It is time for the most ambitious environmental restoration project ever!

[tk2kewl]

unfortunately the government should condemn much of the destroyed property for exactly this purpose.

I am in no way opposed to paying property owners for their land to be reclaimed for natural beaches, barrier islands and marshes and swamps.

it would be a big plus for a lot of property owners who didn't have flood insurance, for some it would be a big loss, but for the Gulf Coast as a whole and thus the nation it would be the only right thing to do in the face of global warming and rising sea level

[Quakerfriend]

1. Amen! It's about time to start thinking this way!

Did you hear the environmentalist on CNN about an hour ago?

He said the levees are what has caused NO to be below sea level. Without normal silt deposit the land just keeps on sinking behind the levees!!

[tk2kewl]

4. yeah, i did catch that

i used to work as an environmental scientist in a planning dept in a coastal municipality on L.I. We used to talk about how the government should condemn all of the multi-million dollar homes along the cost and raze them.

the long term (50-75 yr) cost benefit analysis would probably be favorable when you look at federal flood insurance payouts and constantly trying to prevent the dynamic geologic processes of barrier islands and ocean beaches with structures and pumping sand up onto the beach from offshore

[Eloriel]

2. Definitely has merit. n/t

[tk2kewl]

6. It beats the hell out of spending all our tax dollars on killing people

with our war machine

[Don Claybrook]

3. Calculate the odds of Bush EVER doing environmental restoration

Especially when it costs untold tens of billions of dollars. Great idea, but we have a sociopath at the helm.

[tk2kewl]

5. environmentalists have been calling for this for decades

it is the only way not to repeat this disaster sometime in the next decade of two. this needs to make it into the mainstream discussions about the response to this disaster

[tk2kewl]

7. .

[The River]

8. During The Great Flood of 1927

New Orleans made a decision which layed the
foundation of the present day disaster.

"As the flood approached New Orleans, Louisiana 30 tons of dynamite were set off on the levee at Caernarvon, Louisiana and sent 250,000 ft³/s (7,000 m³/s) of water pouring through. This prevented New Orleans from experiencing serious damage but destroyed much of the marsh below the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mississippi_Flood_of_1927

This destruction of the wetlands diminished protection from hurricanes
coming off the Gulf.
Returning it to a natural state is a good idea...but one that won't be followed.

[tk2kewl]

10. the understanding of natural hydrology wasn't as deep

and didn't have the same widespread recognition it does today. this really needs to be part of the national debate. i agree it will not be followed to the degree necessary, i just hope it is at least made a small part of the plan

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. But Bush has to restore the marshes

in Iraq first.

[tk2kewl]

11. .