Noted American satirist and journalist H.L. Mencken once said, “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.” That’s an observation worth remembering as we seek to restore and protect Florida’s Gulf Coast in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. With passage of the RESTORE Act, 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines paid by BP and other parties responsible for the spill now will be used to fund projects that benefit the Gulf of Mexico’s coastal resources. This is an unprecedented opportunity to support on-the-ground projects to restore Gulf environments, helping communities become more resilient to adversity. Unfortunately, it also opens the door to “quick fix” projects that may appear to provide simple solutions, but in reality lack a critical science-based foundation. Currently Gulf coastal states are collecting proposals for restoration projects from management agencies, municipalities, county governments, citizens’ groups, non-profits, and others. The amount of funding likely to be available is unprecedented. While the process of selecting projects is still to be determined, the approaches used can benefit from key lessons learned in similar efforts.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 18:38:15 +0000
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