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Comment Re:susceptible cities (Score 1) 486

Because New Orleans would have been easily able to survive this hurricane before mankind, and the Corps in particular, destroyed all the natural barriers that were protecting it. It's easy to say "people shouldn't live there" but in the 1800s it was as safe as any other city in the Southern border states.

Comment Re:What? (Score 4, Interesting) 486

You, like most people, are overlooking a few facts here. New Orleans used to be well inland and above sea level. A long series of environmentally disastrous policies lowered the water table, removed natural barriers, concentrated storm surges, and generally guaranteed that NO was a disaster waiting to happen.

Unfortunately the government and Army Corps aren't legally liable for severe technical malpractice and rank stupidity. This suit slips through a loophole in the legal immunity the government gave the Corps.

New Orleans could be saved. And the cost of abandoning a major city is immense, far more than building better hurricane defenses. Building better hurricane walls will cost far more than restoring wetlands, allowing the water table to recover, and re-engineering the waterways. Of course, the best/cheapest solution is probably the one least likely to be selected by our broken political process.

And the cheapest solution of all (short-term) is to blame the victim and do nothing. It's worked really well so far.

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