Protecting Hawaii’s coasts requires difficult decisions

By Cynthia Oi

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, May 17, 2012

~~<p>A couple of weeks after a sand-replenishment project in Waikiki was completed to the cheers of tan fans, tourists, hoteliers and shore-based businesses came a federal assessment that 70 percent of beaches on three of Hawaii’s major islands are slowly but surely eroding.</p>
<p>Though providing numbers, the study by the U.S. Geological Survey didn’t report something new. Coastal erosion has been evident, clear in constant attempts to keep the ocean at bay, in lawmaking and legal conflicts over receding real estate, even in quarrels pitting public access against commercial capitalization.</p>
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A couple of weeks after a sand-replenishment project in Waikiki was completed to the cheers of tan fans, tourists, hoteliers and shore-based businesses came a federal assessment that 70 percent of beaches on three of Hawaii’s major islands are slowly but surely eroding.

Though providing numbers, the study by the U.S. Geological Survey didn’t report something new. Coastal erosion has been evident, clear in constant attempts to keep the ocean at bay, in lawmaking and legal conflicts over receding real estate, even in quarrels pitting public access against commercial capitalization. Login for more...