Friday, April 27, 2007

We can all take action to protect New Orleans from rising sea level ...

Nine personal acts to protect coastal Louisiana

by Dr. Paul Keddy

(from The Ponchatoula Times, 26 April 2007, p. 1, 12)

New Orleans is threatened by both land loss and rising sea levels. Several writers in this newspaper have recently asked, “What can one person do?” There are many options that have not yet been mentioned. Since much of the damage comes from large numbers of individual decisions, some of the damage can be reduced by large numbers of individual decisions. Here are a few further suggestions for action that individuals can contribute.
1. Buy a small hybrid car. Carbon dioxide emissions from cars are an important cause of melting ice caps and rising sea levels, putting coastal cities like New Orleans at risk. The faster we pump and burn oil, the faster the sea level will rise. Buy a small hybrid car. Encourage your neighbors to do the same.
2. Donate money (1). Coastal wetlands and swamp forests help protect the city, yet some are still being lost to real estate developments and irresponsible logging. The Nature Conservancy buys wetlands for permanent protection. Tithe monthly to The Nature Conservancy (www.tnc.org) using direct withdrawal.
3. Donate money (2). Support a group that uses legal action to enforce laws that protect wetlands and deal with climate change. Tithe monthly to the Natural Resources Defense Council (www.nrdc.org) using direct withdrawal.
4. Donate money (3). Support the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (www.saveourlake.org), which is leading the way on topics including the 12 lines of defense plan for New Orleans.
5. Vote wisely. Vote for candidates who explicitly support protection for wetlands, who promote energy-efficient economies, who support higher vehicle fuel efficiency, who advocate strict enforcement of the Clean Air Act, etc.
6. Protect forests. When forests are bulldozed into piles and burned for new subdivisions (as is happening all along the north shore), more carbon is released into the atmosphere. If you own land, let it stay wild. If you don’t own land, buy some acreage, and let it stay wild.
7. Live simply. Large houses demand large amounts of energy for heating and cooling, and thereby contributing to rising sea level. Buy a small, well-insulated house. Plant a shade tree instead of running an air conditioner. Turn the air conditioner off when you travel. Replace old light bulbs with high efficiency light bulbs.
8. Build up. The continued construction of levees is contributing to the loss of coastal wetlands. When you have a choice, buy a house that does not foster levee construction, and elevate the house to ensure that small amounts of flooding do not put you at risk. This will reduce the need for more and higher levees that damage coastal wetlands.
9. Be willing to pay. It costs money to repair levees, protect coastal swamps, build urban transit systems and educate our students about future options for living wisely along this coast. It is therefore unrealistic to expect lower taxes and lower property assessments. There has been much talk about the Dutch example – they have a solid tax infrastructure that supports their coastal engineering infrastructure.
In short, there is much an individual can do. We do not need to wait for the government to fix all our coastal problems. These nine options require individual responsibility, which historically has been an admirable part of the American character.