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Article: The `Greenhouse Effect' and Wetlands; EPA Study Says Rising Sea Levels Pose Danger to Wildlife
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- August 16, 1988
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Rising sea levels caused by the "greenhouse" warming of the Earth
in the next 100 years could wipe out up to 80 percent of the marshy
breeding and roosting grounds of birds, fish and alligators along the
Atlantic and Gulf coasts, according to an Environmental Protection
Agency study.
Among the most vulnerable are wetlands in Louisiana, the breeding
area for half the nation's shellfish, and the Chesapeake Bay.
Under normal circumstances, the wetlands expand inland to
accommodate rising sea levels, but commercial development and
bulkheads separating water from developed areas could prevent that
from happening, according to the report.
"The report shows the potentially very dramatic effect ...