The Last Beach is an urgent call to save the world's beaches while there is still time. The geologists Orrin H. Pilkey and J. Andrew G. Cooper sound the alarm in this frank assessment of our current relationship with beaches and their grim future if we do not change the way we understand and treat our irreplaceable shores. Combining case studies and anecdotes from around the world, they argue that many of the world's developed beaches, including some in Florida and in Spain, are virtually doomed and that we must act immediately to save imperiled beaches. After explaining beaches as dynamic ecosystems, Pilkey and Cooper assess the harm done by dense oceanfront development accompanied by the construction of massive seawalls to protect new buildings from a shoreline that encroaches as sea levels rise. They discuss the toll taken by sand mining, trash that washes up on beaches, and pollution, which has contaminated not only the water but also, surprisingly, the sand. Acknowledging the challenge of reconciling our actions with our love of beaches, the geologists offer suggestions for reversing course, insisting that given the space, beaches can take care of themselves and provide us with multiple benefits.

本作は、単なる環境白書ではありません。地質学者であるピルキーとクーパーが、愛する海辺の消滅という残酷な未来に警鐘を鳴らす、科学的な情熱に満ちた挽歌です。人間が利便性のために築いた巨大な防潮堤や乱開発が、実は動的な生態系である浜辺の死を加速させているという皮肉な真実を、彼らは鋭い筆致で暴き出します。 著者の文体には、砂の一粒一粒にまで注がれる深い愛着と、取り返しのつかない現実への焦燥感が同居しています。本作の白眉は、浜辺を人間の所有物ではなく、自律した生命体として捉え直す視座の転換にあります。自然との共鳴を謳う美辞麗句を剥ぎ取り、私たちが足元から何を失いつつあるのかを突きつける、魂を揺さぶる一冊です。