Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations LA/MS situation

I did a lot of thinking about this while cutting hay.

There has been talk (Speaker of the House, for example) of NOT rebuildng New Orleans because it doesn't make sense.

Does it make economic sense? Heck, probably not. There's land above sea level fairly close that would be cheaper and easier to relocate everyone to than to drain, reclaim, sanitize, and rebuild New Orleans in it's original location. We need a major port at the mouth of the continent's greatest river, but those facilities could also be rebuilt better, cheaper, in a new location.

BUT...this is a great American city we're talking about (please note that I have never been to New Orleans, don't plan to ever go, and don't even like cities. The only thing I like about N'awlins I know first and second hand from cookbooks.). The HUMAN, the AMERICAN thing to do is rebuild right in the same damn place, but better.

Build triply redundant levees like the Dutch do in their polders. Build 'em to withstand a Cat 5 hurricane, not "maybe" a Cat 3 like the old levee ('cause sure enough, that Cat 5 will come along sooner or later). Raze and rebuild neighborhoods in place. Salvage and save the best of the history. Will it cost a shipload of money? Hell yes. But we spend money every day on "jobs programs" that don't get us anything - spend this money to rebuild an American city better than ever.

Dig down deep in human sites all over the world and what do you find? Repeated layers of destruction and rebuilding on the same site (what are there, 9 layers at Von Schlieman's Troy?). We're Americans, We're Human Beings - we didn't claw our way to the top of the heap on this planet to be defeated by some wind and water!

Down off the soapbox ... I'm feeling much better now.