[CPEO-MEF] REUSE: Long Beach (CA) breakwater

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Sinking the Breakwater: Surfers in Long Beach Seek to Dismantle a 
Decades-Old Navy Relic


by Joshua Frank
Truthout
November 7, 2010

From an environmental perspective, the battered coastline that butts up 
against Long Beach, California is something of a tragedy, a remnant of 
an idyllic oceanfront that once was.

It's an old tale, but it's relived daily here in sunny Los Angeles 
County. Completed shortly after World War II, a breakwater was 
constructed a mile and a half off the coast of Long Beach, California as 
a sort of pseudo-protector for a US Naval fleet. The notion was simple: 
protect Navy ships from Japanese underwater missiles and big waves. 
Eventually the Naval base relocated to San Diego but it left its 
obstructionist wall behind. Now this stone barrier- which stretches over 
two miles in length - acts as a water prison: no waves make it in and 
none flow out. The result is apparent to anyone who walks this littered 
stretch of sand.

Long Beach's waterfront is filthy.

Of course, this wasn't always the case. Dubbed the "Waikiki of 
California" for its long, curling waves, Long Beach held one of the 
Golden State's first-ever surf competitions back in 1939. Located just 
20 miles south of sprawling Los Angeles, the beach was a popular 
destination for old-time wave riders and other beach bunnies. In fact, 
lifeguard rescues prior to the breakwater's construction were higher 
than anywhere else in all of California. It was a happening place, but 
no longer.



...

For the entire article, see
http://www.truth-out.org/sinking-breakwater-surfers-long-beach-seek-dismantle-a-decades-old-navy-relic64665

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org


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