Two-fer post - 1 East. 1 West:

[rcjordan]

Fight intensifies over fate of California homes falling into the sea - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/09/18/fight-intensifies-over-fate-california-homes-falling-into-sea/

Homes are falling into the ocean. FEMA rules may reward the mess : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/17/nx-s1-5844642/fema-homes-collapse-ocean-climate-north-carolina-maine

[ergophobe]

Interesting that they tried to solve this, sort of did, but there were problems. Once again, there are no solutions, only tradeoffs

Meanwhile, inland where houses are not sliding into the ocean

California FAIR Plan Announces 29.1% Rate Hike for Homeowners This Fall
https://www.kqed.org/news/12094860/california-fair-plan-announces-29-1-rate-hike-for-homeowners-this-fall

>sliding into the ocean

It reminds me of the old joke:

"Californians are so egotistical that they think there is going to be a massive earthquake and the US is going to slide into the Atlantic."

There's a grain of truth in that joke. People were completely flummoxed by my "pro Nebraska" bumper sticker when I moved to CA. Also, it brought my up short the first time someone said, "He's from out east," only to find out that the person in question was from Colorado.

[ergophobe]

And one South

Beautifully written. Like a rather sadder version of Aldo Leopoldo writing in the 1940s about disappearing wild spaces (in Sand County Almanac, a top-10 nonfiction book for me).  Although Leopold's writing about shooting a wolf is immeasurably sad and beautiful too.


Where Cities and Oceans Meet
In New Orleans, water is coming.

There is no such thing as a "natural" disaster, argued Andy Horowitz in his authoritative history of Hurricane Katrina. Each one is the product of human history, millions of decisions made over centuries. We live in the aftermath of those choices.

https://pioneerworks.org/broadcast/wet-places-nola-brad-bolman-oceans