Jenn Boneza remembers when the white sandy beach near the boat ramp in her hometown was wide enough for people to build sand castles. “It really used to be a beautiful beach,” said the 35-year-old mother of two. “And now when you look at it, it's gone.”
珍‧波內沙還記得她老家船用斜坡道附近的白沙灘十分寬敞，寬到足以讓遊客堆砌沙堡。35歲的波內沙已經是兩個孩子的媽，她說：「過去這裡真的是一片美麗的沙灘，如今放眼望去，都不見了。」
What's happening to portions of the beach in Kailua--a sunny coastal suburb of Honolulu where President Barack Obama spent his last two family vacations in the islands--is being repeated around the Hawaiian Islands.
歐巴馬總統全家曾兩次在檀香山沿岸郊區陽光普照的凱魯亞島度假，島上部分海灘所發生的現象，已在夏威夷所有島嶼反覆出現。
Geologists say more than 70 percent of Kauai's beaches are eroding while Oahu has lost a quarter of its sandy shoreline. They warn the problem is only likely to get significantly worse in coming decades as global warming causes sea levels to rise more rapidly. “It will probably have occurred to a scale that we will have only been able to save a few places and maintain beaches, and the rest are kind of a write-off,” said Dolan Eversole, a coastal geologist with the University of Hawaii's Sea Grant program.
地質學家表示，考艾島（或譯可愛島）有70%以上沙灘正遭到侵蝕，歐胡島則已有四分之一海岸線消失。他們警告說，未來數十年由於地球暖化使水平面更快速上升後，這個問題只會更加嚴峻。夏威夷大學海援計畫海岸地質學家艾佛索說：「這可能發生到某種程度，我們只能拯救幾個地方及維護海灘，其他的只能任其化為烏有。」
The loss of so many beaches is an alarming prospect for Hawaii on many levels. Many tourists come to Hawaii precisely because they want to lounge on and walk along its soft sandy shoreline. These visitors spend some $11.4 billion each year, making tourism the state's largest employer.
海灘大量流失，在很多層面上對夏威夷來說前景頗令人震驚。很多遊客到夏威夷正是希望能在柔軟的海岸線沙灘上慵懶的徜徉散步。這些遊客每年大約花114億美元，使觀光業成為夏威夷州的金雞母。
Disappearing sands would also wreak havoc on the environment as many animals and plants would lose important habitats. The Hawaiian monk seal, an endangered species, gives birth and nurses pups on beaches. The green sea turtle, a threatened species, lays eggs in the sand.
沙灘消失也會造成環境浩劫，因為很多動植物將失去重要的棲息地。夏威夷瀕臨絕種的僧海豹在海灘上生產及養育小海豹，另一瀕危物種綠蠵龜則在沙灘上生蛋。
Chip Fletcher, a University of Hawaii geology professor, says scientists in Hawaii haven't yet observed an accelerated rate of sea level rise due to global warming. Instead, the erosion the islands are experiencing now is caused by several factors including a steady historical climb in sea levels that likely dates back to the 19th century. Other causes include storms and human actions like the construction of seawalls, jetties, and the dredging of stream mouths. Each of these human actions disrupts the natural flow of sand.
夏威夷大學地質學教授佛雷契說，夏威夷科學家並未察覺海平面由於全球暖化而加速上升。相反的，島嶼目前遭到侵蝕是由幾個因素造成的，包括海平面歷史性的穩定上升，可能可以上溯到十九世紀。其他因素包括暴風雨及建海堤、防波堤及挖掘疏浚河口等人類的行為，人類這些行為每每打斷沙的自然流動。
But a more rapid rise in sea levels, caused by global warming, is expected to contribute to erosion in Hawaii within decades. In 100 years, sea levels are likely to be at least 1 meter higher than they are now, pushing the ocean inland along coastal areas. Fletcher says between 60 to 80 percent of the nation's shoreline is chronically eroding. But the problem is felt particularly acutely in Hawaii because the economy and lifestyle are so dependent on healthy beaches.
全球暖化造成海平面更快速的上升，預料將會造成夏威夷在數十年內被侵蝕，一百年之內，海平面可能比現在至少高出一公尺，推動沿岸地區的海洋往內陸推移。佛雷契說，美國海岸線有60%到80%長期遭到侵蝕，但這個問題在夏威夷特別嚴重，因為經濟和生活方式十分倚賴健全的海灘。
The state is doing everything it can to keep the sand in Waikiki, for example, joining with hotels in the state's tourist hub on a plan to spend between $2 million and $3 million pumping in sand from offshore.
夏威夷州正全力捍衛威基基的沙灘，例如和該州觀光核心區的旅館業者合作，計畫斥資200萬到300萬美元從海上抽沙送到岸上。
Sam Lemmo, administrator of the state's Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, says the state would need a variety of adaptation strategies for different beaches. It would likely have to abandon hope for beaches in posh Lanikai and suburban Ewa Beach on Oahu because they're already lined with seawalls and are badly eroded. The same probably goes for shoreline next to highways or other critical public infrastructure, where seawalls already exist or may have to be built. Seawalls protect individual properties from encroaching waters but they exacerbate erosion nearby by preventing waves from reaching the sand needed to replenish the beach.
夏威夷州保護海岸土地辦公室主管雷姆諾表示，該州不同的海灘將需要不同的因應對策，歐胡島的拉尼凱和伊瓦海灘可能就得放棄，因為海灘已遭到嚴重侵蝕，海岸線倒退到海堤。公路或其他重要基礎公共設施附近的海岸線可能面臨同樣的問題，這些地方不是已經築了海堤，就是必須築堤。海堤可以保護居民的產業不致遭海水侵蝕，但也會阻止海浪捲起用來補充海灘的沙。
For undeveloped shoreline, the state wants to make sure these areas stay pristine. This happened recently when a Florida-based developer announced plans to build luxury homes on sand dunes in Kahuku on Oahu's North Shore. “We just kind of went nuts, pulled out all the guns on that one, basically got them to back off,” Lemmo said. “We're working pretty hard to keep any new development away from these areas.”
對尚未開發的海岸線，夏威夷州致力確保這些地區保留原始質樸狀態，最近佛羅里達一家開發商宣布在歐胡島北岬卡胡庫島沙丘上蓋豪宅，就被當局拒絕。雷姆諾說：「我們簡直快瘋了，炮火全開，勒令他們撤回計畫。我們拚命阻止這些地區再出現新的開發案。」
A “triage” strategy could be applied to Kailua, which is lined by multimillion-dollar homes but doesn't have seawalls. Fletcher proposes identifying areas where a land conservation fund would buy five or six adjoining properties. The state would tear down buildings on these plots and allow the beach to shift inland.
百萬美元豪宅林立但未築海堤的凱魯亞島，可能可以實施「鑑定分類」策略，佛雷契建議指定某些地區，讓土地保育基金買下五、六個毗鄰的產業，州政府再拆除這些地段的建築，讓海洋可以朝內陸發展。
He said when erosion hits more sections of Kailua beach, there's going to be a clamor to put up seawalls. “That will be a very important moment,”Fletcher said.“If we allow the first home to put up a seawall, then we're probably dooming the entire beach over the course of a couple of decades. Ultimately the beach will disappear. Or we could have an alternative to that, to identify now some portions of Kailua shoreline where we want the beach to live.”
他指出，當凱魯亞島海灘更多地段遭到侵蝕後，當地居民一定會大聲要求築堤。佛雷契說：「這將是關鍵時刻，如果我們放任第一家住戶築海堤，可能會毀了整片海灘，最後海灘將會消失。或者我們可以有個替代方案，現在先標示出想讓海灘存活下去的某部分凱魯亞海岸線。」
This Nov. 6, 2009 photo shows footprints on Lanikai beach located on Oahu's windward side in Hawaii.
這張攝於今年11月6日的照片，可以看到夏威夷歐胡島迎風面海灘所留下的足跡。（美聯社）