I HATE to say this but I don't think 'rebuilding' N.O. is feasible or

[karlrschneider]

smart. It is sinking and sea level is rising and this kind of disaster will be inevitable, eventually. I dearly love the city as it was for so long but it just doesn't seem possible that it could ever be restored to anything like it was. ;(

[A Simple Game]

1. This is no time for logic. n/t

[babylonsister]

2. I spoke to Dad tonight who watched Carville on CNN.

He implied Carville feels the same way, and he's from there.
I think, until they can afford to secure those levees, no rebuilding should be allowed.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

3. You're correct.

How to convince big corporations?

[karlrschneider]

6. I don't know the answer, sorry.

...

[liberalpragmatist]

28. You think big corporations are gonna want to rebuild in that?

Given the cost and inefficiency?

The business case for such a thing seems incredibly sound.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. It is hard to imagine

but I think you might be right.

[DURHAM D]

5. Perhaps they can turn it into the new world Venice - I would

make a trip to see that. A gondola ride on Canal Street.

[BayCityProgressive]

11. Out of all of the places I have ever been

New Orleans has always been my favorite..the poeple and diverse cutlures along with the scenary were just amazing. I am very sad to see this city go. I would love to say it should be rebuilt but even if it can be rebuilt which I doubt...Global warming is only going to cause this to happen there more often and I don't want to see anymore of this country's poor die in places like this because of poor transportation ect. Very sad.

[rox63]

7. What will happen to the people from NO?

Where would you recommend resettling over a million people who live in the NO area? Most of them don't have the resources to start over somewhere else.

[karlrschneider]

15. Well, they will have to be put someplace and N.O. won't be livable

for a VERY long time.

[ClintonTyree]

26. Somewhere dry?

It will be impossible to rebuild this City. The infrastructure from UNDERGROUND on UP would have to be replaced. Everything. Sewers, all electric from underground up, water lines, telephone lines. Every house and business there is going to be bulldozed and either burned or buried. Toxic mold is going to take over everything. The ground is contaminated with chemicals and other toxins. Think about this.

This is NOT just a drain the City and repair it scenario. It's a destroy and replace everything from the underground on up scenario.

[Minstrel Boy]

8. Sometimes the smartest thing to do is the hardest.

I think you're right. The seas are rising, the storms are increasing in violence and frequency. New Orleans is lost.

But given the Bush White House, it'll probably be rebuilt by Halliburton and Bechtel and renamed "Freedom City."

[KittyWampus]

17. I Think Cities Need To Start Limiting Population Density As Well.

there are too many people living within areas that cannot be evacuated.

[Blue_Tires]

9. wow....

i remember back in high school when my science teacher said NO was one strong hurricane away from being washed away (just like that 'Calif. is one strong quake away from breaking off into the pacific')..never thought it could actually happen

[lvx35]

10. Remember Venice, Italy, and keep heart!

As I posted somewhere else, portions of that city also sank, but the people just got gondolas and kept on keepin' on! I hope something similar could be worked out in NO if it is that bad.

[Minstrel Boy]

12. Venice does have an excellent flood control system

but the Adriatic doesn't generate hurricanes.

[achtung_circus]

14. Venice is sinking

and has its own water problems.

[lvx35]

18. Well, I hope that there is something NO can do.

It would be a shame to lose areas of a city with such heritage.

[eallen]

20. There are no hurricanes in the Mediterranean.

Yeah, I know the Mediterranean gets some pretty ferocious storms. But there are storms, and then there are hurricanes. If Venice had to face storms like Katrina or Camille, it would have vanished centuries past.

[achtung_circus]

13. There is a lot of $ invested in NO as it was.

Depends on the level of damage when all is said and done. Good money after bad, or protect the initial investment.

Imagine, though, the French Quarter as theme park. Kind of Disneyland on testosterone.

The river could do what it wants to do and which so money is spent preventing it from doing. Limiting factor, probably the port capacity. NO is a huge seaport and always will be.

[Spider Jerusalem]

23. Actually, New Orleans probably WON'T be a huge seaport...

if efforts to control the flow of the Mississippi ceae. If not for levees and channeling and so on, New Orleans would've been left on a backwater oxbow years ago thanks to a course change in the river.

[achtung_circus]

25. Some ocean/Mississippi interface, then. nt

[eallen]

27. Yep. The Mississippi really wants to exit through the Atchafalaya.

[htuttle]

16. New Orleans may or may not be the first city abandoned to the ocean...

...this century, but I'm sure it won't be the last.

[KittyWampus]

19. I Think All Coastal Areas & Wetlands Need To Be Reclaimed For Nature

it endangers those living in the areas that WILL eventually be catastrophically inundated.

It endangers those who live away from the wetlands and don't have that cushion to absorb the flooding.

It endangers the ecosystems including the wildlife.

[B Calm]

21. The Dutch would be disgusted with this post..

[Minstrel Boy]

22. The Dutch have begun giving land back to the sea.

An orderly retreat, before they're not given a choice.

[sniffa]

24. they'd be 50/50 on this post