123 
ecological balance among all plants and animals within their respective 
geologic and climatic environments.” *’ This points to the unique 
value of the coastal zone, as an ecological system and asa basic ele- 
ment in the environmental life cycle of all living things. The many 
forms of fish and wildlife found solely in the coastal and estuarine 
zones are an integral part of this ecosystem, together with all other 
life-forms that exist in the beach, bluff, and wetland areas of the shore- 
line. There is a clear and pressing need to preserve the vitality of all 
such ecological systems, at the very least until man can determine 
their ultimate importance as a component part of his own life cycle 
and those of other forms of life on this planet. “‘An awareness of man’s 
place within the total natural environment is clearly essential to an 
understanding of the very nature of man and to his best adaption to 
this environment.” °° 
We have now developed a strong rationale for regarding the coastal 
areas of America as intrinsically high in value to society on two counts: 
(1) As an irreplaceable recreational resource; and (2) as a unique 
component in our ecological and environmental systems. The task at 
hand is to determine why this high value has not been recognized 
through the careful preservation of coastal lands for present and future 
use. 
IV. ANALYSIS OF THE ALLOCATION OF SHORELINE RESOURCES 
The allocation of coastal resources in this country has always been 
determmed within the economic environment of the private market- 
place and the institutional environment of local political decision- 
making. In the analysis of these mechanisms, we can determine what 
factors have led to the present shortage of shoreline supply for out- 
door recreation uses. 
The economic environment 
The term “good” refers to anything society desires, be it physical, 
psychological, esthetic, or otherwise. Since a limited amount of 
resources is available to our society, goods can only be produced up to 
a certain maximum level. This level depends on how efficiently we 
apply our labor force, productivity, and technology to the supply of 
scarce resources. Given this constraint, there are numerous combina- 
tions of goods that can be produced—but to have more of some goods 
implies that we must have less of others. 
The private marketplace is the mechanism through which society 
exercises the choice among these production possibilities. Taking the 
distribution of income as given, the private market translates aggre- 
gated personal values ‘nto desired amounts of production through the 
workings of the price-profit system. The price mechanism brings 
about effective proportional representation of individual values 
through the ‘‘vote” of the dollar. The profit mechanism brings about 
maximum efficiency through the flexibility of decentralized decision- 
making. In a properly functioning market,*°* competition among 
buyers assumes that goods and services will be allocated in conform- 
38 Tbid., reference 25, p. 248. 
39 Tbid., reference 25; p. 248. : ‘ i ; 
39a See O. A. Davis and M. I. Kamien, “Externalities, Information, and Alternative Collective Action,” 
‘a he Analysis and Evaluation of Public Expenditures: The PPB System, Vol. 1, Joint Economie Commit- 
ee (1969). 
57—242—71——_9 
