Coastal Erosion and the Losses at the Shoreline Essay Example

As the climate is changing, ocean levels are rising - causing coastal erosion to be more apparent than ever in Britain. To put it simply, homelessness and swimming to work will become the new normal as it is thought that in Britain, the sea level is expected to rise 2 to 3 feet by 2050 which does not sound that much but is quite a formidable amount. Solutions to coastal erosion are varied but all are never permanent, therefore engineers and coastal defenses manufacturers are trying to produce innovations to install onto our beaches, and ultimately slow the process down.  

The process of coastal erosion is when land is lost on coastlines due to strong currents and waves. This can be especially devastating in places such as the White Cliffs of Dover, which is made up of much softer rock that can be eroded much more easily. Solutions are a priority to help stop or at least slow down coastal erosion on beaches. Some solutions are:  

Sea walls. Sea walls are solid structures usually made with concrete and are a simple barrier against incoming waves it is also effective at protecting the lowest part of cliffs and land. Beach Nourishment. Beach Nourishment is simply taking sand from the seabed and placing it on top of the existing beach to create an artificially made beach able to withstand more coastal erosion. Finally, Cliff Stabilization. Cliff Stabilization is the placing of wire netting or other supports to support the land it covers; this method is more natural and one of the cheapest.  

On the other hand, coastal defenses can be expensive and costly. When councils and the government pay for coastal defenses, money is also taken out of key sectors and areas including Education, Health (NHS) and emergency type services, Leisure, and tourism etc. We all depend on these areas to thrive but taking money out of these services to pay for coastal defenses will take a lot of debate because it will have a negative effect on the quality of hospitals and the NHS as an example. A positive outcome for not paying for coastal defenses are having more money not used to spend on these key areas or new ones which could have massive benefits to Britain.  

Britain's coastlines are so beautiful - they are so well known that the government should help preserve their condition and state. The White Cliffs of Dover is an example, they are an amazing sight, with beautiful white chalk and amazing long arches. As well as being beautiful, they are easy to identify - this helps bring attention to these cliffs, which would attract tourists to visit. To highlight this, approximately 750,000 tourists visited the white cliffs of Dover a year on average according to “Rehabilitation Robotics”.  

Tourism is needed to enhance and boost the economy and revenue along with the coastline and help industry, tourism and businesses thrive all year long. Finance spent by the government to clean, maintain and most importantly protect these coastlines are a necessary remittance to continue this and to help coastal areas thrive 

However, coastal defenses are never permanent. To keep the coasts protected they need to be rebuilt repeatedly. Linking back to my previous point, this would be expensive. This puts pressure on councils and the government to protect coastlines but unfortunately also to protect a budget. If councils had a very vast sum of money, they would be able to solve the coastal erosion issue in their coastline, but the area coastal erosion took place can simply move further down the coast to a more vulnerable area.  

In conclusion, this essay has discussed the 2 sides of the coastal erosion debate. I acknowledge coastal defenses is awfully expensive and time-consuming to install on beaches but leaving them out on our beaches is not the answer. I believe in the worst affected areas in the UK including the East Midlands, Yorkshire and even the north of Scotland should have coastal defenses built along with councils giving residents who may have the possibility to have their houses destroyed living by the coastline compensation or the possibility of relocating their house. Even with the best of plans that can be created, coastal erosion will still be an ongoing issue that can only be slowed down because if the fact defenses are unnatural compared with the land it helps protect. Other ways that ordinary people in areas that may be having real problems with coastal erosion could be petitions, advertising, and online websites. Making this a priority for residents in these worst affected areas can help against their fight to keep their homes and businesses.