Why We Should Rebuild New Orleans Sept. 2005
I spoke with someone last night who stated that she did not believe we should rebuild New Orleans because it is below sea level. I completely disagree with that opinion. I like to take an argument and pursue it to the logical end, from my perspective of course.
I have never visited New Orleans. The lure of Mardi Gras has never really snared me. Although I always thought the spicy Cajun food, beignets and strong coffee along with the historic homes and gardens would be lovely to experience someday. Like all great American cities, New Orleans is unique and has it's own beauty.
First, Hurricane Katrina and now Hurricane Rita have devastated this wonderful city of New Orleans. The true depth of the destruction is not even known yet. However, I submit that it is irrelevant. I do not believe that empathy is necessary to understand why New Orleans should be rebuilt.
Peter and I have visited Amsterdam, Holland which is below sea level. Amsterdam, like New Orleans, is known as a city with a wide mix of activities. Many people assume that Amsterdam is nothing but a hotbed of sex, drugs and other illicit activities. Although questionable forms of entertainment are available, Amsterdam is a beautiful, historic city that is home to some of the finest museums in the world and one of the oldest international ports on the planet. They have a floating flower market with flowers I have never seen before or since, a cheese market that is simply an olfactory smorgasbord, and lighted canals along most streets. It is a lovely place to visit, like (from what I have been told) New Orleans.
Amsterdam has suffered through floods but devotes a substantial amount of money to their canals, levees and protective systems. It is possible to have a highly populated city that sits below sea level survive floods and flourish for centuries. Officials from the United States would be well-served by consulting experts from cities like Amsterdam for help in rebuilding New Orleans in a way that is safe for the residents.
In addition to the rebuilding and protective technicalities, the argument that a flooded New Orleans will inevitably happen again so do not rebuild it, is specious at best. If I follow that logic the Outer Banks of the Carolinas should be abandoned after the next hurricane, the coast of California should be abandoned after the next earthquake, drought or landslide, Buffalo should be abandoned after the next blizzard, Oklahoma should be abandoned after the next wave of tornadoes, Galveston should be abandoned if Hurricane Rita blasts it, and I could go on, including Ohio which sits next to a fault line that sooner or later will give us a big earthquake. Mother Nature will not stop effecting the environment, that is a fact of life.
The truth is that ignoring the balance of natural, undeveloped land and developed land will exacerbate natural disasters. Some of the wetlands in Louisiana and Florida have been reclassified and developed. Simply calling a wetland something else does not mean it is not a wetland, just like calling a jungle a rainforest does not mean it is not a jungle. Let's stop playing semantics and look at the bare facts of what developing all available land can do to the existing residential areas. God (in my opinion) created the finest self-balancing system of life. Anyone who has created a pond or lake knows that if you follow the basic laws of nature (the ones I believe God set up,) the water source will self-sustain. To me, that is not only amazing and wonderful, but a miracle.
When I build a backyard pond, if I ignore basic laws of nature and introduce too many or too few predators, unnatural chemicals, or build in a bad location, the pond will fail and die. The same rules apply to developing cities and residential areas. Many landslides are the result of removing too many trees from nearby hillsides. Developing wetlands eliminates natural pathways for excess water to flow in the case of floods. Buildings in earthquake-prone areas should be built to withstand most quakes.
In addition to using our intellect to anticipate natural disasters and provide safety systems, we need to learn and operate within the natural laws in existence in our environment. New Orleans should be rebuilt because we can accomplish this goal and preserve a unique and beautiful American city. If Holland can do it, nothing should stop us!