Woods Hole, Mass. -- A July 2025 report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) claims that U.S. tide gauge measurements “in aggregate show no obvious acceleration in sea level rise beyond the historical average rate.”

Rhode Island, like the rest of the nation, will receive zero federal funding to restore beach sand when storms sweep it away. In recent years, the damage done has been severe. And the impact has been costly. Sometimes the bill has been in the millions.

By Cornelia Dean — The growing battle over how to manage sea level rise turns partly on a legal principle set down in Roman times.

By Frank Carini — When it comes to climate change and southern New England’s eroding coastline, managed retreat is an unpopular choice. But there likely will come a time, perhaps sooner than we think, when it becomes the only option.

By Sabrina Shankman — In the age of climate change, as sea levels rise and more intense storms wear away the natural landscape that had protected coastal communities for generations, state and local officials are considering more radical measures, including paying people to abandon their waterfront properties altogether.

By Michael Woods — Across North America the boundary between uplands and tidelands occupies a fascinating niche within the greater public access conversation.

By Francis Wilkinson — A video of a North Carolina beach house being dismembered by a voracious ocean was a viral hit this spring. But it won’t be long before the novelty wears off.

By Hadley Barndollar — New Englanders often associate flooding with storms, and rightfully so. But imagine sunny days with impassable roads, bubbling storm drains and basements-turned-swimming pools?

By Brian Amaral — All six candidates agreed climate change is the most pressing environmental issue in the state.

By Bill Seymour — A House of Representatives bill putting it 10 feet above the high tide mark won approval earlier this year, following a study commission’s recommendation. The state Senate leadership, however, is throwing cold water right now…

By Antonia Noori Farzan — Is the General Assembly willing to throw its weight behind an idea with broad popular support, knowing that it's all but guaranteed to lead to lawsuits?

By Antonia Noori Farzan — If you have access to an old ox cart, now would be the time to get out a tape measure and figure out exactly how wide it is. The answer to that seemingly esoteric question could determine where you're allowed to walk on the beach this summer.

By Antonia Noori Farzan — Most members of the special legislative commission on lateral shoreline access agree that it's absurd to use 18.6-year metonymic cycles to determine where the public beach ends and private property begins.

By Antonia Noori Farzan — Over the past few years, demands to improve shoreline access have ramped up across Rhode Island. Yet the politicians vying to be the state's next governor have been curiously silent on the topic.

By Antonia Noori Farzan — Three summers ago, Scott Keeley set out to make a point about his constitutional right to the shoreline, and collect some seaweed for his garden while he was at it.

By Antonia Noori Farzan — …Several decades ago, the state came up with a solution: Towns could get grants to improve rights of way by clearing away brush, laying down walkways, and putting in amenities like picnic tables and bike racks. In exchange, they had to take steps to ensure that those sites would be accessible to the public — including providing parking whenever possible.

By Brian Amaral — A Providence resident and Brown University professor was one of the key authors in a landmark United Nations report warning of the catastrophic consequences of climate change.

By Bill Seymour — The challenge to private beach owners wanting to stop public access to their land is far from over, says Scott Keeley, who organized a protest drawing more than 200 supporters to step over the Charlestown-South Kingstown line into the sand of exclusive beaches.

By Bill Seymour — Exactly defining public access along beaches — and other areas around Rhode Island’s coast — is a complex undertaking requiring some serious study