Press & News
The Public’s Radio — House commission set to look for solutions to Rhode Island’s eroding beaches
By Alex Nunez — As rising seas and stronger storms, due at least in part to climate change, are carrying off tons of sand from Rhode Island beaches, a legislative commission tasked with developing ways to slow beach erosion met at the State House for the first time on Monday.
CBS Evening News — Taxpayers bear cost of protecting high-end coastal communities from hurricanes
CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell — Hurricane season is nowhere near over, but already several storms have caused significant damage along the Eastern Seaboard. Taxpayers are paying a stiff price to protect high-end coastal communities from these powerful storms. Stephen Stock explains.
WRPI — Narragansett beachfront homeowners battle erosion after winter storm surge
By Elizabeth Turley, Erica Ricci — Narragansett is home to several of Rhode Island’s most picturesque beaches, but residents say a series of winter storms left their coastal homes severely damaged.
Smithsonian — Galveston’s Texas-Size Plan to Stop the Next Big Storm
By Xander Peters — In the wake of Hurricane Ike, engineers have been crafting a $34 billion plan to protect the city. Will it work when the next disaster arrives?
The Public’s Radio — Newport’s only public beach is eroding. Should the city save it?
By Olivia Ebertz — As structures like the carousel and snack bar building are being demolished at Easton’s Beach, city officials are grappling with how to save an eroding beach.
The Public’s Radio — ‘That conversation is coming’: South Coast towns may consider managed retreat, green infrastructure in response to rising seas
By Luis Hernandez — Beach erosion and extreme flooding are forcing South Coast officials to think more urgently about how to adapt to a rise in sea levels. New Bedford Light reporter Adam Goldstein joins Morning Edition host Luis Hernandez to discuss the many options under consideration.
The Public’s Radio — Newport official says continued beach erosion could threaten the city’s water supply, way of life
By Luis Hernandez — “Can we renourish the beaches? Can we find a way to put back what’s been taken away over the years?” We talk with the city’s public services director about the ways Newport is grappling with the ongoing threat of coastal erosion.
The Public’s Radio — ‘I have real concern’: URI coastal scientist tracks decades of coastal erosion data
By Luis Hernandez — Severe storms and rising sea-levels are reshaping Rhode Island’s shoreline in dramatic ways. As part of our ongoing series on coastal erosion, Morning Host Luis Hernandez spoke with J.P. Walsh, a coastal scientist at the University of Rhode Island, who is trying to quantify just how much beach we’ve lost in recent decades.
The Public’s Radio — Dude, where’s my beach?
By Alex Nunes — The summer beach season is here, but the beaches themselves look very different this year. Coastal communities are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair shoreline damage from last winter’s severe storms. The damage is a warning sign to Rhode Island of the tough road ahead as climate-related sea level rise and increasingly heavy storms continue to swallow up the beaches.
Boston Globe — The seas are coming for coastal homes. How will communities, and the state, respond?
By Sabrina Shankman — In the age of climate change, as sea levels rise and more intense storms wear away the natural landscape that had protected coastal communities for generations, state and local officials are considering more radical measures, including paying people to abandon their waterfront properties altogether.
WRPI — DEM: Coastal homes, businesses at risk for future storm damage
By Catie McNeill, Paige Messier — While the focus seemed to be on inland flooding over the past few weeks of weather, all eyes are now on Rhode Island’s coast, which experts say may not have enough protection to weather future storms.
New York Times — If Your House Were Falling Off a Cliff, Would You Leave?
Homeowners along the eastern coast of England are watching the North Sea swallow their communities. Help is on the way — but only for some.
INSIDER — Florida's Great Displacement
By Jake Bittle — As many residents will be proud to tell you, the thousand-odd islands that make up the Florida Keys are one of a kind… The Keys are also the first flock of canaries in the coal mine of climate change.
The Atlantic — Every Coastal Home Is Now a Stick of Dynamite
By Jake Bittle — Wealthy homeowners will escape flooding. The middle class can’t.
WJAR — Streets flood as heavy rain, high winds lash Narragansett
By Liz Bateson — Narragansett coped with strong winds, massive waves and significant flooding as a storm moved in early Friday morning.
WJAR — Storm surge floods streets and parking lots in Wickford
By Joanna Bouras — … “We got here and the water in the parking lot for the town was approximately 2 feet deep,” said business owner Peter Chevalier.
Politico — Ian will 'financially ruin' homeowners and insurers
By Thomas Frank — The storm inundated the homes of thousands of Floridians who don't have flood insurance, exposing weaknesses in the nation's effort to address the rising costs of extreme weather.
AP — Ian shows the risks and costs of living on barrier islands
By BEN FINLEY and STEVE HELBER — When Hurricane Ian struck Florida’s Gulf Coast, it washed out the bottom level of David Muench’s home on the barrier island of Sanibel along with several cars, a Harley-Davidson and a boat
The New York Times Op Ed — We Will All End Up Paying for Someone Else’s Beach House
By Francis Wilkinson — A video of a North Carolina beach house being dismembered by a voracious ocean was a viral hit this spring. But it won’t be long before the novelty wears off.
Newport Daily News — New England's high tides are getting higher. How 'sunny day' flooding could impact you.
By Hadley Barndollar — New Englanders often associate flooding with storms, and rightfully so. But imagine sunny days with impassable roads, bubbling storm drains and basements-turned-swimming pools?