Can the Corps Do Enough for New Orleans?
The vast levee system under construction by the Army Corps of Engineers may not be sufficient to protect New Orleans as the climate continues to change.
"Here's the good news: The Army Corps of Engineers is "racing" to complete a comprehensive levee system for metropolitan New Orleans by 2011 that actually takes into account global warming, at least in terms of sea-level rise."
"Here's the bad news: the levee system under development is wildly insufficient to the growing climate problem, according to many informed critics."
"That's because the vast and flat Louisiana coastal area -- sometimes called the "Bangladesh of America" because it could disappear due to sea-level rise alone -- cannot be saved just by building levees. It's the one area of America which, to survive the rising water and bigger hurricanes of a warming world, must develop human-made barrier islands and coastal marshes as an additional emergency defense. These landforms, which can be crafted using the voluminous sediments of the Mississippi River itself, would create a vital buffer that complements the levees, according to a wide range of engineers."
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Racing?
The Corps is in no sense racing to build anything additional to protect the city. The long expected and delayed study on Category 5 protection finally delivered this month contained no recommendations except for further meetings and study.
The central government has no intention of providing us with true protection. How much longer must New Orleans and the coast carry America on it's back?
Toulouse Street
Odd Bits of Life in New Orleans