Breaux Act Newsflash - World Wetlands Day Commemoration Includes Warning
***********************************************************************World Wetlands Day Commemoration Includes Warning:
Serious Threat Posed by Disappearing Coastal Wetlands in Louisiana
Poll Reveals Most Americans Doubt Tsunami-like Disaster Possible in U.S.
Despite Government Warnings, National Media Coverage
NEW ORLEANS - More than half the country does not believe that a
tsunami-like disaster could happen on U.S. soil in the next few years,
according to results of a recent poll released today on the occasion of
World Wetlands Day.
Despite government warnings, national news coverage from leading media
sources, and a close call less than six months ago that forced the
evacuation of more than a million Louisiana residents, a poll conducted by
Washington, DC-based Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates found that 53
percent of Americans do not believe that a catastrophic disaster like the
Southeast Asian Tsunami could hit the United States in the next few years.
"Too many Americans are unaware that a disaster similar to the recent
tsunami could happen in the United States, and it could happen soon," said
Dr. Gregory W. Stone, Director of the Coastal Studies Institute at
Louisiana State University. "If a hurricane hits New Orleans head on, more
than 100,000 Americans could be killed, millions could be left homeless,
and the economic impact on the entire nation could stretch into the
billions of dollars."
The poll, conducted January 14-18 and commissioned by the America’s WETLAND
Foundation, surveyed 1,290 people from across the country with margin of
error of +/- 2.7 percent and asked participants how likely is it that a
catastrophic disaster like the Southeast Asian Tsunami is going to happen
in the United States in the next few years. Forty-four percent said a
disaster was not very likely, while nine percent said it was not at all
likely. The results are being released to coincide with World Wetlands Day,
an international celebration of wetland education in over 80 countries
around the globe.
"Wetland loss is at the heart of the problem," notes King Milling,
President of Whitney National Bank and President of America’s WETLAND
Foundation. "Wetlands were the buffer zone against storm surge, which can
now move freely across open water to engulf whole communities."
Last week the new PBS series "ScienceNOW" premiered "New Orleans: The Wrath
of a Killer Storm," and in October, National Geographic dedicated 18 pages
to the issue, in which the author wrote that the direct hit of a hurricane
to New Orleans "would be the worst natural disaster in the history of the
United States." The article also noted that, citing too great a risk to its
workers, the Red Cross no longer opens hurricane shelters in New Orleans.
While some groups pull out, others fight to spread the word about the
danger and about the principal method scientists have identified to lessen
it -- by restoring the area’s coastal wetlands that act as a vital natural
hurricane barrier to the state.
"This poll reveals how few people outside of Louisiana realize the
seriousness and immediacy of the threat we face from hurricanes," said
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. "We must continue to work
with Congress, the national media and the public to heighten awareness of
this danger, which threatens the security, environment and energy sources
of our entire nation. We must also ensure that Louisiana gets sufficient
federal funding to address the state’s coastal restoration efforts to
protect and restore this area so vital to our State and our Country."
New Orleans and the state’s coastal areas, a region known as America’s
WETLAND, serve as a critical resource to the nation: more than a million
barrels of crude oil pass through the area every day, more than 30 percent
of the seafood from the continental U.S. comes from the area, and five
million migratory waterfowl and endangered species call America’s WETLAND
home.
"This is an area critical to both human safety and preserving vital habitat
for wildlife," said Susan Kaderka, Region Director, National Wildlife
Federation. "Saving America’s WETLAND is an effort where the interests of
people and wildlife converge, where it is both the right thing for people
and the right thing for wildlife."
Due to a number of natural and manmade causes, the area is disappearing at
an alarming rate - since the 1930s, Louisiana has lost nearly 2,000 square
miles of wetlands and continues losing land at a rate equivalent a football
field of land every 38 minutes, jeopardizing much of the nation’s oil and
seafood sources.
"The most recent Hurricane Ivan proved that even with advanced notice, tens
of thousands could be trapped with no way out of New Orleans and low-lying
areas. We are at a tipping point with this crisis," said Sidney Coffee,
Executive Assistant to Governor Blanco on Coastal Activities.
Additional findings from the survey included:
When respondents were told that various strategies exist to limit the
damage from natural disasters such as hurricanes, and one such strategy was
restoration of natural coastal environment such as wetlands to absorb the
impact of the storm, 84 percent said it was an important strategy for US
political decision-makers to act upon in the next few years.
When asked is it a high priority, a medium priority, or a low priority for
political decision-makers to consider plans to limit the damage natural
disasters might do to people and property in the United States, 86 percent
rated it a priority (41 percent said it should be a medium priority, while
45 percent said it should be of high priority).
Eighty percent of respondents said they think of hurricanes as one of the
types of natural disasters that might cause a severe loss of life in the
United States.
After respondents learned that Louisiana's wetlands are depleting at a rate
of 25 square miles per year, and that a major hurricane hits the New
Orleans area on average every 35 years, and that experts say a major
hurricane will likely lead to massive flooding similar to the Tsunami and
great loss of life, 90 percent said it was very important to fund national
efforts to restore the Louisiana’s wetlands in and around New Orleans as a
means to limit the damage that a direct hit from a hurricane would cause.
Announced by the State of Louisiana in August 2002, the America’s WETLAND
campaign is raising public awareness and gaining support for efforts to
save coastal Louisiana. The initiative is supported by a growing cadre of
world, national and state conservation and environmental organizations, and
has drawn private support from businesses that see wetlands protection as a
key to economic growth.
For more information, contact: Kip Patrick at America’s WETLAND: Campaign
to Save Coastal Louisiana (917) 319-8603 or
kp@mcopr.com
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