Coastal communities need seawalls

Christine Sanderson is spot on with her description of Granity – it is paradise (Apr 25).

We bought our property up the road in Hector 12 years ago, right on the beach, and have started renovating a run-down house. When finished, we will have fantastic views over the Tasman to be enjoyed by family, friends and visitors.

Unfortunately the negative side of the article is to imply that we shouldn’t invest in this area and everyone should beat a hasty retreat from this coastline.

But hopefully the positive thing that will come out of the article is to highlight the need to install adequate seawalls along vulnerable areas of this coastline now.

These will protect properties so people can continue to live and work there, so visitors can enjoy cafes and accommodation on the beach, all of which contributes to the economy – which is much needed on the West Coast.

The rugged, wild, natural beauty of the coast is probably its biggest asset – there to be protected and enjoyed for all.

We shouldn’t have to wait for the erosion to get to the Coastal Highway before something is done.

There are towns, cities and communities all over the world that deal with coastal erosion. Coastlines are forever evolving and changing – that’s nothing new. We need to evolve with them and meet the challenges and requirements of living in these areas. Erin Abbot South Brighton & Hector

Climate is changing

Joe Fone needs to look around. The glaciers and ice caps are melting, the seasons are shifting, record high temperatures outnumber record lows up to 10 to 1.

Satellites are measuring less heat leaking back into space, the oceans are warming, dry spells are getting longer, hotter and drier, and when the clouds come, they carry a lot more water.

The models are just that, but as the future rolls past us, reality has a funny way of confirming their predictions.

One thing is certain, if you take our CO2 contributions out of the equations, the models are unable to match reality.

Ian Orchard Papanui