Analysis Of Dr. Nancy Rabalias: The Dead Zone

As decades continued to pass by the wetlands change. "People have begun to realize that wetlands are valuable and productive ecosystems that fulfill an essential function for both humans and wildlife. Due to their unique characteristics, wetlands can support a wide diversity of plants, mammals, reptiles, birds and fish. They also control floodwaters and protect us from storms and hurricanes. Wetlands also improve water quality by filtering, cleaning and storing water. Lastly, many people rely on wetlands for their livelihood, as they are important centers for hunting, fishing and recreation." Referring to this from "Wetlands and Habitat Loss", we now see how wetlands are valuable and helpful to the ecosystem. The wetlands are known for our water source. Many people depend on the Everglades for a water source. We also use the Everglades for activities. These activities include fishing, recreation, and

Giving full credit to restricting the Mississippi River as the culprit for loss of wetlands is not accurate. The booming oil and gas exploration of the 1970’s and 1980’s merits a name on the marquee as well. The pipelines and canals used to transport the resources to the outside world placed a great deal of stress on the fragile wetlands. Erosion from the barges in and out of the marshes as well as the salt water allowed into the fresh water, providing a precarious habitat for fresh water species – flora and fauna alike. Plants provide root systems to hold soil in place. Fish and fowl provide an economy for the area. Enter

The story of Nancy Cruzan is a story that may be extremely controversial regarding what is right versus what is wrong, although this woman has changed both the world of medicine and legality since her death in 1990. Cruzan experienced a tragic car accident and was declared to be in a persistent vegetative state by physicians. The controversial part of the story is in regards to whether she should have a tube feeding continued or if it should be discontinued. The purpose of this paper is to further explore Cruzan’s background story, how protestors affected her case, ethical principles, how healthcare has been affected, the meaning of her gravestone, and the impact on her family.

The characteristic warming climate of the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene resulted in rising sea levels which contributed to the formation of the various deltas in the New Orleans area (Dunbar, Britsch, 2008). The natural formation of these deltas produced coastal wetlands that represent 30% of coastal wetlands currently in the United States (Cigler, 2007). In addition to these wetlands, the Mississippi River was surrounded by substantial forest growth (Pabis, 1998).

Maintaining ecological diversity is necessary for the survival of a biological community. In the United States, American citizens are on the verge of irrevocably damaging one of the country's most unique and diverse treasures - the Florida Everglades. This national park is now the only remaining patch of a river that used to span 120 miles from Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Bay. Dikes and levees created by the Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1940's drained this river to reduce flooding and increase useable water for the development of the region. This major diversion of water lead to a trickle down effect causing the continual decline of the environmental state of the Everglades. Since then, debates over the

The Florida Everglades have been adversely impacted for decades because of human attempts to control this historical ‘River of Grass’. The reason for our insistence on attempting to control and manage the area can be defined in one word: water. There has always been plenty of water available within the Everglades’ ecosystem, but no logical way to extract it. Our extraction efforts eventually led to devastating results. My paper will focus on the initial policy and practices involved in the extensive downgrading of this once biologically unequaled ecosystem; as well as discuss recent policy initiatives that have been implemented in order to restore the Everglades to its once magnificent status. I will attempt

Mike Tidwell wrote this novel with the purpose of informing the readers about the wonderful, often overlooked location that is the Bayou. He wants the public to know that this region is a treasure and holds many unique qualities that so many places in the United States are missing today. Through his journeys he came to love the land and the water. He learned a great deal about shrimping and crabbing, and the way of life on the Cajun coast. While he wrote this book to inform people about the region, he also wrote it to persuade readers to care. He wants people to realize that this territory is becoming extinct. There are many reasons why much of the marshlands are turning to open waters, and he wants to make sure that the readers become curious about them. He wants to pass on his love of the land to those who read about his experiences. He most likely hopes that people will read this book and consider what they can do to help out the cause.

With oxygen levels in the dead zone being so low during the summer months marine life is almost nonexistent. This not only hurts the wild life of Louisiana’s coast but, also its economy and fishing based culture. In the future with the normal levels of oxygen returning to our gulf we can hope to see wild life slowly but surely returning. Also there is hope for the conservation and growth of the wetlands through the nutrient rich canals developed, enhancing Louisiana’s economy, culture, and

Since 1930, over 2,300 square miles of wetlands have disappeared and recording about 23-25 square miles of wetlands are lost each year. “This is equivalent to losing a football field every thirty-eight minutes” (Losing Ground). Human and natural activities are at fault for the coastline destruction but human activities are the most responsible for having accelerated the amount of destruction. One major form of human activities that have hurt the coast was the construction of levees. Levees are man-made earthen hills that surround the Mississippi River, and many other bodies of water, and protect people from the natural flooding that occurs.

The article “Louisiana is losing a football field of wetlands an hour, new U.S. Geological Survey study says” by Mark Schleifstein provides the reader with lots of detail on how much land Louisiana is losing. By giving statistics and reason why Louisiana is losing so much land.

Obviously, it has been largely ignored in how resources are extracted, leading to the issue of wetland degradation. Oil drilling and driving boats to and from drills eroded large sections of the wetlands. However, the issue of degradation cannot be completely solved. The Louisiana state government has acknowledged that even with its restoration program, it cannot build enough land to offset the losses. Under the principle of stewardship, we understand that the poor are affected first and worst, which is clearly seen in coastal Louisiana. Not only are the poor affected more because they often live on the front lines of environmental decay but also because, as a culture, we rush to protect more affluent communities first. More resources are allocated to protect New Orleans from flooding than coastal fishing communities like Jean Lafitte. Within the coastal towns though, residents have upheld stewardship in their communion with the area and reciprocal understanding of how to care for

The Mississippi River influences the states of Louisiana in numerous ways. The river can be both beneficial and harmful to the state. It may help with industries, but at the same time it may be harming by taking away from Louisiana’s coastline. While erosion is widely considered to be a destructive occurrence, it does have some necessary features. For example, erosion provides many nutrients for animals living in the water, and it creates new deltas that many animals live in. Since the beginning of Louisiana, the Mississippi River has been a crucial factor in the creation and the development of Louisiana’s economy. It has helped with things like trade and the growth of crops. The Mississippi is also significant in the way Louisiana is shaped

“The problem stems from both agricultural and urban run-off. Farmers use phosphorus and nitrates to grow their crops, which eventually find their way to the Mississippi River. Growing cities means more land under concrete and less soil for polluted water to soak into instead of becoming runoff. All these factors that have contributed to the dead zone can fortunately be fixed or improved.”(“nature.org”). Solutions to a problem for this dead zone would rely heavily on human acknowledgment and involvement. some of the solutions are: using friendly landscaping techniques that require less fertilizer, prevent soil erosion, leaving grass

While reading this section of the book, I was very astonished at the actions of humans in the last century. We have disrupted the natural process of delta building. By placing levees along the Mississippi river, we have been successful in providing flood protection from the river overflowing its banks but have also prevented nature from settling sediment in the wetlands. As a result, all the nutrients that are required for growing land are being carried with the sediment straight out into the Gulf of Mexico, rather than playing their nature-intended role in building Louisiana's coastal wetlands. I’ve seen this firsthand living in South Louisiana, small tracts of land that were once visible tiny islands in the wetlands are now completely gone,

But by the mid 1700’s, extensive clearing of these forests was underway for agricultural purposes and by 1937 (Kaminski 1989). By 1977, cropland in the MAV exceeded 5.7 million hectares. Wetlands were lost at a rate of 2% per year into the 1980s (Tiner 1984). An estimated amount of only 2.5 million hectares remains of the original bottomland hardwood forests (Baldassare and Bolen 2006). Along with the conversion of the forests to agriculture land, the levee system developed along the Mississippi River has resulted in dramatic changes to the MAV by reducing flooding by 88% (Hodges et al.