In a sense the problem of the coastal zone will 

 never be solved. All one can hope for is continu- 

 ally to increase our level of understanding of a 

 very complex system. The research effort required 

 is not a single crash program but a continuing 

 effort on many different fronts. 



To keep up with the problems of the coastal 

 zone will require more trained people than are 

 presently available, but education and training 

 needs are not limited to scientists who will study 

 these problems. The general public must be kept 

 informed as well as their elected officials who will 

 make decisions on the uses of the coastal zone. 

 Here the academic community has a special 

 responsibility. The experts must do more to make 

 the pubUc aware of the nature of the problems, 

 probable consequences of a decision, and possible 

 alternatives. 



At present a lack of basic understanding is 

 impeding our progress in several different areas, 

 the most important of which are (1) waste 

 treatment, (2) the effect of pollutants on Uving 

 organisms, (3) estuarine dynamics, and (4) beach 

 processes. 



II. WASTE TREATMENT 



Research in pollution cuts across many areas 

 from design of new waste treatment techniques to 

 development of less toxic pollutants, to attempts 

 to restore eutrophic lakes, to an understanding of 

 the effects of specific pollutants on specific 

 species. 



Technological advances are being made in puri- 

 fying the effluent waters of industrial plants and 

 municipal waste treatment plants. It is important 

 that this work continue, and new secondary and 

 tertiary treatment methods must be developed 

 with an eye to cost-savings as well as to abatement. 



Industrial and municipal waste effluents origi- 

 nate at a point source making treatment of the 

 wastes relatively simple. A larger problem is that 

 such pollutants as agricultural chemicals (herbi- 

 cides, pesticides, and fertilizers) or lead from 

 gasoline engine exhaust do not originate at point 

 sources. Agricultural wastes present both a re- 

 search and a regulatory problem. Research is 

 needed in the development of rapidly degradable 

 and more specific herbicides and pesticides and in 

 the development of fertilizing techniques that will 

 prevent excess runoff. Better agricultural chemi- 



Figure 2. Pollutants on Providence River, 

 R.I. Research is needed into the identification 

 and effects of pollutants. (Providence Bulletin 

 photo) 



cals and better techniques of application must be 



developed and their use enforced. 



III. THE EFFECTS OF 

 LIVING ORGANISMS 



POLLUTION ON 



There are many areas in which ignorance contains 

 our ability to deal effectively with pollution 

 problems. Examples lie in the deficiencies of our 

 knowledge of the behavior of important carriers of 

 pollution, such as atmospheric gases, surface and 

 ground waters, oceanic currents, and soil particles. 

 Basic research on these topics is necessary in order 

 to clarify our understanding of the movement of 

 pollutants. Some pollutants are carried extensively 

 in living things, moving from one plant or animal 

 to another as food, moving from place to place 

 with the plant or animal . . . Basic ecological re- 

 search is necessary if we are to cope effectively 

 with these serious problems. ^ 



Restoring the Quality of Our Environment," Report 

 of the President's Science Advisory Committee. 



III-75 



