By Jose Marquina, MD Sierra Club Summer Intern
Environmental issues stretch far and wide past our beloved state of Maryland. From major droughts in California to the secrete implementation of GMOs in our produce, there is a lot to take in as is. The issue of sea level rise is one that most people have heard of already, but a lot of them are unaware that the effects of it are happening right now to own country. I would like to bring the spotlight to an environmental problem that has risen, our should I say sunk, the good state of Louisiana.
Since the 1930s, the coast of Louisiana has been receding due to rising sea levels, a deteriorated shoreline, and an unprepared infrastructure. As a result, Louisiana’s south-east shore currently faces a 25 to 35 square miles year loss to the Gulf of Mexico. The shore is near the country’s biggest oil refineries, ports, and a considerable human population, which is slowly being swallowed by the sea. The displacement of people and the projected damages that are to come are unprecedented and will certainly be destructive.
“Louisiana’s shoreline is losing a football field worth a land every day to the Gulf of Mexico”
The coastal loss that our states are facing will impact several aspects ranging from harbors, major markets, human population density and natural habitats. Coastal states and cities with high population densities like California, New York and New Orleans are all vulnerable to major flooding damage, and the effects of said damages have already surfaced. The destruction that New Orleans suffered from the notorious Hurricane Katrina is an example of the sheer devastation that a coastal city can face due to flooding alongside of an unprepared infrastructure. Being a city that is mostly under sea level and next to a coast, New Orleans was hit with billions of dollars in repairs and the displacement of thousands of people, and this tragedy is only the tip of the iceberg that is to come over time.
“A storm like Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster waiting to happen for the state of Louisiana”
This issue dwells much deeper than sea level rise and global warming, as the main culprits of this problem are ones that are in hands of the state. Louisianan wetlands serve as a barrier from the full force and effects of open marine processes such as wave action, salinity intrusion, storm surge, tidal currents, and sediment transport that all combine to flood and damage the coast. Without these wetlands, further land loss would endanger oil and gas facilities, the huge port complex, and the gulf’s valuable fishing industry. Apart from the economic damage that Louisiana would undertake, South Louisiana’s wetlands are also critical nursery areas for commercially important marine species and their fragile habitat is at danger of shrinking even further.
“What exactly is causing all of this?”
An average of 34 square miles of South Louisiana land, mostly marsh, has disappeared each year for the past five decades, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). As much as 80% of the nation’s coastal wetland loss in this time occurred in Louisiana. From 1932 to 2000, the state lost 1,900 square miles of land to the Gulf of Mexico. Even though climate change and natural phenomenons have harmed the coast in the past century,the real damage comes from the combination of the massive engineering of Louisiana’s rivers, and the human maltreatment of the coastal wetlands. The levying of the Mississippi River has attributed to be one of the major obstacles when it comes to coastal restoration, as it effects have been positive for the people, but not for the ecosystem. Louisiana's wetlands are starving for nutrients, sediments, and water. The natural overflow of fresh water and sediments kept the wetlands fresh and healthy, but the devastating flood of the Mississippi in 1927 that drove nearly 1 million people from their homes led to the construction of high concrete levies. The levies did end the spring floods, but with the coast of no longer nourishing the wetlands. Walled off from the floodplains, the river can no longer provide enough silt to the delta to keep up with natural subsidence and sea level rise.
Even though gas and oil companies are not the main culprits of this problem, they are still responsible for 30% of the current wetland loss. In fact, they are indirectly responsible for even more, as they have drastically changed the hydrology of the marsh. Gas and oil companies are also guilty of causing a much faster deterioration rate than the levying of the Mississippi, and this is because they have been operating there whilst unsupervised for decades and have created hundreds of miles of navigation channels and pipeline canals through the southern Louisianan marsh.Channels and canals comprise another major problem, as there has been more than 13,000 kilometers of canals lace Louisiana's marsh, along with nine major shipping lanes that have made the state the nation's leader in shipping tonnage. The dredging that was done to place these canals, which are perpendicular to the coast, have disrupted the natural hydrology and sedimentation patterns of the wetland banksand have created new open water areas, drowning wetlands and allowing salt-water intrusion into freshwater ecosystems. The dredging that was done to place these canals has disrupted the natural hydrology and sedimentation patterns of the wetland banks.
How to go about the restoration of coastal Louisiana is not an incentive that is agreed on by all people because of its political sensitivity, effects on communities, agriculture, and industry. It is clear that this issue affects many parties on different fronts, and whether they are environmental coalitions, senators, fishermen or oil companies, all of these parties have their own opinion on what should and should not be done.
“But wait, there is hope!”
Fortunately, there is a plan in action to help repair the extensive coastal damages. The ‘Master Plan’ is a long term goal passed unanimously by the Louisiana legislature in 2012 that would require several billion dollars to fund and repair the receding coastline. This plan was developed with world-class science and engineering expertise, as well as extensive engagement and input from citizens and stakeholders. Since then, there have been several projects that have taken place to aid the hydrologic restoration, marsh creation, and structural protection along the coast. There is already another phase that is to be carried out by 2017 that will carry on the efforts from the previous years.