(Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection - Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Corner)

Life takes you down many paths, but the best ones lead to the beach.

Planning a family get away at the beach this summer? Better hurry up and go while you can. Rising seas and other climate issues are rapidly shrinking the world’s beaches and destabilizing the ecosystems that depend on them.

Planning a vacation to Miami, Coney Island or Atlantic City? The greatest number of people and homes in areas at risk from a severe coastal flood by 2050 can be found in Florida, New York, and New Jersey. Scientists have predicted that almost half of the beaches world-wide will disappear by the end of the century.

Along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a favorite summer haunt of many WV families, numerous beach homes have crashed into the ocean, littering the shoreline with hazardous debris while raising the total number of lost homes along the barrier island to 31 since 2020. Just since September 2025, 20 homes have fallen into the sea.

On the west coast, access to California’s beaches is disappearing at the rate of 100 access sites with every foot of sea level rise. By the end of the century, about 15% of Ventura County’s and 40% of Santa Barbara County’s beach access sites will drown.

Coastlines around the planet are being steadily crumpled, crushed, and consumed as climate-driven sea level rise combines with expanding development in coastal zones. This ongoing process damages the diverse life that depends on sandy environments, disrupts local economies that rely on fishing and tourism, and leaves coastal cities more exposed to encroaching waters.

While coastal erosion is a natural process, climate change events such as sea level rise and stronger storms are accelerating the process. The Earth’s climate is changing; ice sheets and glaciers are melting. and coastal hazards and sea level are rising in response. With a total population of over 300 million people situated on coasts worldwide, low-lying coastal areas represent one of the most vulnerable areas to the impacts of climate change.

A beach is a sensitive environment that supports a variety of plants and animals. Beaches, wetlands and estuarine habitats are at risk of becoming inundated or eroded and may not be able to sustain themselves as the rate of sea level rise accelerates.

As the planet warms, ice sheets will continue to melt and water levels will rise, flooding beaches. Normally, beaches might naturally migrate inland in response, but oftentimes beaches are trapped between rising seas and structures like buildings and roads, leaving them nowhere to go.

Urban areas like LA, and tourist magnet regions like Myrtle Beach, SC have historically built highways and homes along the coast, allowing little room for beaches to naturally go inward.

Increased storm intensity of stronger hurricanes and storms, fueled by warmer oceans, result in higher waves that, combined with higher sea levels, lead to extreme erosion, beach retreat, and damage to, or destruction of, coastal infrastructure.

Additional extreme events that will damage coastal development and infrastructure include cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes, large storm waves arriving simultaneously with very high tides or elevated water levels and tsunamis.

Our coastal ecosystems, including wetlands, estuaries, and sandy beaches, face destruction, directly affecting wildlife that depend on these habitats. Rising sea levels cause saltwater to infiltrate freshwater supplies which is a major issue in coastal communities like Florida.

Beach erosion threatens the tourism industry–a significant economic driver–and increases insurance risks for coastal homes and businesses.

The future of many popular beaches is threatened, with some potentially becoming entirely inaccessible within decades. Action is required to protect these natural treasures and the communities that rely on them.

Governments are implementing measures like elevating roads, nourishing beaches with new sand. Some communities are constructing sea walls to protect our infrastructure and prevent immediate destruction. Future coastal development must include smart planning, zoning regulations, and managed, intentional retreat from highly vulnerable areas. Long-term solutions require reducing global greenhouse gas emissions to slow the rate of warming and sea-level rise.

Climate Action Programs empowered by volunteer-led chapters are building a nationwide network of coastal stewards who are bolstering local resilience, to implement nature-based solutions and restore coastal ecosystems like mangroves, salt marshes, and coastal dunes. increasing biodiversity and mitigating the effects of climate change along our shores.

Climate change is already impacting the shape and future of our beaches, coasts, and communities. Scientists estimate that more than 50% of beaches globally are at risk of being permanently lost due to sea level rise by 2100. Urgent action is needed to protect the places we treasure – sunshine on wide open sandy ocean beaches with waves crashing, wind blowing, seagulls flying overhead, and a backdrop of beach grass and sand dunes …

Until next time, be kind to your Mother Earth.

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Linda Eve Seth, SLP, M.Ed., is a mother, grandmother, concerned citizen, member of MOVCA.