cargo handling is revolutionary and will continue 
to increase. 
Port design in addition to ship design will pace 
future progress. The deepening of harbors to 
accommodate large bulk carriers is encountering 
such severe physical barriers as bedrock, man-made 
tunnels, and long shallow approaches. In general, 
terminals for containerized shipping must be 
totally new and located outside downtown metro- 
politan areas, a trend which can release valuable 
land for urban development. 
Offshore unloading platforms and lightering 
techniques are being considered as one of the most 
progressive and economical means of handling 
larger, deeper draft ships. 
The Coast Guard role in protection of life and 
property must be strengthened; this responsibility 
for the U.S. Continental Shelf undersea activity 
must be consolidated under one responsible 
agency. It is obvious that chaos will result from 
the advancing use of the U.S. Continental Shelf 
with its myriad of men and equipment unless one 
agency concentrates systematically on the tasks of 
protecting life and property. 
Finally, to insure proper protection of life and 
property, the Coast Guard should pursue research 
and development programs to strengthen capabili- 
ties of traffic control and monitoring, search and 
rescue (including underwater scuba divers, sub- 
mersibles, and habitats), pollution abatement and 
control (oil and other hazardous materials), and 
fisheries regulation. 
Recommendations: 
Port and harbor development should be based on a 
total systems approach to marine transportation, 
concentrating on design of offshore and improved 
methods of intermodal (air-land-sea) transfer to 
allow more effective use of the coastal land. 
To ensure proper protection of life and prop- 
erty, the Coast Guard should pursue a research and 
development program to strengthen capabilities 
for traffic control and monitoring, search and 
rescue (including underwater divers, submersibles, 
and habitats), pollution abatement and control (oil 
and other hazardous materials), and fisheries regu- 
lation. 
V. GREAT LAKES RESTORATION! ! 
Virtually every activity man pursues modifies 
his environment in some way. While not all these 
modifications are detrimental, the sum of discrete 
activities undertaken to achieve specific goals can 
be detrimental unless efforts are made to balance 
resource utilization and environmental quality. 
This balance must be sought with a full under- 
standing of the interactions between resources, 
benefits, detriments, and long-range costs to 
society. 
The public has become aware of the importance 
of this balance only very recently; previously, 
concern for preserving and maintaining our natural 
resources was subordinated by parochial interests. 
This shortsightedness now demands measures be 
taken to cure the sicknesses of our environment; 
preventive measures alone will pass a legacy of ruin 
to future generations. 
The five Great Lakes demonstrate misuse and 
abuse of environment by man. One only need 
compare the rate of population growth in areas 
immediately surrounding each of the Lakes with 
the rate of deterioration of water quality (Figure 
48). Ranked according to impaired water quality 
or interference with beneficial uses, Lake Erie 
exhibits the greatest impairment, followed by 
Lakes Ontario, Michigan, Huron, and Superior. 
Total population in the drainage basins around 
each of the lakes corresponds closely; the rate of 
population growth reflects the rate of accelerated 
aging or eutrophication processes in the lakes. 
The conclusion is inescapable—man is directly 
responsible for the accelerated deterioration of 
water quality. If corrective action is not taken, 
further deterioration will parallel future popula- 
tion growth. 
Fortunately, this situation has been recognized 
by all sectors of our society, and preventive 
measures to arrest deterioration are being imple- 
mented. These measures, however, probably are 
not enough. Whether the lakes—Lake Erie in 
particular—can recover from previous environ- 
: '!Most of the material in this subsection was taken 
from Battelle Northwest, Research Report, Great Lakes 
Restoration—Review of Potentials and Recommendations 
for Implementation to the Commission (Unpublished 
report, Battelle Memorial Institute, Richland, Washington, 
1968). 
VI-121 
