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Homework Help: Social Studies: World Issues: Louisiana Wetlands
by Carter R.
More than 1,900 square miles of land have been lost in the Louisiana wetlands. A fourteen billion dollar restoration project has been proposed for the Louisiana wetlands. Why should we use our time, resources, and money for this project? What are the benefits of the wetlands and why are they needed?
The wetlands provide many resources and safety features for Louisiana and the United States. The south Louisiana ecosystem produces more than one-third of the nation's oil and one-half of the nation's natural gas. The state is second only to Alaska in commercial fishing profits, with a 343 million dollar profit in 2002. The wetlands also serve as a buffer, or "natural speed bump", for hurricanes and tropical storms, because the land slows the storms down and weakens their intensities, which results in less damage to New Orleans and other heavily populated areas. Protecting the wetlands results in the protection of life, a secure energy supply, and the saving of one of the world's most important ecosystems. The wetland habitat is the most productive habitat in the world.
The oil and port industries benefit Louisiana economically. Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, also known as LOOP, is twenty miles off the Louisiana coast and is the largest oil import for the United States with more than one million barrels of crude oil handled a day. Four of the top ten ports in the United States are found in Louisiana. The estuaries act as storm protection for the Mississippi River ports, which handle 500 million tons of commerce a year. Navigation paths and port facilities in the estuaries impact on the economy is valued at more than fifteen billion dollars a year. The oil industry located in Louisiana wetlands offers low taxes and high-paying jobs to the state.
The wetlands are essential protection from hurricanes for the rest of the state. They slow down the storms and weaken them. The wetlands serve as a place for floodwaters to remain and not damage population centers. The wetlands used to be able to hold sixty days of floodwater but are now only capable of holding twelve days. The wetlands slowly distribute the excess water to aquifers, streams, and bayous after they have reached their capacity. The wetlands also break waves, decreasing the impact of storm surge on other areas. For every 2.8 miles of wetland vegetation, the storm surge decreases an entire foot. Although the wetlands take a strong impact from hurricanes, they decrease the storms' impacts on New Orleans and other cities.
The wetlands of Louisiana are required for the state's commercial and recreational fishing industries. Over a billion pounds of fish were caught in 2001 by commercial fishermen. This was twenty-seven percent of the total catches in the continental United States. Forty percent of the country's fur harvests take place in wetlands. The Louisiana wetlands do not only impact the state, they impact the entire Gulf region economically.
A plethora of mammals, fish, and amphibians call the wetlands their home. Over one-third of the country's endangered or threatened species live in the wetlands permanently. One-half of the endangered animals utilize the wetlands at some point in their lives. Ninety percent of all animals living in the Gulf spend some time living in the Louisiana ecosystem. Wetlands often benefit other surrounding ecosystems by transferring nutrients from one habitat to another. Fish have less available food because of erosion and the disappearance of wetlands. Areas for new growth of trees are disappearing, which impacts migrating birds and increases erosion because the roots of trees that hold the soil in place are absent. The loss of wetlands results in less space for animals that depend on the wetlands for shelter, food, and survival.
The estuaries also help to improve water quality. Water moves around plants in the wetlands and sediments collect in the plants, which serve as a natural filter. This allows sunlight to reach deeper into the water, resulting in more photosynthesis and oxygen. Nutrients and pollutants are collected by the plants. Wetland plants absorb excess nitrogen and phosphorous. Some plants destroy fecal material from people and animals. The absence of wetlands will require more water treatment facilities to remove excess nutrients as well as salt from the water. Without wetlands, saltwater intrusion occurs and more will have to be done for residents to have potable water. The wetlands serve naturally as improvers of the water quality
The wetlands are known as "nurseries of life." They provide a habitat for thousands of animals and plants, both terrestrial and marine. They save human lives by acting as water storage when flooding occurs. The estuaries filter water through a natural process. They are needed to protect homes from hurricanes and erosion, and for the natural resources that come from the wetlands. We should spend the time, money, and resources of the fourteen billion dollar restoration project because 2 million people, almost half of the state's population, live in coastal parishes of Louisiana that are rapidly disappearing. They provide many benefits to the people of Louisiana and indirectly to people around the world.
Homework Help: Social Studies: World Issues
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