In a 2000 report, the World Resources Institute stated the following: "In 1995, over 2.2 billion people—39 percent of the world's population—lived within 100 km [62 miles] of a coast, an increase from 2 billion people in 1990. The coastal area accounts for only 20 percent of all land area." According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 2002, over 50 percent of people in the United States lived within 50 miles of the ocean or Great Lakes. It is clear that coastal areas tend to be some of the most highly developed regions of the world and country. This development, unsurprisingly, has some negative impacts on marine and lake ecosystems.

In this lesson, students will examine two maps that illustrate the tendency for people in the United States to settle near the coasts. They will research some environmental impacts on coastal ecosystems and conclude by writing reports on steps that are being taken to mitigate these impacts in specific parts of the country.

Geography

Standard 14: "How human actions modify the physical environment"
Standard 18: "How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future"

Three hours

• Computer with Internet access
• Writing materials

Students will

• list environmental issues affecting the oceans;
• analyze a United States population distribution map;
• analyze and answer questions about a map of residential housing construction in coastal areas;
• research and answer questions about the status of coastal ecosystems; and
• write reports about efforts to reduce adverse environmental impacts in densely populated coastal areas.

Ask students to name some of the environmental issues affecting the oceans and list their ideas on the board. Then ask them how many of these problems they think are occurring close to the coast versus hundreds or thousands of miles offshore. Chances are good that many or most of the issues they've listed occur near the coast (and possibly far from the coast as well). Explain that this lesson will focus on environmental impacts related to human activities and settlement close to the coast.

Have students go to the U.S. Census Bureau's Population Distribution Map. Ask them to examine this map and discuss the population distribution pattern it shows.

Have students look at a map of residential housing construction in coastal areas. Ask them to discuss these questions, either as a class or in small groups:

• Which metropolitan areas had the most residential construction in this time period? (Students should refer to a United States map to make sure they can name specific cities and metropolitan areas).
• Why would people want to build houses in these areas?
• What factors might make one part of the coastline more favorable than other parts of the coastline as a location for a primary or second home?
• Along which parts of the coastline might you expect to find the worst water pollution?

Ask students, either as a class or in small groups, to brainstorm some of the environmental impacts associated with coastal development. They should list as many impacts as they can think of. If they brainstorm in groups, discuss their lists as a class afterwards.

Have students go to the Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems (PAGE): Coastal Ecosystems page. You can either have them do this in groups, individually, or with partners. Under the heading "Executive Summary," they'll see a list of different aspects of coastal ecosystems and their environmental status.

Ask students to go to each of the sections in the "Executive Summary" and write the answers to these questions:

• What is the overall conclusion presented in this part of the "Executive Summary"?
• What are three important points made to support this conclusion?
• How do you think the points made in this report relate to the population distribution patterns you've seen on the maps?

If students are working in groups, you may choose to have each group go to one of the items in the "Executive Summary" and then report back to the class on their findings.

Discuss students' findings from the PAGE report. In particular, discuss the relationships between coastal population density and environmental impacts.

Ask each student, pair, or group to choose one metropolitan area or beach resort that is on the coast. Some ideas include: Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Long Island, NY; Ocean City, MD; or Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Ask students to research the area to learn about current efforts to protect the ocean ecosystem from the effects of high population density in that area. A good way to do this would be for them to use a search engine such as Google and type in the keywords "ocean conservation organizations," preceded or followed by the city or beach resort they're investigating. They should then examine their search results to find sites that list conservation organizations working in those areas.

Have students address these questions in a report about the area that they've chosen to study:

• Describe at least one environmental impact that people are working to curtail in this area.
• What causes this environmental problem? Is it related to high population density along this part of the coast?
• What are people trying to do about it?
• Is anyone opposed to the conservationists' efforts? If so, why?
• What do you think should be done? Why?

When students are searching for Web sites, they should attempt to locate the sponsor of each site they go to. This is generally easy to do, often by clicking a "home" button at the top or bottom of the page or by reducing the URL to its root domain name (e.g., www.nationalgeographic.com rather than www.nationalgeographic.com/kids). They should then ask themselves whether the site they're looking at is sponsored by an organization that wants to protect and conserve the ocean, rather than a "front group" that may be working against the conservationists' motives. An anti-conservationist Web site may provide useful information for this assignment, but it's essential for students to know who's saying what.

Stage a series of class debates regarding the coastal environmental issues that students have learned about in this lesson. Each debate should focus on one issue and should allow students to take turns playing specific roles and being part of the audience.

First have students research and list the different sides of the debate and the various people and groups (e.g., fishermen, people with beachfront property) who might have opinions on the issue. Then assign students to roles until all the roles are covered. Once students have presented the opinions espoused by their assigned roles and rebutted arguments by other students, have the audience discuss the arguments and what they've learned from listening to the other students. The audience should then decide on a course of action they think should be taken to resolve this issue.

This lesson is made possible by a generous grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Sanctuary Program.

American FactFinder
NOAA: Residential Units Authorized for Construction in Coastal Counties, 1970-1989
National Geographic News: Fight Urban Sprawl at Shore, "Traveler" Columnist Urges
Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems (PAGE): Coastal Ecosystems