Last December a surprise storm passed through Florida’s Pinellas County, ripping away beaches and wiping out half of the sand dunes from St. Petersburg to Clearwater. Beach communities around the world are spending staggering sums replacing sand as big storms and rising seas wash it away. For many communities, engineering the beach is worth the hefty price tag to protect properties and tourism. But as climate change hastens beach erosion, trucking or shipping huge quantities of sand to replenish beaches is likely to become economically untenable and logistically impractical. Beaches were intended to move around, and they’re better off when they do.

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Persons: they’re Locations: Florida’s Pinellas County, St, Petersburg, Clearwater, Beach