Last week, I took a trip to Kill Devil Hills, on North Carolina’s coast. It was a very interesting trip, since in addition to the beach, we visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial, which documents the two brothers’ successful attempt to achieve powered flight in 1903.
While going through the town, I found it interesting to wonder just how vital beaches were to the economy. With the changing climate, a beach’s impact on the economy could be a liability in the future. To approximate this, I looked at a research report by a team of universities, including UNC Wilmington, Duke, ECU, and App State. They estimate that “recreation value” lost by rising sea levels are estimated to be around $93 million a year in a decade, and $223 million a year in six decades, for various high-activity beaches along the North Carolina coast. The report also notes that property value rates could sink by around two to twelve percent. This is accompanied with the sinking of 14 beaches by 2080, which means that “beach recreation is no longer possible.”
This will obviously be a bigger problem for the state in the future, and I think that this report demonstrates that it is in the state’s government to diversify its economy if it needs to stay competitive. I don’t think it’s a hard thing to do, though- the state population is increasing at a faster rate than the US average (9.5% since 2010, compared to 6.3% for the nation). This allows for a larger tax base. Additionally, new businesses are coming into the area, such as Apple, which recently announced a new campus in the triangle area. With these investments, North Carolina might not rely on tourism as much in the future.
Hopefully, rising sea levels can be avoided by clean climate policy, but until then, it would be to the government’s benefit to look away from the past, and toward the future.