On June 8, 2010, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that NOAA

             “has launched a State of the Coast website to highlight the importance of healthy coastal ecosystems. The site offers quick facts as well as detailed statistics using interactive images to highlight information about coastal communities, coastal ecosystems, the  coastal economy, and how a changing climate might impact the coast. Explore topics such as changes in coastal population, the impact of coastal areas on the U.S. economy, the overall health of the U.S. coast, and the vulnerability of coasts to long-term sea level rise. Visit the website at http://stateofthecoast.noaa.gov.”

 The new website take takes an alarming view of the state of the coast, “Our nation’s coastal ecosystems are vital to our economy and quality of life; however, the health of these resources is in decline.”

 The topics addressed on the website include: 

  • The U.S. Population Living in Coastal Counties
  • Swimming at Our Nation’s Beaches
  • U.S. Marine Protected Areas: Conserving our Nation’s Marine Resources
  • The Coast- Our Nation’s Economic Engine
  • Recreational Fishing- An American Pastime
  • Commercial Fishing- A Cultural Tradition
  • Ports- Crucial Coastal Infrastructure
  • The Overall Health of Our Nation’s Coastal Waters
  • Invasive Species Disrupt Coastal Ecosystems and Economies
  • Coral Reef Ecosystems – Critical Coastal Habitat
  • Nutrient Pollution and Hypoxia – Everything is Upstream of the Coast
  • Chemical Contaminants in Oysters and Mussels         Case study related to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
  • Vulnerability of Our Nation’s Coasts to Sea Level Rise
  • U.S. Population in the 100-year Coastal Flood Hazard Area
  • Federally-Insured Assets along the Coast

This website is an ambitious task.  CRE hopes that it will be based on fact and science, and that politics will not play a role in it.