House Speaker: Rebuilding N.O. doesn't make sense

[jmcclain19]

Blame the Dinosaurs!

I blame Dave Miley and Bob Boone

[Jaycint]

Lovely, you would think with the years of posterior schmoozing and baby kissing that politicians have under their belts they would be able to display some sort of tact. Hastert proves this theory false.

[Rojo]

What if we built some really awesome low income housing? And maybe we could shore up the city and put solar panels on the roofs and give it a kick-ass public transit system and excellent schools and daycare......

And then he woke up.

[Jaycint]

After thinking about this, and not having any background on that part of the country or coastline I have a question:

Does the entirety of the Louisiana coast present this same problem? For instance, if the city of New Orleans was moved 50 miles east or west would they still face the same problem? Is the particular area where the city now is the only place where the harbor is deep enough and suitable enough to make it a viable port city?

I realize the viability of actually moving a major metropolitan area 50 miles to the east or west is next to nil but I was just trying to think of it in hypothetical terms.

[Rojo]

After thinking about this, and not having any background on that part of the country or coastline I have a question:

Does the entirety of the Louisiana coast present this same problem? For instance, if the city of New Orleans was moved 50 miles east or west would they still face the same problem? Is the particular area where the city now is the only place where the harbor is deep enough and suitable enough to make it a viable port city?

I realize the viability of actually moving a major metropolitan area 50 miles to the east or west is next to nil but I was just trying to think of it in hypothetical terms.

I think if you moved it to the other side of the Mississippi (which I think is Angola prison) it would be a lot safer.

[paintmered]

The problem is the lake (I'm not even going to try to spell it) to the north. That's where the storm surge occurred and the levees failed.

[Jaycint]

The problem is the lake (I'm not even going to try to spell it) to the north. That's where the storm surge occurred and the levees failed.

So hypothetically if those levees were made twice as strong and maybe twice as tall this could have been averted? From what I hear the pump systems throughout the city didn't function very well if at all either. I would think that entire system would need to be upgraded and overhauled if New Orleans can be built back into what it was.

[paintmered]

So hypothetically if those levees were made twice as strong and maybe twice as tall this could have been averted? From what I hear the pump systems throughout the city didn't function very well if at all either. I would think that entire system would need to be upgraded and overhauled if New Orleans can be built back into what it was.

From my understanding (which is quite limited), the levees played a large part in reducing the flow of silt that flows down the mississippi. Instead of settling in the delta region and New Orleans, it continutes into the gulf. As a result, the city has actually sank lower below sea level as well as reducing the size of islands in the gulf which would normally act like a hurricane buffer to the city. So if they were to strengthen the levee system to withstand a category five, you'd still have the major problem of the land deteriorating below you - possibly even increase it.

[flyer85]

Does the entirety of the Louisiana coast present this same prblem?

from NO to the mouth of the Mississippi is the all part of the delta, which means its all basically a swamp.

[LoganBuck]

From my understanding (which is quite limited), the levees played a large part in reducing the flow of silt that flows down the mississippi. Instead of settling in the delta region and New Orleans, it continutes into the gulf. As a result, the city has actually sank lower below sea level as well as reducing the size of islands in the gulf which would normally act like a hurricane buffer to the city. So if they were to strengthen the levee system to withstand a category five, you'd still have the major problem of the land deteriorating below you - possibly even increase it.

This is absolutely correct. According to some projections, at the end of this century NO will be at or below the water table. Rebuilding NO will be the an enormous project. Doing it where it sits may be a very unwise decision. The question needs to be asked now, not in 70 years when the city has sunk farther.

[WVRedsFan]

I would think that Congress would have some type of limited discussion before actually blurting things out.

OTOH - They need to actually work with some Dutch engineers about levees before planning some large-scale reurbanization.

One of the problems in 2005 America.

Sorry, this will offend some.

We have empowered political lightweights like the politician who blurted out this drivel. Why? Because we are so all-fired concerned with issues like abortion, "showing them arabs who's boss," and "them damn liberals who I hate," that we fail to see the man behind the slogan he gets elected on. Men like the Speaker are all over. Sure, they appeal to our prejudices and we vote overwhelmingly for them, but inside these guys are simply insensitive and cruel. And we've rubber stamped these attitudes to the tune of 54%, so that they think we all think like that.

In times like these, I could care less about all the abortions in New Orleans, whether they are a blue or red state, or hated liberal or by gawd conservative. Unfortunately, the Speaker toes the line that has been the bloody rag of the last 25 years..."No bleeding heart here."

May he be defeated by 80 percent (which simply ain't gonna happen).

Rant off and my apologies.