US | Gulf oil spill Sandbar Plan Is Bad Science At best, berms will do nothing to protect La. coastline By Nick McMaster Posted Jun 10, 2010 4:45 PM CDT Copied A bulldozer moves sand to construct a berm on East Grand Terre Island, La. to provide a barrier against the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Tuesday, June 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) Bobby Jindal's plan to protect the Louisiana coastline with sandbars is more the product of political hysteria than pragmatic decision-making, Sharon Begley writes for Newsweek. Few coastal scientists think the berms—which will cost $360 million initially and need to be constantly rebuilt—will protect the wetlands from BP's oil. There is even a danger than the sandbars may block inlets that allow water to pass into the wetlands, disrupting its life processes: "You could kill the wetlands without the oil ever reaching them," says one coastal geologist. The plan will set a bad precedent, Begley notes: "BP’s oil will assault the gulf, and possibly the Atlantic, for years. Many more decisions that turn on science lie ahead." Read These Next Gavin Newsom has filed a massive lawsuit against Fox News. New York Times ranks the best movies of the 21st century. Supreme Court is a yes on age checks for porn sites. Supreme Court gives Trump big win on national injunctions. Report an error