Vegetated sand ridges called dunes, consisting of dry beach sand blown inland and trapped by plants and other obstacles, behind most beaches. As sand accumulates, dunes become taller and wider. Plants play a fundamental role in this process, acting as windbreaks and trapping the deposited sand particles. A characteristic of these plants is their ability to grow through the sand and continually produce new stems and roots as more and more sand becomes trapped and the dune grows. Stable sand dunes play an important role in protecting the coast. They act as a buffer against wave damage during storms, protecting the land behind from saltwater intrusion. This sand barrier allows more complex plant communities to develop in areas protected from saltwater flooding, sea spray and strong winds. The dunes also act as a sand reserve, to replenish and maintain the beach during periods of erosion. The front sand dunes are vulnerable. Vegetation can be destroyed by natural causes such as storms, cyclones, drought or fire, or by human intervention such as logging, grazing, vehicle or excessive pedestrian traffic. If plant cover is damaged, strong winds can cause "bursts" or gaps in the dune crest. Unless repaired, these increase in size and the entire dune system sometimes migrates inland covering everything in its path. Meanwhile, as the sand supply dwindles, beach erosion can lead to coastal recession. To avoid this, it is vital to protect vegetation. The beach, between high and low tide, is resistant but the sensitive dunes that we cross to reach it must also be protected. For this reason it may be necessary to fence damaged and sensitive dunes and provide access routes for vehicles and people. Processes such as waves, nearshore currents, and tides continually modify coastlines. The ability of beaches to maintain themselves is achieved through these natural forces. The natural process of beach renewal, sometimes called "dynamic equilibrium", is the way the beach responds to atmospheric conditions. When waves are high during storms or when hurricanes hit the shore, sand is washed up from the beach and deposited on the ocean floor. This makes the ocean floor flatter and the waves break further from shore and are smaller. During warm weather or erosion, smaller waves slowly move sand toward shore and fill the beach. By the time people build…half of paper…they've already spent nearly 100 million dollars dredging sand from the ocean floor and dumping it on 33 miles of coastline. Ocean City Beach was renovated in 1982 for five million dollars, but was swept away in just two and a half months. When beach residents demand something be done about the eroding beach dunes, all the money is spent on despicable efforts to stop mother nature. , a storm or hurricane will come and wipe out the development. Then billions of dollars are spent rebuilding coastal homes and resorts, resulting in a repetitive cycle of economic and environmental idiocracy. One day, in a better society, we will save our beaches from development so that everyone is free to enjoy them in a better way. natural and unobstructed state. We will stop wasting billions of dollars in our futile attempts to resurrect artificial beaches and the pointless rebuilding of homes and resorts. It will become clear that the development of America's coasts is too expensive to maintain and is..