Beaches and Coastlines Protection from Human Impact Essay

What are the threats to existing coastlines?

The existing coastlines face many threats, which include environmental challenges that are associated with human-induced effects. Human activities are the major causes of climatic changes, which have led to the rising trend of sea levels. The rising trends in the sea levels threaten the survival of the coastal habitat. Coastline threats such as pollution occur from various sources such as industrial, garbage debris, and oil spills from tankers that navigate the coastline waters. It is such threats that have led to diminishing fishing habitats due to overfishing, degradation of the fishing habitat, bycatch, trawling, and change of climate.

What is the most pressing coastal hazard for Ocean City, Maryland?

Among the major geological forces such as erosion and waves, sea-level rise can be regarded as one of the major threats since it is the most pressing coastal hazard for Ocean City, Maryland. This is because it affects the shorelines more frequently than the other geological forces, thus leading to the submergence of major structures. For example, the Sharps Island Lighthouse that was constructed in 1881with a coverage of 900 acres island is currently fully submerged. It is even said that the rate at which the sea level rise in Maryland is twice that of the national average since it currently stands at about 3mm to 4mm every year. This can be translated to 1 foot every century.

What do you think the Nation should do to help New Orleans?

The nation should rebuild New Orleans in a way that future floods could be easily prevented. This can be made possible through proper planning of the city and its administration to avoid the tragic occurrence when it is hit by hurricane Katrina. The nation should put in place some of the best building specifications and a fire evacuation plan to avoid such disasters in the future.

When is it appropriate to spend money protecting beaches?

The most appropriate time to spend money on protecting beaches is probably during low tides, especially before the onset of breaking waves and tsunamis/Katrina.

What factors should you consider if building a dwelling at the shoreline?

Several factors should be considered when building a dwelling at the shoreline. These factors include, but not limited to suitable environmental conditions, submerged aquatic plants that are available, wave action, water depth, the distance between the dwelling and the shoreline that is linked to the wetlands, water circulation, and probably the accumulation of sediments. Another important factor that is worth to be considered is the slope of the shoreline, which ranges from steep to flat. For instance, very steep, wet, or flat shorelines affect the management of the property dwellings. Therefore, it is important to choose a shoreline with a gentle slope for easy management of the property.

What tools are available to protect beaches

There are various economic and legal tools, which are available for protecting beaches. The tools include both the simplest restraint and new development planning measures that help in mitigating the loss of the established property and life. It is important to put into account that the chosen tools should be designed from the information that is based on the understanding of the plant communities’ role, sand volumes and supply, barrier islands’ dynamics, soil erosion rates, development/economic value of the project, and roles of dunes.

One of the important tools is to set policies that advocate for retreating from hazard zones. Also, beach stabilization can be restricted by relocating and removing major structures, especially buildings that put more burdens on the natural environment than the benefit.