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Going, Going, Gone: My Louisiana Coast Part 2
by
Michelle M
Calificación: 4.0
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%20that%20make%20a%20maze%20out%20of%20the%20lower%20portion%20of%20Louisiana.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAt%20the%20time,%20I%20thought%20I%20was%20just%20fishing%20in%20a%20nice%20spot.%20%20An%20%22X%22%20spot%20even.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESome%20of%20these%20canals%20hold%20oil%20equipment%20like%20pipelines%20and%20%22Christmas%20Trees.%22%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAs%20a%20child,%20I%20didn't%20understand%20what%20they%20were.%20%20Only%20that%20they%20had%20a%20funny%20name%20and%20were%20ugly.%20%20And%20more%20importantly%20that%20their%20pilings%20provided%20structures%20that%20attracted%20fish.%20%20(They%20are%20oil%20and%20gas%20wells.)%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESome%20of%20the%20canals%20were%20cut%20simply%20to%20create%20a%20liquid%20road%20through%20muddy%20marsh.%20%20Allowing%20easy%20movement%20of%20equipment%20and%20workers%20to%20drilling%20sites.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EUltimately,%20these%20canals%20all%20do%20the%20same%20thing.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESpeed%20up%20erosion.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ETides%20and%20storms--especially%20hurricanes--naturally%20cause%20erosion.%20%20But%20miles%20of%20canals%20carving%20up%20the%20marsh%20compound%20the%20problem.%20%20The%20push%20and%20pull%20of%20water%20in%20and%20out%20of%20these%20canals%20wears%20away%20at%20the%20banks,%20widening%20the%20canals.%20%20Lapping%20at%20and%20eroding%20what's%20left.%20Sucking%20up%20the%20land.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EMy%20uncle,%20who%20runs%20charter%20fishing%20trips%20as%20a%20side%20job,%20told%20me%20that%20his%20GPS%20maps--only%20a%20few%20years%20old--often%20show%20him%20driving%20his%20boat%20over%20land.%20%20It's%20a%20common%20story%20that%20many%20tell.%20%20In%20reality,%20he's%20moving%20along%20through%20open%20water.%20%20The%20land%20on%20the%20maps%20is%20gone.%20%20That's%20how%20rapid%20this%20process%20can%20be.%20%20In%20only%20a%20few%20years,%20land%20has%20vanished.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EErosion%20is%20just%20the%20start,%20really.%20%20The%20very%20tip.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EOther%20forms%20of%20destruction%20follow.%20%20And%20cause%20more%20loss.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWhen%20erosion%20occurs,%20marsh%20grasses%20wash%20away.%20%20Roots%20no%20longer%20hold%20soil%20in%20place...leading%20to%20further%20erosion.%20%20Loss%20of%20grass%20also%20means%20loss%20of%20habitat.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ENesting%20grounds%20for%20waterfowl%20and%20migratory%20birds%20are%20disappearing.%20%20So%20the%20birds%20disappear%20too.%20%20An%20aerial%20population%20study%20of%20waterfowl%20at%20the%20end%20of%202013%20showed%20that%20their%20numbers%20were%20almost%20the%20lowest%20they've%20been%20since%201969.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIn%20the%20past%20five%20years,%20I've%20noticed%20firsthand%20a%20decline%20in%20the%20population%20of%20Brown%20Pelicans.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EOur%20state%20bird.%20%20And%20we%20can't%20even%20keep%20it%20here.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EHabitat%20loss%20also%20stretches%20to%20marine%20life.%20%20Shrimp%20and%20many%20species%20of%20fish%20use%20protective%20wetlands%20as%20nurseries%20and,%20of%20course,%20sources%20of%20food.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThis%20thing.%20%20This%20black,%20sucking%20hole%20grabs%20from%20so%20many%20directions.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWhen%20I%20was%20about%2014,%20my%20family%20and%20I%20traveled%20a%20little%20farther%20south%20than%20normal.%20%20I%20remember%20seeing%20a%20massive%20stand%20of%20trees%20from%20the%20elevated%20highway.%20%20All%20skeletons.%20%20Every%20one%20gnarled%20up.%20%20Bones.%20%20Leafless.%20%20Looking%20like%20winter%20when%20it%20wasn't.%20%20I%20asked%20what%20had%20happened%20to%20the%20trees.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESaltwater%20intrusion.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESalt%20seeped%20in.%20%20The%20trees%20drank%20up%20the%20salt.%20%20Died.%20%20Hundreds%20of%20them.%20%20Nothing%20but%20a%20graveyard.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAs%20land%20wears%20away%20down%20here,%20salt%20water%20moves%20farther%20inland,%20killing%20off%20marsh%20grass%20and%20trees.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAs%20more%20salt%20seeps%20in,%20more%20land%20is%20lost%20without%20plant%20roots%20to%20hold%20it%20in%20place.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIt's%20a%20deadly%20circle%20of%20constant%20erosion%20and%20habitat%20loss.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe%20trees%20in%20the%20background%20have%20died%20due%20to%20saltwater%20intrusion%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAs%20a%20state--as%20a%20country--we%20benefit%20from%20and%20are%20addicted%20to%20oil.%20%20Louisiana%20greedily%20reaped%20the%20bounties%20of%20the%20oil%20boom%20in%20the%201970s%20and%20early%2080s.%20%20Money%20flowed%20in%20without%20a%20care%20for%20what%20these%20activities%20did%20to%20the%20environment.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWe%20violated%20our%20coast%20in%20intimate%20and%20traumatic%20ways%20for%20our%20own%20gain.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ETook%20what%20we%20could%20however%20we%20wanted.%20%20And%20as%20long%20as%20the%20money%20flowed,%20we%20didn't%20care%20about%20where%20the%20salt%20flowed%20or%20where%20the%20land%20drifted%20off%20to.%20%20I%20guess%20things%20don't%20change%20much.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESure,%20fewer%20permits%20are%20issued%20for%20digging%20canals.%20%20Sure,%20there%20are%20efforts%20to%20fill%20in%20some%20of%20these%20canals%20and%20try%20to%20slow%20down%20the%20erosion%20they%20cause.%20%20In%20my%20opinion,%20these%20actions%20are%20mostly%20appearance%20only.%20%20To%20shut%20people%20like%20me%20up.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESee%20what%20we're%20doing?%20%20We're%20helping!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIt's%20not%20enough.%20%20Not%20even%20close.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWorks%20consulted:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ELinking%20with:%3C/p%3E){kind=link}