It's a long goodbye for many US beaches

Steuben Courier (Bath, New York): …Unfortunately for beach lovers and owners of highpriced beach-front homes, coastal erosion in any form is usually a one-way trip. Manmade techniques such as beach nourishment—whereby sand is dredged from offshore sources and deposited along otherwise vanishing beaches—may slow the process, but nothing short of global cooling or some other major geomorphic change will stop it altogether.

According to Stephen Leatherman ("Dr. Beach") of the National Healthy Beaches Campaign, beach erosion is defined by the actual removal of sand from a beach to deeper water offshore or alongshore into inlets, tidal shoals and bays. Such erosion can result from any number of factors, including the simple inundation of the land by rising sea levels resulting from the melting of the polar ice caps.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 80 to 90 percent of the sandy beaches along America's coastlines have been eroding for decades. Individual beaches may lose only a few inches per year; others may lose much more. Of particular concern is the effect climate change, which causes sea level rises and also increases the severity and frequency of harsh storms, has on beach erosion. Of particular concern is the effect climate change, which not only causes sea levels to rise but also increases the severity and possibly the frequency of harsh storms, has on beach erosion….

Sand sculpture on the beach in San Agustin, shot by Wouter Hagens