Slashdot Mirror
Rebuilding New Orleans With Science
EccentricAnomaly writes "The New York Times has a discussion of flood control methods in use in Holland, England, and Bangladesh that could be used in the rebuilding of New Orleans. Of particular interest is the $8 billion Delta Works built by the Netherlands in response to the North Sea flood of 1953, which almost destroyed the city of Rotterdam, but for a heroic captain who plugged a breach in a dike with his ship." From the article: "While scientists hail the power of technology to thwart destructive forces, they note that flood control is a job for nature at least as much as for engineers. Long before anyone built levees and floodgates, barrier islands were serving to block dangerous storm surges. Of course, those islands often fall victim to coastal development."
The technical stuff is interesting, but not the most interesting thing about how the city will get reconstructed. It is a sideshow.
New Orleans is the only major city now with a miniscule number of blacks. They've been flooded out. How the city gets redeveloped could have major implications. I can imagine some real estate devlopers would like to turn it into a Vegas-on-the-Gulf with history (French Quarter). A good way to make that a "success" would be to condemn the black neighborhoods and put in parks and clubs.
It would be sort of like what happened in midtown Manhattan under Guiliani: force out the criminal class, then make money. I'm sure there are a lot of real estate developers trying to figure out how to turn it into the "next" Vegas. The city has gotten so much publicity it would simply be too tempting.
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_law/when_to_
Build it 40 miles upriver.
-Styopa
I think you mean reduced the funding and used it for other things that most people don't agree with.
Not refused to provide. It's subtle, but not the same.
I agree, and if there are those who were confused by my original wording then I'm glad you clarified that point.
Instead of spending our tax dollars to help the people of america, Bush's policy of War/Oil over the last 5 years has smeared our countries reputation around the world, suffocated our economy, tripled gas prices, and left millions of americans helpless. Bush, Cheney, Rove etc. have justified all of this in order to make more money for the defense industry and the oil industry(businesses that 90% of Bush's people hail from). It's grotesque. This is not the country I grew up believing in.
The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky
My god Dick Cheney is going to be so dammed rich!
I keep hearing people comparing the WTC vs New Orleans. Yes they were both disasterous that happened about the same time of the year but thats really where the similiarities stop. The WTC was a terroist attack not an an evitable act of god because a bunch of Frenchmen decided to build below sea level in a hurricane prone area. This isn't the first time New Orleans flooded, it won't be the last if they rebuild it. And fire that stupid-ass mayor for blaiming everyone except New Orleans.
This should be modded WAY down. There is NO DATA to support you theory of "Dead Zones". Most Dead Zones are due to Algae blooms fueled by Nitrate runoff. The water in the city is going to be very polluted and nasty with germs and disease but this isn't a drop in the bucket compared to the volume of water dumped into the Gulf by the Mississippi River every day. I wouldn't be surpried to see some localized effects around Lake Ponchatrain and at the mouth of the Mississippi but no "sky is falling" catastrophe. There have been no major oil spills or chemical spills and when some water gets pumped down and treatment plants are back on line the water pumped out will be better than what is already IN the Lake. Your "oxygen from the Gulf" is also so much BS.