saw a story on wral last night that just completely got under my skin. makes me want to run for senator or something just so some sort of intelligence would be in the legislature building.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/5361150/
apparently, the mayor of bald head island and our lovely governor decided that $5 million dollars should be spent to renourish the beaches of bald head island rather than continue the sort of human services such as what kendal used for physical therapy.
(i.e., if we hadn't had help, we never would have had a physical therapist, thus no one would ever had recognized the need for braces for his pronated ankles. we all know what happened as soon as he got the braces!!! not to mention here how much those braces cost... $1,700. maybe we could have "afforded" one pair, but every 4 to 5 months - buying a new pair - we can't afford that, and i'd say that most people are less fortunate than we are - whose gonna help them!!?? the state subsidized the braces and we only had to pay about $300, which our insurance then paid about half.)
ok. so, our lovely governor wants thinks beaches are more important than our kids? hummm.
one thing i learned in school (not that i had to take a marine geology or geomorphology class to know this) is that beaches are dynamic. anything that is put on a barrier island is temporary. sand, structures... you name it. barrier islands move. that is why they are there in the first place.
and in particular, our coast is sand deficient (i.e., there isn't a source of sand to build barrier islands). so, when a barrier island sand is wasted (washed away from a storm), then it is gone for good. the natural way an island moves is that it "rolls over" - sands from the front move to the back during large storms. large houses and other structures (man in general) have kept this from happening, thus the sand is being wasted into channels and out to sea. once the sand is gone, it is gone - and there isn't more to replace it. the shoreface along our OBX is made of mud and/or gravel - not sand. ever walked along our beach and seen a pile of black mud? we used to call it whale poop when i was little. well it is clay from the yorktown formation that is outcropping in the shoreface. sand is not a part of the yorktown.
anyway, as you can tell, i'm still all fired up about this story. we have an idiot for a governor. and aparently half our senate also qualifies for that status.
i'm guessing here that she has a house at the beach. and i'm guessing that the rest of the senate that is pushing this part of the budget also has a house down there... or friends with them. nothing like special interest spending - suppose she wants the state to SQUEAL LIKE A PIG!
ok. so, our lovely governor wants thinks beaches are more important than our kids? hummm.
one thing i learned in school (not that i had to take a marine geology or geomorphology class to know this) is that beaches are dynamic. anything that is put on a barrier island is temporary. sand, structures... you name it. barrier islands move. that is why they are there in the first place.
and in particular, our coast is sand deficient (i.e., there isn't a source of sand to build barrier islands). so, when a barrier island sand is wasted (washed away from a storm), then it is gone for good. the natural way an island moves is that it "rolls over" - sands from the front move to the back during large storms. large houses and other structures (man in general) have kept this from happening, thus the sand is being wasted into channels and out to sea. once the sand is gone, it is gone - and there isn't more to replace it. the shoreface along our OBX is made of mud and/or gravel - not sand. ever walked along our beach and seen a pile of black mud? we used to call it whale poop when i was little. well it is clay from the yorktown formation that is outcropping in the shoreface. sand is not a part of the yorktown.
anyway, as you can tell, i'm still all fired up about this story. we have an idiot for a governor. and aparently half our senate also qualifies for that status.
i'm guessing here that she has a house at the beach. and i'm guessing that the rest of the senate that is pushing this part of the budget also has a house down there... or friends with them. nothing like special interest spending - suppose she wants the state to SQUEAL LIKE A PIG!
With the coverage this is receiving on WRAL, I'd be surprised if the children's program was cut.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, all of those politicians should go to Run Hill to witness a barrier island in action. I remember sitting on top of the hill with you and looked over at a 1 foot tall tree. But it was actually the top 1 foot of a 50 foot tall tree buried beneath the MOVING sand!
Idiots.
My guess is they are primarily concerned with continuing to attract tourists to OBX; likely a substantial source of revenue for the State (tourists).
ReplyDeleteNot that I agree, I'm just saying...