Climate change and coastal development are combining to stamp out important ecological landscapes.
Ninety percent of California's wetlands have been lost to development, researchers say—and 100 percent of the marshes remaining could disappear by the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions don't decrease.
The marshes would have a shot at survival if they could migrate inland, but coastal development patterns are boxing them in, a USGS researcher told KPCC. USGS and UCLA co-authored the new study that calculated the threat to California's coastal ecology.
Besides providing important habitats for millennia, marshes "serve key functions related to the health of the planet," KPCC's Jacob Margolis explains. Their decay could result in even more emissions, as well as erosion and water pollution.
They store carbon, which will be released as they begin to die off. They are barriers to storm surges that protect against erosion. They act as catches for debris that make their way down from the hills after wildfires. And they filter polluted water and sediment that flows from our cities towards the ocean, keeping our seas a bit cleaner.
Further explanation, and a picture slideshow, are included in the full story.
FULL STORY: California's coastal marshes could be washed out to sea by 2110
Bay Area Developments at Risk From Sea Level Rise
A controversial proposed housing development in Newark exemplifies the struggle between increasing housing supply and protecting vulnerable shoreline communities from flooding.
South Carolina Mapping Tool Tracks Marsh Migration From Sea Level Rise
The movement of South Carolina’s coastal salt marshes is an early harbinger of the path of future floods.
FEMA Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant to Fund Marsh Restoration
The grant to fund a marsh restoration project in coastal Louisiana is the first of its kind under FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance program, which is typically used to elevate, acquire, or relocate homes or floodproof businesses.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association