if there s a unifying truth in this state, in this region, it s that the wetlands are the only means of survival. no one argues the points republicans, democrats, nobody argues this point. the wetlands are to the gulf coast what bumpers and crumple zones are to cars. it s a bumper against the impact, an absorber of destructive energy, a giant protecter against disaster. wetlands slow and weaken hurricanes before they reach places like new orleans, they support wild life, human economy. they are incredibly, incredibly fragile and they have to be preserved if they re going to be p p preserving us. the wetlands were built over thousands of years. but since the 1950s, the pursuit of profit has forced 8,000 miles of marshes to yield to man made canals. essentially to make oil shipping easier. the state of louisiana loses 25
environmental disaster in our nation s history. joining us is larry shweiger, president and chief executive officer of the national wildlife federation. thanks for being here. great to be here. we don t even know the short-term magnitude, but what do you think of the long-term. last summer i returned to the prince williams sound and the scientists actually dug in the sand and found oil in half the oils they dug, so the oil is still in the sound from the exxon valdes. one third of the wildlife have fully recovered, two thirds are still in recovery 20 years later. when you have an oil spill of this magnitude, if it gets into the wetlands, if it does the damage we fear it will do, it would have long-term consequences to the resources of this region. is there a telltale sign at the wildlife federation when
that s my choice. because with national, i roll past the counter. and choose any car in the aisle. oh, buck chooses the blue one! [ male announcer ] go national. go like a pro. choosing your own car? now, that s a good call. how the oil spill is affecting the wildlife on the gulf coast. think cute sea turtles, birds and all the seafood we eat. what we ll see will defy explanation [ male announcer ] remember when you were five and anything was possible.
if the leak takes months to plug as some have predicted, this could be the worst environmental disaster in our nation s history. joining us is the president and chief executive officer of the national wild life federation. good to have you here. great to be here with you. what s the long-term impact. we don t know what the magnitude of the spill is, but what do you think of the long-term impact. it s similar to the exxon valdez. the scientist dug in the sand in prince william sound and found oil in half of the holes they dug. so the oil is still in alaska in the prince william sound from the exxon valdez. the scientists have looked at the wild life that were impacted. one third were fully recovered, two-thirds are still in recovery 20 years later. if you have an oil spill of this magnitude if it gets in the wetlands and does the damage that we fear it will do before it over, it will have a