|
Lesson:
Anatomy of an Issue...
although scientists develop solutions to problems, problems and solutions have social, cultural, political and economic implications.
Objectives:
- Educate yourself on the issues of the Barataria-Terrebonne region
of the Louisiana coast.
- Express your interest in helping solve the problems facing the coast
in a letter to your senators and congressperson.
Assesments:
( graded work)
1. Describe the
seven problems
in the estuary area. Discuss the causes of the problems
in the region.
2. Identify thepercentage of land
loss areas in the region over 50 years.
(Worksheet)
3. Once you have become familiar with the issue explain the national impact of ignoring the problem. Include social, economic, cultural and scientific losses to the US.
4. Write a letter to
your Congress person concerning the issue.
Help with
the letter:
Who's
your Congress Person?
How
to Write an effective letter
Another
example of a letter
Another
Sample...
How
to from the Government...
|
Louisiana Land
Loss
The
loss of Louisiana's coastal wetlands is one of the
most serious environmental problems facing the country today.
Louisiana boasts more than 4 million acres of wetlands, representing
40% of the nation's total. These wetlands are among the world's
most diverse and productive ecosystems. Presently,
Louisiana's wetlands are in a state of rapid degradation. 80%
of the nation's coastal land loss occurs in
Louisiana. The state loses 25-35 square miles, or 25,000
acres, per year, the equivalent of one football field
every 15 minutes .
|
estuary (n)
- a coastal area where salt water from the ocean mixes
with fresh water from rivers, rainfall, and upland runoff. Therefore,
salt and fresh water proportions within the estuary differ daily
depending on the season, weather, and tides. Vital coastal ecosystems
exist in these dynamic conditions. |
|
Educate yourself:
|
- NOW presents the story
of the disappearing delta in two parts: "Losing Ground,"
uncovers how one of the biggest civil engineering projects in U.S.
history
— the leveeing of the Mississippi River — has
brought Louisiana and the nation to the brink of what could be the
most costly environmental disaster in history.
|
NPR's Debbie Elliot reports on the struggle to prevent the Louisiana
coastline from eroding into the sea.
Listen
to the story... |
|
|
| |
| View
a Map of the site... |
| Estuary
Vocabulary... |
|
The Barataria-Terrebonne National
Estuary Program
BTNEP Web Site
|
| NOAA's
Information |
| Coast 2050 Initiative |
|
The forces that created New Orleans now threaten to destroy it. A
lively discussion of the results and consequences of man's struggle
to control nature. |
|
A richly evocative chronicle of the author's travels through a place
and a way of life that are vanishing virtually before our eyes. |
|
