tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884363.post5613485504052068957..comments2023-08-18T02:41:00.034-07:00Comments on ISLAND LENS: HUMAN INTERVENTION CAUSES BEACH EROSION ON PUBLIC COASTLINEAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18117556412141529907noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21884363.post-59078489181712788612008-12-07T15:43:00.000-08:002008-12-07T15:43:00.000-08:00http://marketdisaster.blogspot.com/Sand CastlesPlu...http://marketdisaster.blogspot.com/<BR/><BR/>Sand Castles<BR/><BR/><BR/>Plum Island is one of the nicest barrier beaches in Massachusetts. There are many fine homes on the Island; all of them at risk due to the natural motions of barrier beaches.<BR/><BR/>Building a home on a barrier beach is just like building a sand castle. Some barrier beaches in Massachusetts move hundreds of feet in a century. Some have holes or breaches punched through them in a single storm. Any home built on a barrier beach is in jeopardy from wind, waves, storms and ordinary erosion. It is just a matter of time before the beach moves and the home is lost.<BR/><BR/>No barrier beach is a safe place for substantial real estate investment.<BR/><BR/>Plum Island has provided heart wrenching pictures and interviews recently as homes built in harms way were washed away. I was greatly saddened by all of the coverage, but especially the interviews.<BR/><BR/>The town later bulldozed beach sand to reinforce the eroding dune against further catastrophic erosion. This was an attempt to save other homes that might be in imminent danger. As a former Coastal Zone regulator, I know that bulldozing sand is a very short term solution. Moving sand around on the beach may also change distant erosion patterns for the worse.<BR/><BR/>How can agencies and towns better help the public understand the dangers of building in areas like Plum Island?<BR/><BR/>Michael E. Penney<BR/><BR/>I loved your blog post and am looking to correspond with others about beach erosion. Please visit my website.eskerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161167912695349269noreply@blogger.com