KAILUA, Hawaii
Erosion of sections of beach in Kailua -- a sunny coastal suburb of Honolulu where President Obama spent his last two family vacations in the islands -- is being repeated around the Hawaiian Islands.
Geologists say that more than 70 percent of Kauai's beaches are eroding, and Oahu has lost a quarter of its sandy shoreline. They warn that the problem is likely to get significantly worse in coming decades as global warming causes sea levels to rise more rapidly.
For Hawaii, the loss of so many beaches is an alarming prospect on many levels. Many tourists come to Hawaii precisely because they want to lounge on and walk along its soft sandy shoreline. These visitors spend about $11.4 billion a year, making tourism the state's largest employer.
Disappearing sands would also wreak havoc on the environment as many animals and plants would lose important habitats.
Chip Fletcher, a geology professor at the University of Hawaii, says that scientists in Hawaii have yet to observe an accelerated rate of rising sea level because of global warming.
Instead, the erosion that the islands are experiencing now is caused by several factors, including a steady historical climb in sea levels that likely dates back to the 19th century.
Other causes include storms and human actions, such as the construction of seawalls andjetties. Each of these human actions disrupts the natural flow of sand.
But a more rapid rise in sea levels, caused by global warming, is expected to contribute to erosion in Hawaii within decades.
Fletcher says that 60 percent to 80 percent of the nation's shoreline is chronically eroding. But the problem is acutely felt in Hawaii because the economy and lifestyle are so dependent on healthy beaches.
When erosion hits more sections of Kailua beach, Fletcher said, there will be be a clamor to put up seawalls.
"If we allow the first home to put up a seawall, then we're probably dooming the entire beach over the course of a couple of decades," he said.
"Ultimately the beach will disappear. Or we could have an alternative to that, to identify now some portions of Kailua shoreline where we want the beach to live."
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