Steve Lang can see catastrophic erosion worsened by climate change happening in real time along one of the world’s most scenic railroad lines, where the sea is swallowing homes, tracks and California’s beautiful beaches.
October 16, 2022
Steve Lang can see catastrophic erosion worsened by climate change happening in real time along one of the world’s most scenic railroad lines, where the sea is swallowing homes, tracks and California’s beautiful beaches.
« Every day I come here and watch this, and it makes me want to cry, » the 68-year-old tells AFP on rail tracks he crosses to go surfing.
Powerful waves wash in from the Pacific over the rails where the « Pacific Surfliner » runs, ferrying sightseers through the stunning coastal landscapes of southern California.
Not long ago, the railway was cushioned by hundreds of feet (tens of meters) of golden sand. But violent southern swells have washed that sand away.
With the beach gone, there was nothing to protect the rails from the fury of Tropical Storm Kay as it lashed the coast in September, eating away at the land on which they stood.
The track, which carries 8.3 million passengers annually between San Diego and San Luis Obispo, is now closed for emergency work.
Climate change
In the luxury Cyprus Shore settlement, an enclave of about a hundred plush villas that was once home to former president Richard Nixon, residents look on uneasily.
Without the beach to protect it, the hillside on which it is built is being eaten away and multi-million dollar homes are sliding towards the sea.
The cliffside parking lot is collapsing and two villas with cracked walls are now officially uninhabitable.
« These homes were valued at minimum $10 million each, » says Lang.
