Importance of Healthy Wetlands to the Economy
by Jasmine Chappell, 7th Period Biology
We all know how important the wetlands are. However, we often don’t realize that healthy wetlands play a huge role in our economy. Wetlands have many important functions such as producing resources, helping in providing clean drinking water, and they can also be a big help in the event of a flood because they can absorb water. All of these factors tie back into the economy because they help generate money.
Wetlands help in improving the quality of drinking water that you drink. Wetlands are capable of raising the quality of water that you will find in rivers and streams. That same water is the water that you will eventually end up drinking. According to the Environmental Protection Agency “A wetland’s natural filtration process can remove excess nutrients before water leaves a wetland, making it healthier for drinking, swimming and supporting plants and animals.” Going back to the importance to the economy, drinking water can be a huge factor in determining whether or not you want to live in a certain area. Dirty drinking water is capable of making you very sick, so when looking for a place to live, knowing the area has clean drinking water could be a deciding factor on whether or not you choose to live there.
According the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Flood damages in the U.S. average $2 billion each year, causing significant loss of life and property.” Wetlands can be a huge help in the event of a flood because of their natural ability to not only soak up flood water but to store it in addition. On average, the typical wetland has the capacity and capability of storing 1 million gallons. Just think about that for a second. That is water that could have flooded out somebody’s house. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “One of the most valuable benefits of wetlands is their ability to store flood waters. Maintaining only 15% of the land area of a watershed in wetlands can reduce flooding peaks by as much as 60%. The environmental factor of wetlands offering flood protection is a very big factor that makes an area more desirable to live in-especially if you are in a flood zone.” That being said, if you live in a flood-zone, houses near a healthy wetland become a more desirable option because you want to make sure your house is protected. With that, comes the demand for more people to want to live near the wetlands essentially, raising housing costs along with increasing the value of the neighborhood.
Wetlands also help in cleaning the water. Because of the fact other sources of water filtration are extremely expensive, people have turned to alternative options in water filtration. The Environmental Protection Agency states “Wetlands provide an essential link in the life cycle of 75 percent of the fish and shellfish commercially harvested in the US, and up to 90 percent of the recreational fish catch. Wetlands provide a consistent food supply, shelter and nursery grounds for both marine and freshwater species. Landings of crab, shrimp and salmon were valued at 1,167 billion in 2004.” These numbers have drastically increased since 2004, resulting in an influx of even more money going back into our economy.
It can clearly be shown that not only are healthy wetlands important in what they do for our environment, but they also have a huge impact on our economy. Healthy wetlands are vital in flood protection, providing clean water and serving as a place for filtration. Healthy wetlands are essential in shaping our economy. Healthy wetlands make certain areas more desirable to live in thus, increasing the demand raising house prices. The fact that wetlands provide cleaner, safer drinking water is another factor that makes people want to live in a certain region. Therefore, Healthy wetlands are essential in helping add to the economy in a positive way.
Sources: http://water.epa.gov/type/wetlands/outreach/upload/EconomicBenefits.pdfhttp://idahoptv.org/dialogue4kids/season6/wetlands/whycare.cfm
by Jasmine Chappell, 7th Period Biology
We all know how important the wetlands are. However, we often don’t realize that healthy wetlands play a huge role in our economy. Wetlands have many important functions such as producing resources, helping in providing clean drinking water, and they can also be a big help in the event of a flood because they can absorb water. All of these factors tie back into the economy because they help generate money.
Wetlands help in improving the quality of drinking water that you drink. Wetlands are capable of raising the quality of water that you will find in rivers and streams. That same water is the water that you will eventually end up drinking. According to the Environmental Protection Agency “A wetland’s natural filtration process can remove excess nutrients before water leaves a wetland, making it healthier for drinking, swimming and supporting plants and animals.” Going back to the importance to the economy, drinking water can be a huge factor in determining whether or not you want to live in a certain area. Dirty drinking water is capable of making you very sick, so when looking for a place to live, knowing the area has clean drinking water could be a deciding factor on whether or not you choose to live there.
According the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Flood damages in the U.S. average $2 billion each year, causing significant loss of life and property.” Wetlands can be a huge help in the event of a flood because of their natural ability to not only soak up flood water but to store it in addition. On average, the typical wetland has the capacity and capability of storing 1 million gallons. Just think about that for a second. That is water that could have flooded out somebody’s house. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “One of the most valuable benefits of wetlands is their ability to store flood waters. Maintaining only 15% of the land area of a watershed in wetlands can reduce flooding peaks by as much as 60%. The environmental factor of wetlands offering flood protection is a very big factor that makes an area more desirable to live in-especially if you are in a flood zone.” That being said, if you live in a flood-zone, houses near a healthy wetland become a more desirable option because you want to make sure your house is protected. With that, comes the demand for more people to want to live near the wetlands essentially, raising housing costs along with increasing the value of the neighborhood.
Wetlands also help in cleaning the water. Because of the fact other sources of water filtration are extremely expensive, people have turned to alternative options in water filtration. The Environmental Protection Agency states “Wetlands provide an essential link in the life cycle of 75 percent of the fish and shellfish commercially harvested in the US, and up to 90 percent of the recreational fish catch. Wetlands provide a consistent food supply, shelter and nursery grounds for both marine and freshwater species. Landings of crab, shrimp and salmon were valued at 1,167 billion in 2004.” These numbers have drastically increased since 2004, resulting in an influx of even more money going back into our economy.
It can clearly be shown that not only are healthy wetlands important in what they do for our environment, but they also have a huge impact on our economy. Healthy wetlands are vital in flood protection, providing clean water and serving as a place for filtration. Healthy wetlands are essential in shaping our economy. Healthy wetlands make certain areas more desirable to live in thus, increasing the demand raising house prices. The fact that wetlands provide cleaner, safer drinking water is another factor that makes people want to live in a certain region. Therefore, Healthy wetlands are essential in helping add to the economy in a positive way.
Sources: http://water.epa.gov/type/wetlands/outreach/upload/EconomicBenefits.pdfhttp://idahoptv.org/dialogue4kids/season6/wetlands/whycare.cfm