As sea levels rise, so does erosion. Hawaii offers lessons.
Beyond the Kikiaola Harbor on the western side of Kauai, the beach that surrounds this lush Hawaiian island becomes ragged and, in some places, nearly disappears.
It does the same on Wailua Beach toward the east, with enough erosion that condominium owners have petitioned to bring in sandbags to protect their property from the approaching ocean. The state highway department is scrambling to protect the Kuhio Highway, the main artery around the northeastern side of this 600-square-mile island.
A bit farther north, Aliomanu Road shows how easily the ocean can smash exposed asphalt.
Policymakers, residents, and advocacy groups have debated what to do about that roadway, which has at times partially crumbled into the sea.
Still, this “garden isle”’ of Hawaii – the oldest, and arguably lushest, of the state’s island chain – does not have the dramatic scenes of erosion that have come from nearby Oahu, where at least one home has literally toppled into the ocean. Much of the
