[Rhodes22-list] Why Rebuild New Orleans?

[Robert Skinner]

Herb Parsons wrote:
> That's the difference though, this isn't a "time after 
time" problem. Yes, this was a catastrophic event. Yes, 
we should sit back and decide just how much we're willing 
to spend on the off chance that this happens again. And 
yes, we should realize that this was an event that never 
before occurred in the roughly 300 year history of the 
city.
------------------------------------------------------
Herb -

I think that history records that NO has been flooded 
several times in its history.  The advent of Wood's 
pumps bought time when the area was predominantly 
agricultural, but the increasing urbanization and 
gradual subsidence has raised the stakes -- the 
consequences are now much higher.

Much of NO has dropped as much as two feet in the last 60
years relative to the sea level.

I would also point out that NO's position so far out on a 
delta is somewhat different than the other loci that you 
mentioned.

Finally, I recognize both the historical and cultural 
value of this pivotal point in our nation's history, and 
the anguish of people who have lost all.  All over the 
country, in the mountains as well as the shorelines, we
have been facing the flooding due to deforestation as well
as occasional hurricanes that have reached inland before 
they died completely.

And we have had to face reality as we have made recovery 
plans.

On a personal level, I admire your efforts, and those of 
so many others, to ameliorate the suffering that has 
resulted from many years of poor planning, inadequate 
preparation, and failures of leadership in the immediate 
situation.

Now, let's not put those who have suffered so much in the 
last few days in danger again.  

We either do a NO reconstruction VERY right, at a cost 
that we may not be able to afford given our government's 
sailor-in-a-whorehouse spending in the past few years, 
or we face the realities and rebuild only the French 
quarter and other areas above sea level -- at least until 
we can afford to do it right.

Let's concentrate on getting the shipping going again, so
the economic engine can ge restarted.

/Robert Skinner