For a little more on info on the know problems on Lake Pontchartrain


http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature5/

On 9/9/05 7:59 AM, in article , "Rod &
Betty Jo" wrote:


"presley" wrote in message
...
snip

Look, I'm not someone who lays the blame for all of this on Bush, I'm
merely pointing out that his policy of underfunding the Army Corps of
Engineers contributed to the immediate problem of this year's flooding in
New Orleans.

How so? Any proposed or even deferred spending had no impact on the failed
section.....Obviously it is a bit early for any definitive cause of the
levee failure but it appears that the canal wall (inside the city) failed
not the actual lake levees on the perimeter and that this section was fairly
new........So your conclusion is based on what?
Of possibly more interest is that 25 years ago the Corps wanted to build a
storm barrier between lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf or limit the ability
of a hurricane surge from the Gulf making it to the city
levees.......Environmentalist opposition nixed that plan.

In the long term, the entire ecosystem of coastal Louisiana has to be
reconsidered. Right now I don't see any way of guaranteeing the safety of
New Orleans in future storms.

That's one of mans more arrogant characteristics....expecting
guarantees.....when natures fury is fully unleashed man is quite puny and
just goes along for the ride.....he then gets up and starts building all
over....hopefully with bigger & better dikesG.

No one even seems to be looking at the very real possibility that New
Orleans could be hit by another hurricane this very year. (Two or more
hurricane strikes on the Gulf Coast per year are pretty much standard - and
this is a much more active year than normal).

Only more active than normal for recent history....go back a ways and one
might claim the current frequency is now normal. However your comment begs
the question of "so what?" In fact if a new hurricane hit NO this week the
relative damage/ injury would be rather slight....indeed most people have
left and blowing down flood soaked houses creates little new damage. ....its
also as likely to go 25 years or more without a significant hurricane...the
only thing we know for sure is one will hit again but in who's lifetime is
anyone's guess.

In
the long run, I think the southernmost parishes of Louisiana will have to
be completely abandoned, and the levees from New Orleans southward
breached to allow the Mississippi to flood the wetlands every year, as it
did for 1,000,000 years before the coming of Europeans. That is the only
way to rebuild the wetlands, raise the level of the land, and rebuild the
barrier islands that protected the mainland in the past. That leaves the
questions of where and how do we transport oil and natural gas from the
gulf, where will the oil workers live, and where will we put the
refineries? Those are very serious questions, and questions which I'm not
sure either we OR the Bush Administration are prepared to deal with.

Not gonna happen nor should it......Historically the area was hit by
hurricanes, Barrier islands or otherwise......slightly less or more does not
outweigh the cost or loss of function.....Rod