Population growth brings economic prosperity to the coast, but diminishes the natural features of the coastal environment.
Coastal areas are crowded and becoming more so every day.
This population is expected to increase by an average of 3,600 people per day, reaching 165 million by the year 2015. This rate of growth is faster than that for the nation as a whole. Their population growth and related development place many of the Nation's coastal areas under increasing pressure. Growth brings jobs, creates economic prosperity, adds new industries, improves regional infrastructure, enhances educational opportunities, and increases tax revenues. It also burdens local environments, however.