Pollution and Encoachment of Coastal habitats in California Essay

Pollution and Encoachment of Coastal habitats in California - Essay Example Policies have been implemented that allow for greater leniency in the granting of permissions for off-shore oil drilling, and with a reduction of personnel in organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the strict guidelines that have survived are not being sufficiently enforced. The increasing number of people inhabiting areas near water sources such as rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands has caused greater pollution due to more runoff, which ultimately contributes to the pollution of harbors and bays. Polluted runoff and the occasional oil spill threaten coastal resources and often cause beach closures, resulting in risks to public health and significant impacts to local economies. With the advent of the deterioration of California’s coastal environment, some specific programs and organizations were created, such as the Critical Coastal Areas program, which delineates specific land areas of the California coast â€Å"where state, federal and local government agencies and other stakeholders have agreed to improve degraded water quality or protect exceptional coastal water quality from the threat of pollution† (CCA Draft Strategic Plan 1), and the California Coastal Commission, established in order to â€Å"protect, conserve, restore, and enhance environmental and human-based resources of the California coast and ocean for environmentally sustainable and prudent use by current and future generations† (California Coastal Commission), to name just a couple. However, the proliferation of such agencies and programs has been insufficient to curb the negative effects of pollution and encroachment by humans on natural coastal habitats. According to an assessment of California’s coastal waters done in the year 2000, 98% of the state’s estuaries and bays were unable to fully support aquatic life, more than 90% carried warnings about eating fish and shellfish, and 86% could not support