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In
the aftermath of Gustav and in the days before Hanna, Ike and
Josephine, I am in a reflective mood. I have been pondering the
futility of arguing with Mother Nature.
Our
local officials and tourist business leaders have been voicing their
concerns over the affects of the erosive process of high tidal action
caused by our latest visitor, Gustav. New Orleans officials continue to
wring their hands on the sufficiency of the levee system, even after
Billions of dollars of repairs.
All
of that got me to thinking. What we really need here in Bay County is a
ten foot high levee wall that runs from St. Andrew Park out to
Carillon. The wall placement should be at the current high tide mark on
our beach. Now hear me out. This is one bit of genius that will solve a
variety of problems. Instead of spending millions of dollars
year-over-year to re-nourish a washed out beach, we could spend one big
chunky billions of dollars for a once-and-for-all fix.
A
ten foot high wall will protect our beautiful sand beaches by
eliminating the affects of erosion. A ten foot high levee will keep
swimmers out of the surf on double red flag days, thereby eliminating
the hazard of drowning. Beach police and sheriffs officers won't have
to worry about ticketing anyone and they will be able to focus on real
crime in our community. The TDC can, with just a bit of rework to their
advertising, market the "World's most beautiful breaches". You
see the levee wall could have a movable gate every half mile or so and
provide a "breach" in the system for people who have an absolute need
to get to the water, like for the triathlons and other such attractions.
Now
doesn't all this make sense to you? After all, if a multi-billion
dollar levee system works for a whole city that insists on living below
sea level, wouldn't such a system surely make sense for us?
Of
course I have been speaking with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek.
I am not without compassion for those suffering in New Orleans. I spent
a week there two years ago helping clean out three homes to get them
ready for a total refurbishment. The devastation there is extensive. I
was expecting a bad situation, but my wildest imaginations did not
prepare me for the reality of such a destructive scene. Nevertheless I
am compelled to ask the question. Should we be spending so much time
and effort attempting to restore neighborhoods in an area prone to such
destruction at the hands of nature? Or maybe the best solution for New
Orleans is for the Federal Government to buy up all of the flood prone
property surrounding New Orleans and make it into a park. If the Feds
insist on spending billions there to restore a system that under the
best circumstances will lose its argument with Mother Nature in a
category 4 hurricane, wouldn't they be better off spending those
billions in a once-and-for-all solution and abandon the lunacy of
levees?
In
my humble opinion, the Army Corps of Engineers may be winning a few
short term skirmishes, but the war to force the Mississippi river, Lake Pontchartrain,
and the Louisiana Delta area, to cooperate with mankind, especially in
hurricane conditions, will ultimately be lost. History has taught us
that, but vanity and the belief that man can control Mother Nature, are
hard things to overcome.
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