Pollution of Coastlines Makes Us

Pollution of Coastlines Makes Us More Vulnerable to Global Environmental Problems

Recent disasters in North America, such as the flooding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit and the water table problems in Texas show us that development of fragile environments and uncontrolled pollution of the environment can have grave consequences. While humankind can modify the environment physically, nobody can modify the weather at will. That is another problem which is exacerbated by pollution. Weather patterns are being globally changed by the patterns of human habitation and of the pollutants we contribute back to the environment. However, that is a separate problem from the damage done by the weather due to the modifications and pollution of fragile environments in North America. While it may take years for us to undo some of the damage we have done to the global ecosystem, we can and must make changes locally to limit the damage.

Human habitation and exploitation of fragile coastal areas has and is still being greatly damaged by tourists and developers. In coastal areas, such as New Orleans and North Carolina, fresh water swamps and estuaries are part of the local water table, or aquifer, and their degradation will seriously affect the fresh water supply.

Single homes, golf course developments and retirement communities now crowd virtually any waterway where developers can acquire access.

North Carolina's coast has resisted overdevelopment better than other states' coastal regions because of protection laws enacted in the mid-1970s. That enlightened outlook needs to be renewed. (Observer Ralleigh, NC 6/4/2006)

North Carolina and Georgia are attacking this problem now, since they are seeing the damage done to local fisheries and also the economic cost of recreating the barrier environments after developers upset the sensitive balance. Development is being greatly controlled on the fragile lands.

In addition to the physical damage to barrier islands and coastline areas, salinization, that is, an increase of salt content, of these areas kills off the local wildlife, an important part of the food chain. The salinization is a consequence of human use of water for living and also of industrial use. We use the water and then let it flow back into the aquifer with extra salt. Irrigation adds even more pollutants to the water table. The salt water parts of coastal estuaries and salt water marshes creates unique niches for local wildlife. If either is damaged the whole system is affected. Of course, anything which damages the food chain have a bad impact upon local economies and may even have national or global consequences. The over-salinization of coastal areas upsets the delicate balance of salt and fresh water areas.

Estuaries and marshes are a buffer zone between coastal and inland areas. The fresh water marshes are part of the local aquifer. The unique plant life in the estuaries, which are mixed fresh and salt water, filters the sediments and pollutants from the land, filters the salt from the ocean and provides a habitat for species which may not be found anywhere else, and which are a unique portion of the local food chain.

More than 90% of the commercial fisheries and seafood products breed in these kinds of areas. In addition, dozens of species of migratory birds breed in the marshes and raise their young there. Commercial fishing and its dependent industries would not survive long without these areas intact. As it is, commercial fishing of wild species is being badly impacted by aquaculture, which was another unforeseen consequence of development, in this case, economic development.

These estuaries and marshes are also important protection for the coastline. They furnish the barrier islands with purified sediment and absorb all the overflow during a storm. The barriers islands serve as the first frontal protection for the coastlines. They are constantly built up from both sides. New Orleans has lost much of its barrier island acreage and the accompanying marshes and estuaries to development. Systems of levees were created for flood control protection from Lake Ponchetraine. In addition, some areas were eliminated to make room for aquaculture. Shrimp and fish are farmed in controlled systems of man made lakes. Swampland, estuaries and barrier islands were all affected. It has also been found that wild species are turning up with diseases promoted by aquaculture. In essence, the coastal areas of New Orleans were redesigned by engineers. The damage to St. Louis was much more than it would have been if the original configuration had been left alone.

Losing the wetlands means much more than dying marshland. Southeast Louisiana's wetlands are the nursery for a $1 billion fishery. They protect 155 miles of interior waterways over which more than 100 million tons of cargo are shipped annually. Eighteen percent of the nation's domestic oil production comes from coastal Louisiana, and the marsh helps protect the petroleum industry's pipelines and wells." (Dunne, Mike 2001)