Reply #5: Asphalt & concrete are no substitute for mangrove swamps [View All]

[SoCalDem]

and barrier islands:(


I posted this yesterday, but there was bigger news to cover.. I stand by this solution


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SoCalDem (1000+ posts) Mon Aug-29-05 06:21 AM
Original message


This storm may point out the proper use of eminent domain




States should re-claim barrier islands and coastlines, and restore them to their "original" purposes.

Replant sea grass & other native plants.. let the sand distribute where it "needs" to be, instead of where merchants, developers & million-dollar "cottage" owners WANT it to be.

Barrier islands and the marshy areas around them are what PROTECTS the people near the coastlines.

When all these cities sprang up, people did not know how valuable these little strips of sand were..

A trip to "undeveloped" island or coastal areas in the world shows how coastlines are properly managed.

In Tahiti, the ONLY beach structures were small thatched huts (local people)...except for where "westerners" had built the large hotels..

The island/coastal people have lived there for thousands of years, and THEY bulid their permanent structures INLAND a bit, and use paths or trails to get through the brush and vegatation to get to the beach. they do NOT build their homes on the beach, or right next to an inlet that can flod in storms.

Most people CAN get to the water without LIVING there..The beaches can be used for day-trips or recreation without LIVING there..

Their destroyed mansions slinter into projectiles that are then flung around like matchsticks. Building stuff right where storms hit and rip them apart is a DANGER to everyones else.

The way we build coastal buildings is idiotic too.

When we lived in Panama (EXTREMELY stormy and WET all the time) we had concrete houses, elevated about 10 ft on pillars..tile everywhere, and after a storm, even when it flooded, we just used a squeegee upstairs, pushed it down the concrete/tiled stairs, and out the door.... The bamboo furniture dried out, and we were good to go, until the next storm..

wood & masonry in areas prone to flooding or wind storms is INSANE..

We all pay higher insurance premiums because of the constant re-building of these structures..


(and yes, I am also against building in fire-prone canyons out here and on our own coastlines of CA)