Human intervention in the shore line erosion in process in Hawaii is one of the tragedies of modern times. When shore lines are made hard, as in seawalls, sand disappears, near shore waves change and entering the water becomes more dangerous. None the less an island’s job is to erode, it’s just the natural course of things. If allowed to occur in a natural way (with out seawalls) sand forms and their is a gentle slop towards the waters edge. Sand is like a membrane between the earth and the ocean. Although not all shores have sandy beaches the ones that do are treasured by surfers and all likes of beach goers. This is because sand is soft and wonderful to walk on, sunbath on and generally enjoy. Sand is also for the most part a very safe place to walk bare foot or to play in wearing only a swim suite. The challenge in Hawaii is that people like to build homes, hotels and other structures near the shore line which as the Hawaiian islands erode often come in contact with sandy beaches and eventually and especially in the case of locations with high surf, like the North Shore of Oahu, the ocean herself. The common result is to build seawalls to protect a person’s property. Sadly this cause the shoreline to erode downward not inward and sooner then later the beach is gone! There are numerous examples of this around the island of Oahu. Waikiki Beach, major stretches of highway along Kamehameha Hwy including surfing spots on the North Shore such as Laniakea, Chun’s Reef and Sunset Beach. Below are two pictures of Haleiwa Beach Park. The first one is from the 1940’s and the second one is from two years ago.
I couldn’t agree more with your position on private seawalls effecting our public beaches and shorelines. My family has lived on the cliff above the Palos Verdes Cove for 50 years. The Cove is a special place known as one of the birthplaces of Southern California surfing. When sitting out in the surfline looking upon the cliffs, you see our few scattered homes lining the cliff, but no seawalls or other man made attempts at slowing or eliminating the natural process of erosion. And yes, nature is at work, our cliff is moving towards the sea, a few homes have been totally destroyed, ours is dying a creeping death lined with gapping cracks and slumping porches. Sure we could have put some sort of retaining whatever up in the days before the coastal commission, but even those eventually fall to wind, rain and gravity. The city says our lot is now unsuitable for building and it’s value dropped like a stone over the cliff, but we’ve had 50 years of living on this place and feel very lucky indeed.
In San Diego we have lots of examples of wealthy homes sporting mammoth walls, wanting preservation of self and not giving a damn about our public beaches. These walls and jetties have severly impacted the flow of earth and sand that naturally build and maintain our beaches, now all that’s left in many places is a narrow strip of sand walkable only at low tide.
Please let nature works it course and save our beaches for all.