In the original article, U.S. park ranger Bill Whitaker --
says the chain of the barrier islands from Florida to Louisiana can't take many more beatings like this.
"It's not so much an isolated hurricane, but the chain of hurricanes we've had over the past dozen years," Moore explains.
The problem is not just the devastation of these barrier islands, but the weakening of our first line of defense against future Katrinas. These islands act as hurricane speed bumps.
And they are washing away. Katrina laid waste to the islands off New Orleans.
* * *
"The coastal wetlands and barrier islands that provide such an important buffer are beginning to erode and disappear at a very serious rate," Peter Frumhoff, a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, says.
* * *
Rebuilding the Gulf Coast is a national priority. So far, rebuilding these islands is not.
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