The Battle for North Carolina's Coast: Evolutionary History, Present Crisis, and Vision for the Future

by Stanley R. Riggs, Dorothea von der Porten Ames, Stephen J. Culver, David J. Mallinson

Overview

The North Carolina barrier islands, a 325-mile-long string of narrow sand islands that forms the coast of North Carolina, are one of the most beloved areas to live and visit in the United States. However, extensive barrier island segments and their associated wetlands are in jeopardy. In The Battle for North Carolina's Coast, four experts on coastal dynamics examine issues that threaten this national treasure.

According to the authors, the North Carolina barrier islands are not permanent. Rather, they are highly mobile piles of sand that are impacted by sea-level rise and major storms and hurricanes. Our present development and management policies for these changing islands are in direct conflict with their natural dynamics. Revealing the urgency of the environmental and economic problems facing coastal North Carolina, this essential book offers a hopeful vision for the coast's future if we are willing to adapt to the barriers' ongoing and natural processes. This will require a radical change in our thinking about development and new approaches to the way we visit and use the coast. Ultimately, we cannot afford to lose these unique and valuable islands of opportunity. This book is an urgent call to protect our coastal resources and preserve our coastal economy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807878071
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	09/05/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

The authors are members of the geological sciences department at East Carolina University. Stanley R. Riggs is Distinguished Research Professor and Harriot College Distinguished Professor; Dorothea V. Ames is research instructor; Stephen J. Culver is Harriot College Distinguished Professor and chair; and David J. Mallinson is associate professor.
Stanley R. Riggs is Distinguished Research Professor and Harriot College Distinguished Professor of geology at East Carolina University.
Dorothea V. Ames is a research instructor in geology at East Carolina University.
Stephen J. Culver is Harriot College Distinguished Professor and chair of geology at East Carolina University.
David J. Mallinson is associate professor of geology at East Carolina University.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

No oceanographic group in the country knows more about any North American coastal segment than this group under the leadership of Stan Riggs, whose 40 year career of study has made him a North Carolina state treasure and a coastal icon. This fascinating and informative book provides the field evidence of past sea-level rises for all to see. Through the book's beautiful aerial photos the mysteries of how barrier islands and beaches work are revealed, and we are reminded that the coast is actively evolving as the sea level rise accelerates. The authors emphasize that the past is the key to the future and urge us to prepare for sea level rise now. We must listen to them.—Orrin H. Pilkey, James B. Duke Professor Emeritus, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University



The Battle for North Carolina's Coast clearly identifies the potential effects of sea-level rise on North Carolina's coast and answers the question 'Why should I care?' about policy decisions and coastal management. This is an important educational book for the general public and decision-makers to read.—Betsy Bennett, director, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences



The Battle for North Carolina's Coast provides a flood tide of fascinating insights based on decades of keen observation and scientific research. It is a must read to fully understand our dynamic North Carolina coast and its future.—Todd Miller, executive director, North Carolina Coastal Federation



A must read for anyone interested in the future of coastal communities. Riggs and his colleagues, through careful research, document the dynamic nature of our coastlines. They also point the way towards a new appreciation of the value of preserving barrier islands, estuarine marshes, and coastal wetlands in their natural condition. Saving land at the coast does more than preserve places of beauty and habitat for wildlife; it protects us, our families, and our communities from the costs and hazards of unwise development.—Camilla M. Herlevich, executive director, North Carolina Coastal Land Trust

Editorial Reviews

Readers will walk away with a deep understanding of the forces that created and continue to rework North Carolina's unsettled coast.—Raleigh News and Observer



An exceptional, affordable book with clear prose, succinct logic, a fine bibliography, and 72 superb color illustrations . . . . Riggs and colleagues offer a reasonable plan that, if implemented soon, will protect the natural shore system and mitigate its erosion rates, as well as nourish North Carolina's resource-based coastal economy over the long term. Highly recommended.—Choice



The real strength of The Battle for North Carolina's Coast is the numerous photographs, diagrams, and maps (most of which are in color) that do an excellent job of illustrating North Carolina's coastal dynamics. . . . It would be difficult to find authors better acquainted with the geology of this particular coastline.—Environmental History



The authors make you feel being physically on the North Carolina barrier islands, and they make you see how both gradual processes and events shape the barriers, erode inlets, close inlets again, etc.—Geologos



Riggs and his co-authors deserve a lot of credit for their ideas. Hopefully somebody will take them seriously.—Lawyers, Guns and Money blog

From the Publisher