Despite the often alarmist reports in the mass media, scientific data show that climate change on our planet is nothing new. Hurricanes are no more frequent than they ever were; islands are not disappearing; and sea level has been rising steadily for thousands of years. However, over the past several decades, the world's coasts have undergone rapid and sustained deterioration, driven by dense settlement along the shore, the discharge of effluents into ocean waters, poor agricultural practi...