This week, host Daniel Raimi talks with Megan Mullin, an associate professor of environmental politics at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. Mullin talks about her research, which analyzes how communities pay to rehabilitate beaches affected by erosion and how differential tax rates can affect levels of support for these beach nourishment projects. Mullin also makes clear why coastal management is relevant: as climate change accelerates the erosion of beaches, and as federal funding dries up, local communities will increasingly have to grapple with how to pay to replenish their shorelines.

References and recommendations:

"Paying to save the beach: effects of local finance decisions on coastal management" by Megan Mullin, Martin D. Smith, and Dylan E. McNamara; https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-018-2191-5

The Conversation, "Where does beach sand come from?" https://theconversation.com/where-does-beach-sand-come-from-126323

"The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance"; https://www.netflix.com/title/80148535