California’s Coastline: To Sink or To Save?

By: Katelyn Holcomb

Early California dreamers built and established themselves along a coastline that is inherently meant to change, but as sea levels rise, the Pacific Ocean engulfs California’s famous beaches and coastline. [1] With every swell, with every storm, and with every passing tide, the coastline erodes; and everything built on that earth—the Pacific Coast Highway, seaside communities, the rail line to San Diego—has nowhere to go.[2] One foot of sea level rise pushes the shoreline inland as much as the length of a football field, yet Californians insist on residing on the edge of the water.[3] Californians play a “game of chicken” with the Pacific Ocean, hoping that it will yield and allow for picture-perfect life along the coast to continue. However, the ocean persistently advances, eating the coastline we have come to admire and love.