As Hurricane Florence heads toward the Carolinas there is a high likelihood that the sea islands that extend from the Georgia coast up through the Carolinas will sustain heavy damage. This damage will cost Americans billions through insurance premiums and debt service that will eventually become taxes).

For more than half a century these ecologically sensitive barrier islands have been developed into resorts, hotels, condos, and golf courses without a thought to the ecological or archaeological impact.

Not only do these islands protect the shore from storm surges, these islands should have been some of our greatest archaeological treasures. It was through these islands that many slave ships arrived. Now, most of the artifacts of Gullah and Geechee culture and Ibo Landing have been lost at the bottom of a sand trap.

We will now spend billions to replace development that paid nothing to rob us of priceless cultural heritage.