Only 26 miles long and not even 1 mile wide, Topsail Island offers a unique environment blending the Atlantic Ocean and the Intercostal Waterway. Although mostly peaceful and scenic, the vast beach that stretches the entire length of the island and the plethora of colorful summer homes that crowd the limited space are prone to obliteration. Extremely susceptible to hurricanes, Topsail survives off federal aid to rebuild and redevelop. There are more tourist traps and junk store littered about the island than grocery stores due to FEMA and the Federal government pouring millions of dollars into the salvaging the barrier island, attempting to rebuild the beaches and consequently boosting the economy and tourism. Though known to be a sinkhole for federal subsidies, the island sponsors numerous environmental projects protecting local wildlife and promoting sustainability. Following frequent destruction from hurricanes over the past two decades, Topsail Island has responded in an ironic manner by both rebuilding and developing while also expanding its growing concern with environmental protection.
While Topsail is now plagued by torrents of tourists and vastly spiking in development, in its early history, the island had many uses ranging from a Native Indian hunting ground, a hideout for pirates, and the home to a secret missile project, showing that even in its earliest history the island was not used for human inhabitance. Although frequently visited in the 1700s and 1800s by Tuscarora Indians and roaming pirates in the coastal waters, no bridge existed between the mainland and the island until the United States created Camp Davis during World War II and seized the island for military maneuvers and anti-aircraft exercises. Between...
... middle of paper ...
...t the guaranteed developmental boom following the completion of the project will also ensure an even greater and more damaging human impact as there will be more beachfront lighting, boats, and beach pollution. Unconcerned with the negative ramifications of the beach nourishment project, islanders on Topsail prove their allegiance to development, tourism, artificial beaches, the promise for a more booming economy and the selfish desire for hurricane protection even though they riskily built homes on one of the most hazardous and unprotected barrier islands in the United States. Topsail’s willingness to betray the environmental protection organizations it’s worked tirelessly to support makes me question whether the promotion of the Topsail Turtle Project and the Turtle Hospital was a noble cause to save endangered animals or a farce to attract the media and tourism.
Hurricane Season, directed by Tim Story, follows a high school basketball coach named Al Collins, played by Forest Whitaker, who builds a team of players around the Louisiana area that were affected by the devastating Hurricane Katrina, and leads them to a state championship. On the way, Coach Collins encounters many obstacles, such as where to play, trying to recruit players and keeping them from joining other teams, and also negative influences in the locker room. All of these issues they faced kept them motivated and helped the team become more of a cohesive unit and winners.
In this short essay Bill Daly begins by telling us that he will be assessing arguments to keep marine parks open and he will be point out reasons why they actually don’t carry any weight. The overall conclusion that daily made in this essay was that marine parks should no longer be kept open because they are useless and in some ways can be considered to be animal cruelty or no new animals should be captured for their uses. In the essay I found that there were four major premises that can clearly be found. The first major premises can be found in the second paragraph, where it says that ‘there are many more locations where the marine life can be found naturally compared to marine parks’ (Bill Daly, para 2). The second premise was located in the third paragraph, where the Daly tells us the ‘by moving the marine life out of its natural habitat we are affecting their behaviour and making any research that is conducted on them unreliable when it comes to their natural behaviour’ (para 3). The third major premise that I found was in the fourth paragraph, where it says that the ‘parks could be considered tourist attractions but a majority of tourists come to see wildlife in its natural habitat and not in cages’ (para 4). The fourth and final premise that I found was in the fifth paragraph, in this paragraph Daly says that ‘the parks can be cruel to the animals they hold because they put a restriction the freedom they would normally have in the wild’ (para 5). In the end I believe that Daly has created a good inductive argument against the use and creation of marine parks.
The State of Florida’s marine ecosystems are in a constant pattern of change. Change is necessary in nature. Change is nature’s way of adaptation. While there are “occasional good” changes, the progressive major changes have a devastating negative impact to the Florida marine environment. There are several factors correlated directly to this negative change. Most of these factors are due to man. One cause is natural. It is the hurricane. Hurricane Season is from June to November (NOAA) each and every year. On average 11 named storms occur in the Atlantic Basin each year with 6 reaching hurricane strength and 50% of these becoming a major hurricane of category 3 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (NOAA). Whether small or large, hurricanes cause damage and modifica...
Concern On The Coast, Classical Conflict Again Unfolds: Energy vs. Environment." Hartford Courant 16 Oct. 2005, 3 Stars/Final ed., sec. A. Bigchalk Database. 8 Nov. 2005. Tedesco, Mark A. "This Fine Piece of Water:
Before European contact with Turtle Island, the Native Peoples fully occupied the lands, maintaining extensive trade networks, roads that tied different nations together, and successfully adapted to the specific natural environments across the continent.15 In her book, An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz writes of the Natives also adapting the environment to their needs,
The green sea turtles have been taken out of the Atlantic Ocean for several years, so now they are an endangered species. Today, the green sea turtles population is growing and in the Florida Refuge they counted up to over 12,000 turtle nests. It is shocking to see how much the refuges care about the green sea turtles. They have been looking out for the turtles for 35 years. It was interesting to find out that these green sea turtles live for a really long time. It takes the turtles 25 years just to mature. This article caught my eye because I love science and animals. Knowing that people are taking care of what used to be endangered animals really means a lot to me. I hate seeing animals hurt or struggling to survive. Because of the refuges
The catastrophic event of Hurricane Maria caused Puerto Rico to be in great danger and tragedy. It will take a very long time for the island to recover. They are dependent on the help that their fellow citizens that are on the mainland can give them. On a micro level, education in school and work can prepare people in knowing how to survive a natural disaster. Classes could be designed to have people understand the various ways for them to not only know how to help them themselves but other states or territories.
Since 1840 the Hawaiian Islands have been an escape to a tropical paradise for millions of tourists. People all over the world encounter alluring, romanticized pictures of Hawai'i's lush, tropical vegetation, exotic animals, beautiful beaches, crystal clear water, and fantastical women. This is the Hawai'i tourists know. This is the Hawai’i they visit. However, this Hawai'i is a state of mind, a corporate-produced image existing on the surface. More precisely, it is an aftermath of relentless colonization of the islands' native inhabitants by the United States. These native Hawaiians experience a completely different Hawai'i from the paradise tourists enjoy. No one makes this as clear as Haunani-Kay Trask, a native Hawaiian author. In her book, From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai'i and through her poetry in Light in the Crevice Never Seen, Trask provides an intimate account of the tourist industry's impact on native Hawaiian culture. She presents a negative perspective of the violence, pollution, commercial development, and cultural exploitation produced by the tourist industry. Trask unveils the cruel reality of suffering and struggling through a native Hawaiian discourse. Most of the world is unaware of this.
...tlanticcity.com>. Irwin, Neil. "Environmental groups pressure chefs on menus." Washington Post June 19, 2002. April 26, 2011 Miller, Michael. "Group says it won't move oyster farm to Delaware Bay" Press of Atlantic City, The. August 3, 2010. Press of Atlantic City online. Atlantic Cape Community College, Mays Landing, April 26, 2011 National Sea Grant Law Center. California Enacts Sustainable Oceans Act. 2006. University of Mississippi April 28, 2011. Naylor, Rosamon L.
On early morning of August 29th, 2005 on the Gulf Shore near New Orleans, a devastating hurricane struck. It wrecked havoc, demolishing anything in its path. Leaving nothing but mounds of trash. The surviving people were forced to leave due to massive flooding and the destruction of their homes. New Orleans was not the only place hit by Katrina but it was one of the areas that was hit the hardest. Millions of people were affected by this tragedy and the cost range was up in the billions. Crime rates went up, no one had a place to stay and water was polluted. The damage done by Katrina affected New Orleans and the other areas hit years after it struck. Restoration for the areas hit was going to need support from all of America and support groups across the country. No one was ready for this tragedy or could ever predict the horrible outcome.
The beauty of life becomes apparent from the tail end of a five hundred pound turtle. Crouching uncomfortably, my hands under her cloaca, I caught the eggs. Each made a subtle ‘plop’ as each cue ball-shaped egg exited the safety her womb and found its new home in the plastic bag held between my hands. It was a frigid January night in Costa Rica, and I was working with The Leatherback Trust to relocate the eggs of the highly endangered leatherback turtle in order to ensure they were safe from environmental harm. My cohorts and I worked tirelessly, patrolling the beach for hours on end in the darkness of the night to find the rare vulnerable turtle making her tire-track trail up the wet sand of the beach to her final nesting place.
* Daily, Gretchen C., ed. Nature’s Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1997.
In conclusion, I would like to say that before writing this paper, I had no idea how important coral reefs were to the earth. I have learned a lot and I think that if more people were informed about the positive capabilities of them, humans wouldn't be so careless about them.
Hurricanes occur all over the world, at different times, but commonly through June first and late November. However in late August 2005 a catastrophic hurricane struck. This was Hurricane Katrina. With winds traveling over one hundred miles per hour making it a category five on the Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Scale it was said to have cause billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Hurricane Katrina flooded nearly forty thousand homes, and killed at least two thousand people (“Hurricane”). An average category five hurricane has enough energy to power street lamps for more than twenty seven thousand hours (Williams 58). Knowing about Hurricane Katrina, and the devastation of the city in New Orleans would be beneficial. Also, general information on hurricanes can help civilians and people of higher authority better understand and prepare for damage that could once hit their town and community. Because experts know the general information on these storms they can help explain to the public why and how Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes occur. Hopefully, in the future civilians will know and use this information to their advantage against hurricanes.
People from all over the world go to beautiful beaches that are filled with water as clear as ice or as beautiful as diamonds. But, what will happen if we do not conserve the appealing sites that draw attraction to the public? Contaminated beaches has become a controversial issue to the public because of the causal problem, the harm to the people and marine animals, the government agencies supporting or opposing pollution, and the industries involved in creating such unlawful decisions. To create and find a solution, we must first find the core to the problem.