Budgetary paralysis, societal violence, and an underfunded, inadequate education system, are not unique to Louisiana, but they do find themselves as guests who have long overstayed their welcome. Like many issues nationally, these problems facing our state are often at the mercy of extreme partisanship. While these are simply a few of the sizable issues facing our state, Louisiana simply does not have the luxury of time to address them unless we simultaneously deal with our eroding coast.

Louisiana has lost an area of 2000 miles, roughly the size of Delaware, since the 1930’s. Just ask the Native American tribes from Isle de Jean Charles about their resettlement as America’s first climate refugees for an idea of the impact. Conflicts among countries have started over less territory, but our state — and the nation — seems ready to accept this fate. While BP’s environmental damage penalties may fund in-part the Coastal Master Plan, the reality is that a plan not funded by oil royalties, Congressional support, and local backing, will never be enough. Coastal advocacy groups have long pointed out that opening levees south of New Orleans to allow sediment nourishment as well as supporting impacted communities will take time and enormous political capital to achieve in the compressed timeline we face.

What is so unusual about this situation is the extent to which the problem has been studied, as well as the number of potential solutions we have at our disposal. What we lack is the political will and national attention this emergency warrants. With this in mind, Louisiana’s governor and Congressional representatives should begin working together as a single-issue bloc, regardless of their personal politics or party allegiance.

Every issue we face as a state is important, but none is so existential a threat as our coast. A consensus may never be reached across the state as to why areas facing less of an immediate threat (e.g., Baton Rouge up to Shreveport) should prioritize the threat, but they share this burden as well. This initiative is not a simple temper-tantrum to stuff bills with pork-barrel projects for Louisiana. It is designed to solve a problem that threatens this state and nation by setting aside partisan differences, locking arms, and having our elected officials demand the resources and attention our coast merits at every turn, or have their parties risk losing valuable votes at a time when legislation largely passes by slim margins and along party lines.

In south Louisiana we can argue economically that the entire hinterland of the US depends on the ports in and around New Orleans being maintained and properly navigable, which will be nearly impossible if the city and the surrounding areas no longer exists. We could also argue that spending tens of billions to save south Louisiana is well worth the calculus when we risk losing hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure — we experienced barely a taste of this reality after Katrina, as the country watched gas prices soar nationwide. We can even argue symbolically that the region that birthed jazz and indelibly impacted the blues and rock has a right to exist, even if we do not wield economic sway.

While any of the arguments can serve as our hammer to build support for our coast, the reality is that voting as a single bloc will produce political influence that can first change state politics and then give our communities a stronger voice nationally. Our elected officials need to swear off party allegiance until this threat is taken seriously. We have a framework for action in the Coastal Master Plan and we simply do not have time to continue to sit around and throw our hands up in resignation.

The best education system in the world cannot withstand a 15-foot storm surge. The safest streets in history are worthless if they can not be traversed without wading through waist-deep waters. If Louisiana does not stand up for its coast, we will not become the next Venice, we will become a memory. For south Louisiana, our future depends on restoring our coast, or at the very least, keeping what is left to buy ourselves time. It is time we put political backing behind our Coastal Master Plan.

Written by Greg Tilton Jr. and Scott Tilton