{"id":10362,"date":"2017-11-03T02:41:26","date_gmt":"2017-11-03T02:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=10362"},"modified":"2017-11-04T02:44:38","modified_gmt":"2017-11-04T02:44:38","slug":"coastal-protection-on-the-edge-the-challenge-of-preserving-californias-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/coastal-protection-on-the-edge-the-challenge-of-preserving-californias-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Coastal protection on the edge: The challenge of preserving California’s legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gary Griggs<\/a>, University of California, Santa Cruz<\/a><\/em> and Charles Lester<\/a>, University of California, Santa Cruz<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The California coast is an edge. It\u2019s the place where 1,100 miles of shoreline meets the largest ocean on the planet. Many different forces collide there, and a lot of exciting things happen. The coast is a geological edge, zippered to North America by 800 miles of the San Andreas Fault and battered by the Pacific Ocean. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a social, political, cultural, spiritual, economic and technological edge. It is where the most populous state and sixth-largest economy in the world is exposed to wind, waves, tides, El Ni\u00f1os, earthquakes and tsunamis<\/a>. These forces made California\u2019s coastline rugged, beautiful and beckoning.<\/p>\n

But the natural beauty that has drawn so many to the edge of the Golden State has been seriously impacted by human actions. Forty-four percent of California residents live along the southern California coast, from Ventura to San Diego counties, and you can\u2019t squeeze 18 million people<\/a> into 233 miles of coast without some impacts. If they all went to the beach at the same time, each resident would have less than an inch of shoreline.<\/p>\n

In 1972 California launched a great experiment to protect its coast. The resulting California Coastal Act sought to protect public shoreline access, wetlands and threatened coastal habitats. It also limited development to protect the beauty and grandeur of the shore for future generations. <\/p>\n

Today California\u2019s coastal management program is recognized<\/a> around the world for its success, even as the state\u2019s coast and ocean economy thrive. But new challenges loom large, including sea level rise, ocean acidification and proposals for offshore wind and wave energy development. California\u2019s population continues to grow, and an internet-driven vacation-rental economy threatens the character of many coastal cities and towns. <\/p>\n

\n \"\"<\/a>
\n Three Arch Bay, Laguna Beach.<\/span>
\n Don Ramey Logan<\/a>, CC BY<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Impacts of the postwar boom<\/h2>\n

The coast of California has attracted humans since the earliest Americans arrived, perhaps 15,000 years ago, and still draws them today. About two-thirds<\/a> of the Golden State\u2019s 39.6 million people live in coastal counties, and for good reasons. Some 75 percent of the state\u2019s jobs are based in coastal counties. California has the nation\u2019s largest ocean economy, valued at about $44 billion<\/a>. Nearly half of that is provided by tourism and recreation.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s population more than doubled between 1945 and 1970, and many of these people settled in coastal counties. Cliffs, bluffs and low-lying shoreline areas were developed as more and more new residents arrived to get their piece of the Golden State\u2019s coast. This period of rapid coastal growth coincided with a calm climatic cycle with fewer El Ni\u00f1o events<\/a> than the previous decades. As a result, the coast experienced relatively few damaging storms and generally mild and welcoming weather.<\/p>\n

Rapid growth reduced public access to the shore, polluted coastal waters and led to habitat loss and development of rural agricultural lands. In 1978 the climate shifted to a 20-year period of more frequent and severe El Ni\u00f1os<\/a>. Homes, businesses, roads, park facilities and other infrastructure \u2013 some of it newly built \u2013 suffered significant losses in the winters of 1978, 1983 and 1997-98.<\/p>\n

\n