loginova, a multimedia journalist covering climate displacement and environmental justice, offers tips for reporting on shoreline loss and ensuing climate resettlement. Previously a reporter with Columbia Journalism Investigations and Voice of America, she is the producer and host of Leaving the Island, an investigative podcast about the resettlement of Isle de Jean Charles, La., where only 2% of the island remains above water.
Embrace complexity. Topics like community resettlement are inherently complicated and messy, involving myriad people and systems with different backgrounds, agendas, power dynamics, and points of view. Talk to as many sources as you can — and then some. Be mindful of your own biases. It’s easier to connect with people who share your cultural or educational background. Building rapport with those who don’t — and who may not trust or even like you — is essential for equitable reporting. Be ready for your findings to resist a neat victim-villain paradigm. Sometimes, “it’s complicated” is as close to the truth as you get.
Follow the paper trail. If a federal or state agency is involved, file public records requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or the state’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) whenever possible. The trove of data, nail-biting details, and unexpected story leads you may uncover is well worth the wait — and the bureaucratic hoops you might have to jump through.
Lived experience is expertise. When reporting on climate change and Indigenous or other communities with strong ties to the land, don’t relegate local voices to colorful anecdotes while turning to researchers for the “real” evidence. In my reporting, I’ve learned that Indigenous communities are experts in their environment. They’ve carefully passed down observations and data — from elders to youth — to protect their land and way of life for generations to come. They’re deeply invested, and often remarkably accurate. Be intentional about elevating traditional knowledge alongside scientific sources. Your story will be stronger — and more truthful — for it.
Helpful Links
Resources
- Explore how shorelines across the Atlantic, Gulf, California, and North and South Carolina coasts have changed since the 1980s with satellite data from the US Geological Survey.
- Dive into NOAA’s guidance on how best to utilize “living shorelines” to manage and reduce coastal erosion.
- Search NOAA’s database of all US beach renourishment projects to find out how much sand was used and how much it cost to revitalize your local beach.
- Examine how coastal landscapes, transformed by climate change, will only worsen in the coming decades as sea-level rise continues, as explained in the Fifth National Climate Assessment.
Experts
- Michael Beck, director, Center for Coastal Climate Resilience at UC Santa Cruz
- Ann Gibbs, research geologist, USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
- Chip Fletcher, climate scientist, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Before We Go…
The next Locally Sourced will highlight flooding worsened by sea-level rise. Have you reported about how coastal flooding is happening more frequently or how sea-level rise will worsen a hurricane’s storm surge? Send them to us at local[at]coveringclimatenow[dot]org. We’d love to consider them for the next edition of Locally Sourced and our media trainings and social platforms.
Get ready for hurricane season. Join CCNow and Climate Central for “Prep Your Climate Coverage: Summer Heat and Hurricanes” on May 21 to understand what current climate research tells us and learn about free attribution tools to use while reporting on this summer’s climate change-driven impacts.
The Climate Station is a free-of-cost training program from CCNow that equips local TV station newsrooms in the US, including journalists, producers, and meteorologists, to cover climate news more effectively. For inquiries, please email Elena González at elena[at]coveringclimatenow[dot]org. Or apply here.
Want more story ideas? Check out the Locally Sourced archive for more topics to explore, including resilient agriculture, emergency alerts, climate anxiety, and more.
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