From the NYTimes, The Beach Boondoggle. An excerpt:

Data from the United States Geological Survey show that more than half of beaches on the East and Gulf Coasts are eroding. We seem to be to trying to hold every shoreline in place forever by pumping sand onto them, largely at federal expense. But this is folly. As sea-level rise continues, and if storms intensify as predicted, the projects will require more sand, and more dollars. We are going to run out of both.