| Radio programs for the week of 2 October 2000 (fe01002 - fe01006) | For more
information: The H.John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment |
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National erosion hazards I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment A recent report to congress tells of a dramatic threat from coastal erosion, saying that many of the nation's beachfront homes will be lost unless something is done. Florida coastal geologist Stephen Leatherman led the team of scientists who produced the report... "Due to the gradual, long-term erosion, as many as one our four houses along the coast, could fall into the ocean in the next 60 years." The report was prepared for FEMA -- the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the federal Flood Insurance Program, usually called on in Florida after tropical storms and hurricanes... "You really have two hazards for beachfront housing. You have this gradual, wearing away of the coast, which over time, adds up to considerable loss of real estate." Researchers point out the predicted loss homes, does not take into account any efforts at preventing or slowing erosion... "The numbers in the report will be high. But you never know what coastal communities are going to do in the future, how many beaches are going to be nourished... and certainly here in south Florida, I think there's going to be a way and a will to hold the line. After all, you can't let the Gold Coast fall into the water." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by SWFCEE -- the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
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 fe01003Reasons for erosion A recent congressional report that predicts that one of four beachfront homes in US will be lost to erosion in the next 60 years has members of the coastal community interested. Stephen Leatherman is director of Florida's International Hurricane Center and led the scientists who prepared the erosion report for the Heinz Center... "Eighty to 90 percent of the U.S. sandy beaches are presently eroding." Much of the report looks at erosion on the nation's Atlantic coast, where hurricanes are not the greatest threat... "It's the winter storms... the winter storm waves that even kick down to Palm Beach and even effect Miami Beach as well. Those are the ones that cause erosion. And the reason for that is, for the preponderance of erosion, is that they're more often, more frequent." Add to that frequency, winter storms' size and duration... "These winter storms can affect the entire Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida, they're that big. And they last a long time, they can last for several days." Leaving an even greater erosion threat than our dreaded tropical storms and hurricanes... "Hurricanes are much more energetic. But they're more surgical. When they come through, you're only looking at a couple hundred miles or so of beach generally, which really gets severely impacted." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by SWFCEE -- the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
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| fe01004 Florida's erosion threat I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. A recent congressional report tells of a dramatic erosion threat along the nation's coastlines -- especially on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. As Florida is the only state to have a coast on both, it receives special attention. Stephen Leatherman chaired the report's steering committee... "The reason why the Atlantic and Gulf coast was highlighted is because this is where we find many sandy beaches, there's a lot of real estate there, a lot of development, and certainly Florida has its fair share if not more of it." So the erosion threat told of in the report was partly due to anticipated erosion, but was heightened by the urban nature of Gulf and Atlantic beaches... "The Atlantic coast had the greatest liability, just from the urbanization that's occurred from Long Island/New Jersey down to Miami. And then the Gulf coast secondarily... an area which has erosion problems and a fair amount of development." The report said 80 to 90 percent of the nation's sandy beaches were facing erosion problems... "Florida, having both an Atlantic and Gulf coast, having sandy beaches and barrier beaches which are all sand, these areas are particularly vulnerable, and then therefore that's where a lot of the expected losses would come, again, if nothing is done in the future." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by SWFCEE -- the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
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| fe01005 Nourishing beaches against erosion I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. A recent congressional report drew some attention by predicting many of the nation's beachfront homes could be lost to erosion in the next sixty years. But, the report says, that's only if nothing is done to reduce erosion's threat. Florida coastal geologist Stephen Leatherman chaired the committee of reporting scientists... "We talk about maybe one out of four (beachfront) houses would fall in the water in the next 60 years... we said, 'If nothing is done.' And clearly, something will be done in many areas, particularly here in Florida where the beaches are so important." While the report says as many as 90 percent of the nation's sandy beaches are eroding, researchers agree that ongoing efforts will reduce the threat... "We have beach nourishment, which on the other side tends to build beaches back and has resulted in stability and in fact regain of beaches like Miami Beach here in Florida." But even beach nourishment efforts have limits. And some of those are already being felt... "Here in south Florida, we've got the problem of running out of sand supplies. The source areas we've gone to in the past, in the last 20 or 30 years -- offshore sandy deposits are being depleted, and that is a problem here locally. Elsewhere in the Gulf, it's not so much a problem of quantity, a problem in the panhandle area is quality." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by SWFCEE -- the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
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| fe01006 Insuring against beach erosion Increasing the insurance rates for coastal homes is the recommendation of a congressional report that tells of a dramatic threat from coastal erosion. The report was prepared by the Heinz Center for FEMA , the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the federal Flood Insurance Program. Stephen Leatherman led the reporting scientists... "People who live on the coast today have not had to pay for the problem of long-term beach erosion. They've been getting a sort of subsidy there." As a result, the report recommends higher Flood Insurance Premiums for properties with coastal erosion threats... "People who live on the beachfront would only pay double what they pay now. And frankly the rates now are quite low. It's averaging only two- three- or four-hundred dollars a year for people who have beachfront property." The higher premiums, says the report, would have coastal residents paying their fair share for the threat of erosion... "This whole thing about beach erosion -- a national problem -- has not been factored into FEMA's program in the past. It's been an implicit part of the program. Now we're saying we have to look at this and seeing that it's 50 percent of the problem in term of losses then certainly if something isn't changed, then it's a direct subsidy." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by SWFCEE -- the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
