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viroiiment. Wlierever there are people the environment will be ex- 

 ploited to satisfy the needs and desires of man and his civilization. 



Increasing environmental pressures from demographic and com- 

 mercial development are paralleled in the same community by the in- 

 creasing desire for greater recreational use. That these can be com- 

 patible is clearly shown by the San Diego Bay example. Such com- 

 munity reactions as in San Diego and in San Francisco demonstrate 

 that, while people need commercial development and use, they want 

 a safe and enjoyable environment at the same time. 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC TRENDS IN THE ESTUARINE ZONE 



At the present time, the major uses of estuaries, in terms of ^oss 

 monetary return are : military use, shipping, and industrial activities. 

 These uses are, of course, historical and do not necessarily reflect the 

 uses that would be made of the estuary under today's conditions or 

 future conditions, if each use were to compete for the water use at the 

 same time. In other words, historical use has brought about the pres- 

 ent use imbalance in many estuarine systems. However, given the 

 opportunity to develop, other uses might attain equal importance 

 economically while contributing important social benefits. 



Estuaries at the present time represent underdeveloped natural 

 resources that are important to the social as well as the economic well- 

 being of the Nation. Based on present trends and demands, there is 

 little doubt that there will be a tremendous need for estuarine uses 

 other than for military, shipping, and industrial uses. That is, if the 

 facilities are available for recreation, sports, or esthetic enjoyment, 

 they will be used and used to great advantage from an economic stand- 

 point as well as a social standpoint. 



If normal circumstances prevail, the Nation's j)opulation and general 

 high standard of living will continue to increase in the coming decades. 

 A moderate estimate projects a doubling of the national population 

 by the turn of the century, with a significant proportion of that growth 

 occurring in urban areas. 



The population will be made up of a large proportion of youth and 

 young persons of working ages, with only a moderate increase in the 

 elderly through the end of the century. Personal income will rise dra- 

 matically. Estimates of leisure time vary considerably, but all authori- 

 ties agree that the workweek will shorten, from a conservative esti- 

 mate of 35 hours a week to as little as 20 hours per week. The National 

 Planning Association has projected that in 1990, 10 percent, and in 

 2000, 20 percent of the men between the ages of 25 and 54 will be 

 granted a 1-year leave every 7 years. 



Urban, and particularly suburban growth, will expand greatly 

 both to accommodate the growing population and to provide ameni- 

 ties that it increasingly demands : single-family dwellings, recreational 

 areas, transportation facilities, industrial developments, and so on. 

 These demands will place rapidly increasing burdens on the Nation's 

 resources and its environment. These burdens, iti turn, will tax the 

 ability of decisionmakers and the Nation's population to cope with the 

 complexity and insistence of the problems generated by a postindus- 

 trial, urbanized society. 



Information provided by this analysis of national population and 



