Our Views: Study tackles coast issues

If Louisiana doesn’t act with urgency to preserve its coast, then parts of coastal Louisiana could reach a tipping point at which the cost of preservation becomes too high to bear.

We were reminded of this stark reality by the news that the National Science Foundation has awarded a $1.5 million grant to faculty members at LSU to investigate the long-term prospects for coastal communities where land loss, subsidence, sea-level rise, flooding, hurricanes and oil spills have had a major impact for years. Research will focus on the Lower Mississippi River Basin in Louisiana.

The research group will study areas north of Lake Pontchartrain and compare them to areas south of the lake. Economy and population have grown in the northern part of the study area over the past decade, while the southern part surrounding New Orleans has faced population and economic decline. The findings from the study will be used to help policymakers determine the best way to preserve much of the coast and its communities.

We’re glad that some of LSU’s best minds have been engaged to consider the future of the coastal area near New Orleans. Louisiana’s economic and cultural promise is strongly tied to its coastal regions, which is why the results of the NSF study should be of interest to residents far beyond the Gulf of Mexico.

Comments

1) Comment by Chucky - 11/10/2012

@[e-mail] I agree with tradewinns, and i think once you see the impact of what you have done, do not like it, then change it. A system of 'baffles' was argued for in the Delta instead of the 'fire hose' we have today. I say tame the River, but in the best way we can.

2) Comment by tradewinns - 11/10/2012

RW; i wasn't commenting that what we are doing is wrong, i believe in advancing the human experience as far as possible. everything we do has consequences and to do something and then act as if the consequences should not have happened is stupidity or politics, same thing.

3) Comment by [e-mail] - 11/10/2012

Some here seem to believe that nature should be left to do as it will without the interference of mankind; that's a recipe to put us all back in fig leafs wandering around eating nuts, roots, and berries. Even some indigionus tribal groups are criticized by some back-to-nature types who think that they are devouring too much of nature's bounty and inhibiting it's "natural" existence. Everybody is better off when we manage our environment to the extent that is possible for mere mortals.

4) Comment by Chucky - 11/10/2012

Remember that the levee system was not built to keep Louisiana from flooding but to keep the North from flooding.

5) Comment by Chucky - 11/10/2012

@tradewinns - You are right, and the history on why we have the type of outlet from the Mississippi Rive into the gulf and the other ideas that were proposed at the time the levee system was built is fascinating. I think they made a mistake and choose the wrong way.

6) Comment by tradewinns - 10/10/2012

this type of discussion has and will continue to be part of mankind's interference with nature. we have changed the normal evolution of the river because we need it to further our commerce. rivers normally meander back and forth across the landscape depending on the amount of flow and the type of land it encounters. because we have decided where it will flow and continue to dredge where we want it, that interfers with the natural changes of nature. perhaps if we weren't messing with it, our shoreline wouldn't be in such bad straits. nature will take care of itself. if it decides to do something, we puny humans won't be able to stop it.

7) Comment by [e-mail] - 10/10/2012

You don't need an academic to know what's facing coastal communities; just go down there and look. They ought to use that money to study possible action.

8) Comment by Chucky - 10/10/2012

This is a national issue as the Mississippi River serves all the Nation and has a huge impact on our wet lands and coast. Also our oil industry serves the Nation and not just Louisiana.