We know the climate is warming and that floods and heavy downpours are getting worse. We also know icecaps are melting and sea levels are rising. Many people around the world are affected, especially Bangladesh. It is one of the poorest countries in the world and one that is hardest hit by flooding. Sea levels in the open ocean are rising three millimeters per year but are rising six times faster along the estuaries of southwest Bangladesh.

New Jersey’s beaches and nearby towns are also affected by rising sea levels. Think of Superstorm Sandy and the destruction and loss it caused. One of the reasons coastal towns and cities are being devastated by storm surges is because they have lost their natural defenses. Sand dunes, salt marshes and mangroves have been removed to make way for housing, amusement rides, or hard walled barriers.

Engineers, designers and ecologists now know it is imperative to keep and plant more sand dunes, salt marshes and mangroves. Those soft barriers and natural defenses are necessary. They break up wind, reduce wave heights, and soak up tidal surges. Physics makes it clear, hard barriers (flood gates or sea walls) cannot soak up water. They just push ferocious water back somewhere else. Soft barriers can move with water and soak it up. Mangroves reduce the number of deaths from tsunamis and actually thrive on rising sea levels.

Sadly, we are destroying one percent of mangroves each year, a tragedy which goes unreported. As for salt marshes and sand dunes, I know we have already lost too many. Time is of the essence. Nature can be one of the best defenses against the worst storms and devastating flooding. It is time for us to respect nature, protect it, and work with it. Only then can we avoid unnecessary tragedy and loss.