It's my opinion, you don't have to like it.
I'm listening to NPR's Talk of the Nation right now, and they're discussing weather or not certain neighborhoods in New Orleans should be rebuilt or not. Most of the neighborhoods in discussion are quite a bit below sea-level and were damaged quite badly from flooding when the levees broke.
There was a professor on first saying that the very low lying areas should be re-converted to wetlands in order to act as a sponge incase something like this were to happen again. Of course this is getting some angry calls in from listeners saying that if it was his neighborhood that was being put under the ax that he would have a different opinion on the matter.
Personally, I think that it's not a bad idea. I recall listening to the news shortly after Rita hit Texas and hearing this description (slightly paraphrased as I don't recall the exact wording): The areas along the coast that were built up were a waste land; dirty water everywhere, broken shells of buildings, very little life to be seen. And then the areas that were not developed were fine. The trees and vegetation were fine, as if nothing had happened.
Call me a bit of a tree-hugger, but I really think that you're asking for trouble when you start to dramatically change what nature has put into place. You start raising sheep in the mountains of Wyoming and the wolves and cougars start killing your sheep; well, you're in they're space. You live in California and your house falls down in an earthquake; you can't say that you didn't know it might happen. My father has helped the Red Cross in northern Minnesota building emergency sandbag levee's to protect small towns along the shore of the Red River when it over flowed its banks; but the towns were in the river's flood plain... why do you think they call it a flood plain? Well, because that's where the water goes when there is a greater than average amount of melt-off in the spring.
I'm perfectly aware that really, no matter where you go you're at risk of some sort of natural disaster, it may be a tornado, a flood, an earthquake, a wild fire, or a volcano. But I wonder how much you can really scream and shout about losing your home to a natural disaster, when mankind has come in and removed the Earth's natural protections, just so they can build a house there.
There was a professor on first saying that the very low lying areas should be re-converted to wetlands in order to act as a sponge incase something like this were to happen again. Of course this is getting some angry calls in from listeners saying that if it was his neighborhood that was being put under the ax that he would have a different opinion on the matter.
Personally, I think that it's not a bad idea. I recall listening to the news shortly after Rita hit Texas and hearing this description (slightly paraphrased as I don't recall the exact wording): The areas along the coast that were built up were a waste land; dirty water everywhere, broken shells of buildings, very little life to be seen. And then the areas that were not developed were fine. The trees and vegetation were fine, as if nothing had happened.
Call me a bit of a tree-hugger, but I really think that you're asking for trouble when you start to dramatically change what nature has put into place. You start raising sheep in the mountains of Wyoming and the wolves and cougars start killing your sheep; well, you're in they're space. You live in California and your house falls down in an earthquake; you can't say that you didn't know it might happen. My father has helped the Red Cross in northern Minnesota building emergency sandbag levee's to protect small towns along the shore of the Red River when it over flowed its banks; but the towns were in the river's flood plain... why do you think they call it a flood plain? Well, because that's where the water goes when there is a greater than average amount of melt-off in the spring.
I'm perfectly aware that really, no matter where you go you're at risk of some sort of natural disaster, it may be a tornado, a flood, an earthquake, a wild fire, or a volcano. But I wonder how much you can really scream and shout about losing your home to a natural disaster, when mankind has come in and removed the Earth's natural protections, just so they can build a house there.