More Dunes May Have Saved Long Beach Island From Sandy

Beachfront property owners along one tract of land on Jersey’s Long Beach Island finally may be realizing that sand dunes actually do serve a purpose, no matter how ugly they are. Land owners along three other areas where dunes were completed lost nothing in Superstorm Sandy, while the holdouts suffered massive damages because they didn’t want to obstruct their “million-dollar views” with a “mountain of sand.” Had the holdouts gone for the dune plan, which the US Army Corps of Engineers started back in 2005, the cost would have been $4.1 million to Long Beach Township. Now, with Sandy having rolled through, the damages are up to $750 million. No word yet on whether anyone has hated to say “I told you so.” [Newsworks]