Rapid Intensification

My wife grew up near Juno Beach, Florida, in Palm Beach County, and we've been visiting the area for years. I never get tired of it. Though it's always growing, Juno still has a sleepy feel to it, with mostly uncrowded beaches (below) flanked by mangrove thickets. There are wonderful beach side parks, great little outdoor restaurants — and on most days there's a stiff breeze, driving an energetic blue and turquoise ocean.  All of which is to say, I get it, completely. There's no doubt that many of the nation's coastal areas are wonderful places to live. It's no surprise then, that 4 in 10 Americans live in coastal counties. While that share of people on the coast hasn't changed much over decades, our overall population has of course grown dramatically, and the total number of coastal residents has skyrocketed. Many coastal counties in the Southeast, and particularly in Florida, have seen populations double, triple or quadruple over the last four to five de...