Suggestions for Further Research

Breaux Act: History
Through my research I have become interested in many other topics and specific questions that would be valuable for me, other students, and the academic community to examine. Even though my project primarily focused on an aspect of coastal wetland loss in Louisiana I found myself asking questions that spanned both scientific and social science realms. Here are some of my suggestions for further research:

Political questions:

  • What groups/individuals fought against/fought for the passing of the Breaux act?
  • Are the funds for priority projects being properly distributed, historically Louisiana has not had the most reputable political structure, is corruption playing a part?

Science questions:

  • Which aspect of coastal wetlands loss is the most important to address first? For example, are barrier islands the key to swift remediation? Is it more important to use funds to improve the quality of many areas, or should efforts focus on a single key ecosystem first?
  • How temporary is the solution of dredging and depositing material? If this has to be done ever 2, 5, 10 years would it be more worthwhile to restore natural sedimentation processes?

Social questions:

  • How many people, particularly in the Mississippi watershed realize this problem exists? How many are willing to do something about it, and what can we do to change that?
  • By destroying barrier islands how at risk are the people of Louisiana? Do these people know the true danger of a catastrophic weather event? Do the large number of people who visit New Orleans every storm season have any idea that they are below sea level and are susceptible to massive storm surge?

Hrmmm, what now?




Task Force: Action
Case Studies: Funding at work
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