Anyone with half an eye on the housing market over the last two decades will know that in many countries, not least the United States, it’s become much more difficult to buy a home.

Rising seas and eroding shorelines have now claimed a half-dozen houses in Rodanthe, N.C., in the past four years, as many property owners race to elevate their homes or retreat from the waterfront.

All the trees are dying. Yet we go about our lives