Island Life Strains As Coast Builds Up

"Hatteras Island, the easternmost island on North Carolina's Outer Banks, is a geological oddity, a narrow and ancient strip of sand lying at the collision point of the warm Gulf Stream and cold Labrador Current. The convergence of these currents creates one of the world's most hazardous areas for shipping as well as one of the greatest sport and commercial fishing grounds... Although tourists have enlivened and supported the local economy for decades, and developers have provided much needed jobs in the construction industry, Outer Banks residents say that a new real estate boom threatens to erase their communities once and for all."