Final Project: Mitigation Strategies and Solutions

Essay by CphoeniXCollege, UndergraduateA+, December 2009

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The Costs of Coastal DevelopmentAxia College of University of PhoenixIn the world today we suffer from many environmental issues, and many are directly brought on by the human race. The problem is that most of the issues are from unintentional actions; they are simply the result of the growth and expansion of our population. The population is always growing, and more recurrently people are moving to the coasts. Along with migration to the coast, more food is required to sustain the population growth. Due to this, we as a population need to become aware of what we can do better in the development of our coasts. If we do not start taking more serious actions in the planning of our coastal development, the cost will be much higher than we prepared to pay.

Coastal development is a big problem because it alters and destroys many coastal ecosystems in the world today.

Coastal Development is the cause of coral reefs being seriously degraded and at high risk; approximately one-fourth of the world's coral reefs are being affected by coastal development, and it is only getting worse. Coastal development has also caused the destruction of mangrove forests, salt marshes, and even sea grass beds. "Many of the Earth's most diverse, complex and productive ecosystems are in coastal areas. `Coastal resources are of utmost importance for food security" (Sankey, 1998). With these sensitive coastal ecosystems being threatened, many more issues arise; issues that may result in the destruction of other aquatic and land species.

Coastal development is a direct result of human beings; and do to humans desire to live near the coasts, many coastal areas are now overdeveloped, highly polluted, and overfished. With the growth rate of the human population growing as rapidly as it is, and the fact that "More than...