With sea levels increasing at an annual rate of around 3.2 millimeters, the effects of coastal erosion will continue to worsen (see fig. 1). Over 1.2 million North Carolinians live in coastal regions of the state and are increasingly being threatened by the erosion of the coast. Life would be much simpler for those at risk if there was a direct solution to preventing erosion. However, often the solution to erosion is just as damaging as erosion itself, for example the installation of terminal groins hastens the declination of beaches. Those who live on the coast should be prepared to potentially have to move if this erosion continues to worsen.
The main solution to avoiding erosion is ambiguous: to prevent the increase in sea level rise. However, that would require a huge global effort that would heavily impact current lifestyles and would unlikely succeed. Focusing more locally, people should be conscious of buying property on the beach and understand what the consequences are if they do. The public should be aware of the rates of erosion and understand that nature will take its course regardless of whether or not they own property on the beach. At current erosion rates of 7 feet per year (Riggs, et al. 2011), these barrier islands will soon diminish fairly fast. Decreasing the amount of property purchased and built on these coastal regions will be the most effective solution to preventing erosion.
North Carolina's Erosion 