| Because of the human obsession for control, there
have been continued attempts to stabilize beaches with structures such
as breakwaters, seawalls, jetties, and groins. They all attempt to control
wave action and are designed to influence sedimentation patterns. Unfortunately
because all the areas of a coastline are interdependent, gains in one area
are offset by erosion in others, with little net result other than large
expenditures of time, effort, and money. Because of human interference,
pollution, destruction of salt marshes, dredging, and filling, places where
fresh water returns to the sea, or estuaries, have been the hardest hit
coastal areas. This has led to the demise of much sea life that spawns
there and destroyed many a lucrative fishing industry. |