Monday
Jun082009
Coasts And Oceans May Be Key To Economic Recovery
Monday, June 8, 2009 at 4:27PM
By Annie Berman -- Talk Radio News Service
The National Ocean Economic Program released the first independent report on the US economy and the ocean today to kick off Capitol Hill Ocean Week. Dr. Judith T. Kildow and Charles S. Colgan wrote the report and introduced it at the Capitol . They explained why the correlation between the coastal and ocean economies are vital to the well being of the U.S. economy.
“We’re here to tell you that the ocean and coastal economies are the US economy. They are not a subset of that economy any longer...The coastal states of this country represent more than 83% of the US Gross Domestic Product,” said Kildow.
Both authors explained that there are 6 sectors that NOEP studies intensely in order to understand the correlation between the U.S. economy and the ocean and coastal economies. These sectors include coastal construction, minerals, fisheries, ship and boat building, transportation and international trade and tourism and recreation.
Colgan said that coastal construction will be aided by stimulus money. Of the six sectors, it will be the most directly affected because of the cancellation of drilling activities in Mexico. Furthermore, with the price of oil constantly fluctuating, Colgan said that it is impossible to plan for the minerals sector.
“All the things you see in the housing sector are affecting recreational boating.” Colgan said. Just as many people are facing foreclosures on their homes in this ailing economy, so are boat owners, who can no longer afford their boats.
Major ports in the U.S. have seen their volumes drop by 50% in the last year. Some ports have seen drops of up to a third or more, including on the east coast. Colgan does not expect this sector of the coastal economy to improve until about 2013 or 2014.
Colgan also explained that sea levels will continue to rise despite our efforts to reduce or even eliminate carbon emissions. Over the next 50 years, the rising sea levels and the storms associated with climate change will put all the real estate on the coasts at significant risk. “The coast itself is shrinking,” Colgan said.
“The current economy has been described not as a recovery but a reset. We’re resetting the buck on the economy. This reflects the idea that the economic times that we are going through are not just a normal downturn,” Colgan said. “Major changes are underway that affect how the national economy comes out of this. We are not going to grow in the next decade the way we did in the last decade.”
The National Ocean Economic Program released the first independent report on the US economy and the ocean today to kick off Capitol Hill Ocean Week. Dr. Judith T. Kildow and Charles S. Colgan wrote the report and introduced it at the Capitol . They explained why the correlation between the coastal and ocean economies are vital to the well being of the U.S. economy.
“We’re here to tell you that the ocean and coastal economies are the US economy. They are not a subset of that economy any longer...The coastal states of this country represent more than 83% of the US Gross Domestic Product,” said Kildow.
Both authors explained that there are 6 sectors that NOEP studies intensely in order to understand the correlation between the U.S. economy and the ocean and coastal economies. These sectors include coastal construction, minerals, fisheries, ship and boat building, transportation and international trade and tourism and recreation.
Colgan said that coastal construction will be aided by stimulus money. Of the six sectors, it will be the most directly affected because of the cancellation of drilling activities in Mexico. Furthermore, with the price of oil constantly fluctuating, Colgan said that it is impossible to plan for the minerals sector.
“All the things you see in the housing sector are affecting recreational boating.” Colgan said. Just as many people are facing foreclosures on their homes in this ailing economy, so are boat owners, who can no longer afford their boats.
Major ports in the U.S. have seen their volumes drop by 50% in the last year. Some ports have seen drops of up to a third or more, including on the east coast. Colgan does not expect this sector of the coastal economy to improve until about 2013 or 2014.
Colgan also explained that sea levels will continue to rise despite our efforts to reduce or even eliminate carbon emissions. Over the next 50 years, the rising sea levels and the storms associated with climate change will put all the real estate on the coasts at significant risk. “The coast itself is shrinking,” Colgan said.
“The current economy has been described not as a recovery but a reset. We’re resetting the buck on the economy. This reflects the idea that the economic times that we are going through are not just a normal downturn,” Colgan said. “Major changes are underway that affect how the national economy comes out of this. We are not going to grow in the next decade the way we did in the last decade.”
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