Global Warming Solutions: American Wetlands

Recently I wrote about planting trees in Lebanon, Israel and Palestine as a way to promote economic and environmental stability, preserve water resources, and to sequester carbon as a way of dealing with global warming. I got lots of replies, particularly on Daily Kos, and will in the near future revisit that issue both to try and get more people donating to plant trees in the region, and to discuss some of the issues brought up in my last diary.

But today I want to discuss another way of possibly addressing global warming through carbon sequestration, and to definitely mitigate some of the problems global warming will mean for coastal areas. I want to discuss the preservation and restoration of wetlands.

Since the Katrina disaster I have become aware of the critical role wetlands play for protecting coastal regions from damage from large storms. One of many reasons why the damage to the Gulf Coast from Katrina was so bad is the degradation of wetlands by human activity. Too often these regions have been seen as a luxury and expendable in the name of progress. But the truth is wetlands are a major buffer zone between storms and storm surges from the ocean and settled coastal regions. A summary of the many vital functions played by wetlands can be found here. And a good summary focused on Louisiana can be found here. But a couple of quotes will suffice for now:

"New Orleans won't be safe from another storm like Katrina until we restore this hurricane buffer," said Robert Twilley, a professor of wetland science at Louisiana State University...

and

Some research indicates that storm surge in adjacent inland areas is reduced by 1 foot for every square mile -- 640 acres -- of wetland that is restored. Gregory Stone, the James P. Morgan professor of coastal geology at Louisiana State University, said a sufficiently ambitious project would have a dramatic effect on New Orleans and its environs.

"We've undertaken lots of storm surge computer simulation during the last five years, and we've proven the effect of (restored islands and marshes) in retarding storm waves and surges," Stone said.

"We also have data that conclusively shows the Louisiana coast becoming more vulnerable every year if we don't bolster marshes and islands," he said.

Now remember that one prediction from many models of global warming are more strong hurricanes like Katrina, and possibly more storms and more erosion in general. So as global warming progresses, wetlands will become both far more critical for protecting human settlements AND will become increasingly threatened.

But there is some research to support the possibility that wetlands might be among the most important ways of sequestering carbon and hence mitigating global warming. The role of wetlands in the sequestration of carbon is not yet well established, but is under investigation. Some very preliminary findings have already been published (see here) but the jury is still out on whether and to what degree wetlands will be useful in carbon sequestration. However, the general consensus is that wetlands will play one of the MOST important roles in carbon sequestration (see here, for example).

So, both for removing carbon from the atmosphere and thus mitigating global warming, and for mitigating the negative coastal effects of global warming, preservation and restoration of wetlands is a critical strategy for dealing with global warming.

Wetlands preservation has not gotten the same kind of coverage as, for example, preservation of old growth forests or rain forests. For many it has only been since Katrina that they have become aware of the need for wetland preservation...if even then. I am aware of one main organization that is dealing with wetlands protection, though there are MANY smaller, local organizations. But one of the main ones seems to be Ducks Unlimited. They bring together environmentalists and hunters for the preservation of many regions that are important for migratory birds, including wetlands. They have a specific program for wetlands preservation called Wetlands for Tomorrow. Supporting this program will help America's coastal areas face a future where global warming is an increasing factor, and could help mitigate global warming by sequestering carbon.

If anyone has info on local programs preserving wetlands, please feel free to tell us about them in the comments.

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