Drowning New Orleans

And they probably called that guy a "crazy doomsdayer"...

Thank you! Good article.

From the sidebar:

Drowning New Orleans: Why Save a Sinking City? By Mark Fischetti    * The New Orleans area is home to more than two million people, and it fuels a unique part of America's national psyche.    * The Mississippi Delta is the poster child for problems threatening the world's deltas, coastal wetlands and cities on the sea.    * Southern Louisiana produces one third of the country's seafood, o ne fifth of its oil and one quarter of its natural gas.    * The state's coastline harbors 40 percent of the nation's coastal wetlands and provides wintering grounds for 70 percent of its migratory waterfowl.    * Facilities along the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Baton Rouge constitute the nation's largest port.

I remember reeding that article then.  The Discovery channel also did a good show on the subject a few years back.  The Government knew about the possibilities, they just stuck their heads in the sand.

Ummm, Scientific American is HIGHLY slanted to the left and to "environmental" causes.  Once I saw "an acre disappears ever 24 minutes"  I stopped reading.  

Does anyone remember the rainforest stuff from a decade ago?  How, "the rainforest is being destroyed at 600 acres (a square mile) an HOUR"   ?

Some of the information is true and correct, but there is a lot of left-wing, "man is destroying nature" drivel in the article.

Don't forget, these are the people that have ALAN ALDA as the host of their TV show.

Quoted: I remember reeding that article then.  The Discovery channel also did a good show on the subject a few years back.  The Government knew about the possibilities, they just stuck their heads in the sand.

I don't think it's fair to say they stuck their heads in the sand.  

Put yourself in their shoes.  If you were Governor or President, do you really think you could get any support for fixing these potential problems?

We can't keep up with the actual crises that are occurring daily.  There would be zero support for any effort to spend huge amounts of money and energy on something that most people could never imagine happening.   You can only warn people so much.

I'm sure they just threw up their hands and said, "fuck it."

Quoted: I remember reeding that article then.  The Discovery channel also did a good show on the subject a few years back.  The Government knew about the possibilities, they just stuck their heads in the sand.

Hey, here's a Clinton aid, Sidney Blumenthal, with the spin, once again with thanks to our friends in Germany.

service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,372455,00.html

"With its main levee broken, the evacuated city of New Orleans has become part of the Gulf of Mexico. But the damage wrought by the hurricane may not entirely be the result of an act of nature.

A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken. "

There's really nothing that can't be blamed on Bush.  

A look at some of the problem areas....

Demographics



As of the census2 of 2000, there are 484,674 people, 188,251 households, and 112,950 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,036.4/km² (2,684.3/mi²). There are 215,091 housing units at an average density of 459.9/km² (1,191.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 28.05% White, 67.25% African American, 0.20% Native American, 2.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.93% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. 3.06% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.Not enough diversity here!!!!



There are 188,251 households out of which 29.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.8% are married couples living together, 24.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% are non-families. 33.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.48 and the average family size is 3.23.



In the city the population is spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 83.3 males.



The median income for a household in the city is $27,133, and the median income for a family is $32,338. Males have a median income of $30,862 versus $23,768 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,258. 27.9% of the population and 23.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 40.3% of those under the age of 18 and 19.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Here's another scientific view.

"(New Orleans)–By the year 2100, the city of New Orleans may be extinct, submerged in water. A future akin to the fabled sunken city of Atlantis? Yes, according to Dr. Chip Groat, Director of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in Washington, D.C., “With the projected rate of subsidence (the natural sinking of land), wetland loss, and sea level rise,” he said, “New Orleans will likely be on the verge of extinction by this time next century.”

       

University of New Orleans coastal geologist Dr. Shea Penland and coastal geomorphologist Dr. Denise Reed have spent their careers (combined 40 years) figuring out exactly what is driving this catastrophic condition. Their research has identified the specific problems jeopardizing the future of New Orleans and southern Louisiana. “We have the greatest coastal land loss problem in North America. This is more than a serious problem . . . it’s a catastrophic one. We’re living on the verge of a coastal collapse,” warns Dr. Penland.

       

Currently, 40% of all coastal wetlands in the United States are located in Louisiana, and 80% of all wetland loss in our nation occurs in Louisiana. From 1930-1990, the Mississippi River Delta lost more than 1,000 square miles of land, approximately the size of New Jersey.

       

Over the last 50 years, land loss rates had accelerated from 10 miles to 40 miles per year by the 1970s, with the current rate being approximately 25 square miles or 16,000 acres of wetlands a year. Coastal Louisiana is poised to lose more than 10,000 acres per year for the foreseeable future.

       

New Orleans is sinking three feet per century–eight times faster than the worldwide rate of only 0.4 feet per century. Currently, New Orleans, on average, is eight feet below sea level–11 feet in some places.

Correct me if I'm wrong here....
We've known for waht, 100 years? that a large hurricane could flood Nawlins. I wouldnt call this article prophetic by any stretch.
Its common knowledge what would happen.

Ha, I remember reading that article.

+1 on SA typically being a bunch of highly educated moonbats though.

Let's be honest: Anyone with an IQ high enough to breathe on their own knew that since NOLA is under sea level yet extremely close to the ocean, that something like this was bound to occur. And I seem to recall something (dunno if it was in the article or on NPR a while back) about the cost of putting levees up strong enough to withstand a cat five hurricane... and it was exorbitant.

A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken. "

So let's not leave the logical conclusion unexplored.  What if there is no way to protect it and the study would have been wasted money?

I mean really, do you think they would have built a giant roof over it?

G

Quoted: A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken. " So let's not leave the logical conclusion unexplored.  What if there is no way to protect it and the study would have been wasted money? I mean really, do you think they would have built a giant roof over it? G

Why should it be the federal government's job to protect individual cities?

Why should we protect New Orleans?

Consider that you can't really un-ring the bell....

"New Orleans is an industrial and distribution center, and a major U.S. seaport. It is one of the busiest seaports in not only the United States, but also the world. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal in the mid 20th century to accommodate New Orleans' barge traffic.



Like Houston, New Orleans is located in proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and the many oil rigs lying just offshore. There are a substantial number of oil companies that have their regional headquarters within New Orleans' corporate limits, such as:


BP


Chevron


ConocoPhillips


Royal Dutch Shell





The federal government and military, especially the Navy and NASA, has a significant presence in the area with a NASA facility, Michoud Assembly Facility located in the eastern portion of Orleans Parish. Lockheed-Martin also has a large manufacturing facility located in the Greater New Orleans area that produces external fuel tanks for space shuttles.This one is probably the main reason....LOL



Other companies with a significant presence or base in New Orleans include:


BellSouth


Entergy


Hibernia Corp.


IBM


Navtech


Harrah's, a downtown casino


Popeye's Fried Chicken


Zatarain's