Record Display for the EPA National Library Catalog

RECORD NUMBER: 29 OF 30

Main Title The last beach /
Author Pilkey, Orrin H.,
Other Authors
Author Title of a Work
Cooper, J. A. G.,
Publisher Duke University Press,
Year Published 2014
OCLC Number 872620259
ISBN 9780822357988; 0822357984; 9780822358091; 0822358093
Subjects Beaches--Environmental aspects ; Seashore ecology
Holdings
Library Call Number Additional Info Location Last
Modified
Checkout
Status
ESAM  GB451.2.P55 2014 Region 10 Library/Seattle,WA 09/14/2015
Collation xviii, 237 pages : color illustrations ; 27 cm
Notes
Includes bibliographical references (pages [207]-232) and index.
Contents Notes
The end is nigh! -- Selling the family silver : beach-sand mining -- Indefensible : hard structures on soft sand -- Patch-up jobs : beach replenishment -- The plastisphere : trash on the beach -- Tar balls and magic pipes -- Stuck in a rut : driving on the beach -- The enemy within : beach pollution -- The international dimension of beach destruction -- The end is here. "The Last Beach is an urgent call to save the world's beaches while there is still time. The geologists Orrin H. Pilkey and J. Andrew G. Cooper sound the alarm in this frank assessment of our current relationship with beaches and their grim future if we do not change the way we understand and treat our irreplaceable shores. Combining case studies and anecdotes from around the world, they argue that many of the world's developed beaches, including some in Florida and in Spain, are virtually doomed and that we must act immediately to save imperiled beaches. After explaining beaches as dynamic ecosystems, Pilkey and Cooper assess the harm done by dense oceanfront development accompanied by the construction of massive seawalls to protect new buildings from a shoreline that encroaches as sea levels rise. They discuss the toll taken by sand mining, trash that washes up on beaches, and pollution, which has contaminated not only the water but also, surprisingly, the sand. Acknowledging the challenge of reconciling our actions with our love of beaches, the geologists offer suggestions for reversing course, insisting that given the space, beaches can take care of themselves and provide us with multiple benefits." -- Publisher's description.