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Restoration Needed For The Coastal Wetlands Of Louisiana
The coastal wetlands of Louisiana have been discovered to erode at an alarming rate. Beginning 1932, Louisiana has lost more than 1.2 million acres of coastal area -- that's about 25 times the size of Washington DC. As such, NGOs, private individuals, and local and state government have been lobbying national government for restoration of the state's coastal wetlands.
The erosion of Louisiana's coastal wetlands has serious implications not only the state, but for the entire nation as well. Approximately a quarter of oil and gas consumed in America, and roughly around 80% of offshore oil and gas travel through the pipelines running through the coastal areas of the state. If restoration is not immediately given priority, wetlands will continually be eroded and eventually be replaced by open water. If this happens, pipelines carrying mainly the US supply of energy will become more and more prone to damage during storms and hurricanes. How will this affect energy consumers in America? If pipelines are damaged, the price of gasoline will skyrocket while availability of gasoline plunges.
Environment is another reason why restoration of coastal wetlands in Louisiana has become a pressing issue. Wetland loss results in deterioration of habitat for many species relying in the ecosystem--- wintering birds, commercially farmed fishes, frogs, insects, and endangered species.
There are a number of factors that have brought about the erosion of Louisiana's wetlands. Hurricanes, rise in sea level, and sinking of land level caused by earth's natural shifts contribute to roughly 30% of wetland loss. The other 70% is contributed by direct or indirect impact on the environment of certain activities. For instance, dredging causes saltwater to flow into freshwater areas. When this happens, freshwater plants die. With no plant roots to hold soil together, the marsh is easily washed away by tides.
Building of levees and dams in other states help provide flood protection, irrigation, and electricity. However, this changes the level of sediment carried downstream to the Delta region by the Mississippi River. In the past, sediments carried by the river resulted in buildup of natural levee that served as the first line of defense of South Louisiana against hurricane damage and storm surge.
Though the importance of wetland restoration is obvious to everyone, the issue has not yet been completely resolved. There were some partial restoration efforts done in the previous years. Steel gates were constructed to allow more freshwater to flow from the Mississippi River. More freshwater means more healthy plants to create more land.
However, restoration projects are very costly. The state see that more levees, more water diversions, and more barrier islands would be the answer to coastal wetland problem. However, the whole project would take billions of dollars. Serious lobbying has been done to get restoration fund from the White House. However, various proposals have been rejected because of the expensiveness of the project. If wetlands continue to be susceptible to saltwater, habitat restoration as projected by some environmental groups would be hard to realize. Plants will continue to die, wetland ecosystem will continue to deteriorate, and marshland animals will continue to diminish.
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