We love our beaches. We build homes beside them, vacation on them, and spend billions of dollars trying to keep them from disappearing. But beaches are supposed to move—and as sea levels rise, keeping them in place is becoming more expensive, more difficult, and possibly impossible.

So what happens when the sand, the money, and the time start running out? Coastal geologist Rob Young says we’re going to have to make some hard choices about what we protect, what we let go, and who pays for the risk.

For more information, studies, and data about beach nourishment, buyouts, and adaptation at the coast, check out the Program for the Study of the Developed Shoreline's website.

Additional resources:

Rebuild by Design

NOAA's Sea Level Rise Viewer

The Water Institute's Community Resilience Center

This episode was hosted by Executive Producer Carlyle Calhoun. Our theme music is by Jon Batiste, and our sound designer is Emily Jankowski. Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO’s Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

What does it take to bring a seabird back from the brink—and can we keep it there? We travel from a rocky island of Maine to a tiny restored island in coastal Louisiana to learn the astonishing comeback stories of two beloved birds, puffins and pelicans. This is a hopeful story about how innovative ideas can save wildlife — and asks whether that's enough in a rapidly changing world.

Want to know more about birds on the Gulf Coast? Check out the Avian Monitoring Dashboard where you'll find interactive maps, aerial surveys, photos, and an incredible amount of fascinating bird data.

CREDITS

This episode was reported by Katelyn Harrop and Michael McEwan and hosted by Executive Producer Carlyle Calhoun. Eve Abrams edited the pelicans story. The puffins story was edited by Carlyle Calhoun. The episode was fact-checked by Philip Kiefer with help from Shruti Gautam. Sound design by Rebecca Nolan and our theme music is by Jon Batiste.

Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO’s Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

Throughout the Western history of conservation, protecting nature has often meant removing people. It's what happened during the creation of many of America's national parks. But what if protecting nature didn't have to mean displacing the people who call it home? That's the question that brings us to Culatra, a small fishing island off Portugal's southern coast, and one of the country's seven natural wonders.

For decades, the Portuguese government saw only one way to save the fragile lagoon surrounding Culatra: kick out the residents. This episode follows one woman's decades-long fight for her island — and the unlikely alliance she built along the way with the very scientists once sent to evict her.

CREDITS

This episode was reported and produced by Geert Vlieger. Sound design also by Geert. Johanna Zorn edited the episode with help from Executive Producer Carlyle Calhoun. Fado was performed on acoustic guitar by Ricardo Martins and Cláudio Sousa. All other music in the episode is composed and produced by Geert. Sea Change’s theme music is by Jon Batiste. Archival tape from Cristiano Guerreiro.

Production of this episode was made possible with support from the Walden Collective and Sciaena, and funding from the European Union’s Big Green Project. One brief update: Valentina Munoz is now in Lisbon and is no longer working for the NGO, but hopes to continue working on community-based ocean protection programs.

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. And to help others find our podcast, please share this episode with a friend!

Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO’s Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.