the French Quarter, the oldest part of New Orleans, is one of the highest portions of the city, least affected by flooding.
constant change is here to stay.
Thomas
Brooklyn my European friend is not built below sea level? As for Al Quaeda . Germany has more to worry about from Islam than the US.
also the Fauberg (sp?) Marigny neighborhood seems ok - but remember the termite business.. The French Quarter is chock full of termite gnawed wood, and hasn't an unlimited life span (according to my reading) - will/would have to be severely retrofitted at some point as it is.
It is nice to think that the French Quarter might be spared. By abandoning those parts of the City currently underwater might even be a good thing so far as preserving the ancient character of the old city.
None of this, in my opinion, warrants the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars to try and restore the ultimately futile status quo ante. Far better to direct the limited dollars to reducing the likelihood of a similar disaster a few years downstream in time. The decisions should be made on cold hard facts, probabilities and number, not upon what is politically popular and in accord with public sentiment. Bush has been strong, and properly so in my opinion, regarding the war on terrorism. Now it is time for him to be strong in responding to the challenges forced upon us by natural disaster.
I hate to say it, too, but I think it is folly to pour billions of dollars to hold back nature.
Nature will find a way.
In 1993 in the aftermath of major flooding on the upper Mississippi around St Louis, the government forced the abandonment of a number of communities on the flood plain and moved them to higher ground.
Here's a link to the article on formosan termites in the French Quarter.
The piece is called The Swarm - by Duncan Murrell in the August issue of Harper's, exerpted here -
http://www.rattlejar.com/Termite_article.html
I'd forgotten about the termites.
Houston, TX is in a flood plain
In an ideal world , and my fantasy mind..
The billions of dollars it would take to rebuild that city would not be handed to the government, goverNOR, senate ... or anyone else.
It would be divided up between the millions of disaster victims.
In their hands , if they wanted to rebuild .. so be it.
But that money would help those displaced, to find a new home, replace their basic living items and afford themselves while they grieve.
how many bases sould be build in the middle-east with that money?
shewolfnm
would you let them rebuild in the same flood plain?
There's a lot to be knocked down and dragged away before major rebuilding can start.
Suppose the rebuilding took advantage of the lastest advances in designing buildings that could withstand wind and water.
Suppose the low income housing was more substantial than the present flooded bungalows?
Suppose the French Quarter was preserved--minus the termites--and the rest of the city was created (rather than rebuilt) with an emphasis on gracious living on a limited budget?
By the by, opening ceremonies could start with drawing and quartering anyone who was involved in that rubble-filled levee.
husker wrote:shewolfnm
would you let them rebuild in the same flood plain?
absolutly not
if I did that place would have to be completely closed in with TONS of concrete to keep this from happening again.
Call this statement rude, but, there is no way in hell I would allow that kind of devistation again at the expence it has been more about lives then money ,without taking some costy TIMELY and extreme precautions.
I know that people want their homes back
they want their lives back
and some want their city back
I think it should be up to the people and not the government.. and not us ' non' NO citizens.
with the amount of financial devistation that has taken place, i cant personally think of a vaild reason to rebuild. But, i am not a government official, nor did I live there. Im an outsider.
The amount of mental devistation should be taking in to consideration as well.
Lets say ( in a fantasy world) this city is rebuilt in a year.
Cleaned out , everything replaced.. etc.
And lets slap on an imaginary price tag of 52 billion dollars.
Do you really think everyone is going to want to move back to the exact flood plain that killed their family? Took their home?
With that many people relocating, it is doubtful that NO would be able to economically support itself. Thus becoming a 52 billion dollar waste.
but.. im only speculating.
They didn't have the funds then to re-construct the levees,
and they're not going to have the funds now to build an infrastructure suitable to withstand major floods.
My guess is though: Bush will want to redeem his lost credibility
and reputation and show the world that he can rebuild New Orleans to its old glory.
"Who pays the piper, calls the tune." I can't imagine the U.S. and Louisiana Treasuries just sending out checks to anyone who might have suffered some loss during the hurricane. I lost some sleep, and at $50/hour, I would like a check for $2000. Send it soon.
If money is to be spent, and it should be, to help the region recover from the storm, then it has to be spent wisely and dispersed in a way to keep fraud to a minimum. First, save lives then get the vital elements needed for national security back on line. In this case, get those refineries working again without delay. This should be a lesson into our national vulnerability so long as we are so solidly based on petroleum. Time to wake up and smell the future wafting in our windows folks.
The nation has long been a leader in the battle for world peace and security. That has not changed, though some might wish it were not so. The sort of humanistic and pluralist society that we have is being challenged by a group of radical religious zealots to whom murder is equated with virtue. Many of our own people would like to give up the fight to extend our way of life to the downtrodden of the world. Abandon those who would like to be free of tyranny, and hope that our enemies will be content to have won a great victory over the Satanic infidels of Western Civilization. I hope that we never fall prey to such nonsense. When people have openly declared their willingness to destroy our civilization, and are proud of killing children in the process, someone has to stand up to them. That is the United States. So, I have no problem with spending American lives and treasure to defeat a handful of cowardly murderers who hope to establish a rigid religious dictatorship in a country already plundered by Sadam. It is the right thing to do. It is in keeping with our highest ideals.
