Geologically speaking, Louisiana is a very young state. Environmentally, Louisiana is a very fragile state. Louisiana has always depended on the nutrient-rich deposits of the Mississippi River to build the land. Centuries ago the Mississippi River periodically changed its course, building Louisiana one delta at a time. The erosive forces of the Gulf of Mexico and annual hurricanes depleted Louisiana's coast, but the mighty Mississippi River would replenish the land losses. Such is the relationship that the forces of nature have with each other. Throw humanity into the mix and the relationship becomes stressed and dysfunctional. Louisiana's current coastline is a shadow of its former self. Let's take a look at how Louisiana arrived at its current demise and what is being done to correct the situation. Historical Data As sea levels rose and fell over Louisiana in previous centuries, the Mississippi River transported large loads of sediment into the Gulf Coast area from the center of the North American continent and deposited it at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico. Before the twentieth century, 5 million acres of land resulted from large influxes of mud from the giant river basin, which stretched from Montana to New York State. Organic matter from highly productive marine waters was buried deep beneath the entire state and far offshore, turning into oil. During other periods of drought, large beds of salt were deposited by evaporation. Human engineering has temporarily tamed the river, for the most part, preventing it from dumping its precious building sediments anywhere. As a result, Louisiana's coast is disappearing from sight, starved for fresh material. The Mississippi Delta was... center of paper... University of New Orleans. "It's not even possible. The goal is to restore healthy natural processes and then live with what you get." (Bourne) Sounds like a good attitude towards this happy Cajun.Works CitedAlden, Andrew. Help on About.com. December 4, 2010 .Bourne, Joel K. National Geographic Society -Environment-The Great Discomfort. December 4, 2010. State of Los Angeles, governor Bobby Jindal. Coastal protection and restoration. December 4, 2010 .Tibbetts, John. “Environmental Health Perspectives.” January 2006. Louisiana-A Lesson in Nature Appreciation Vol. 114, number 1. 4 December 2010 .