jack ekstorm as been surfing california beaches for over 60 years. he’s lived on a beautiful ocean bluff since he bought his house 1965 for just $19,000.

“i built my dream home here. and i didn’t build it for speculation or anything,” ekstorm said. “i just built it for me and my wife, our dream.”

but homeowners like jack’s neighbors worry about erosion. and they’ve been building concrete walls on public land to keep their homes from falling into the ocean. surf rider foundation activist jim jaffee says this fight against mother nature will be catastrophic for beaches.

“sea walls will eventually cause this beach to flood. we’re in a state of rising sea level. and if you fix the back of the beach with concrete in the face of the rising sea you’ll wind up with water against concrete.”

in this edition of assignment earth we take a look at the conflict to save oceanfront homes and the very beaches they overlook.

assignment earth features compelling video reports from the front lines of major environmental news stories across the globe. these reports are brought to you by the environment news trust.