BINGO.

The original explorers attempted to build elsewhere but could not. The first high ground is the bluffs at Baton Rouge (where the Choctaw had set up a big red stick, hence the name).

New Orleans was and is THE major trans-shipment point that links the heartland of this entire continent with ocean freight. That was true during the time of the keel boats. It was true during the time of the steam boats. It is still true, even after the huge movements of freight to trains and later to highway trucks.

There is just no place to get river freight to the Gulf that is any better.

Then there is the oil, the refineries, and the chemical plants (that use oil) that Red baron mentioned.

NoLA is much more easily defended than much of Japan and almost all of the Netherlands. We simply have not invested like they did to protect the low lying areas. Instead, we allowed oil exploration to chop the protecting wetlands up into little pieces that wash away, we channelized the Miss. River and prevented it from depositing silt and sand below the city and a lot of other mistakes.

There are certainly areas (E. NO) that are pretty problematical but were urbanized anyway (they are generally the last parts of the city to be urbanized, dating from the 1960s not the 1760s...). The City needs to contract its footprint a bit and that is highly likely.

If we are smart, we will also protect the culture of this unique place too.

Better look at the history of your own locale and see if it has any natural dangers. Nearly everyplace I know of does.

And, Rick, IF you want knowledge ---


I will give you a reading list for new Orleans and FOR Penn. Just let me know.

Well, you'd better call all the major networks and advise them, cause they've got cameras pointed at the "flood walls" and are telling us they're levees...

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The major networks are staffed by morons. They say whatever makes the situation sound more dire. If you want to see me pissed off, wait until the next incident involving an aircraft that the major networks report on. As an aero engineer, I can typically identify blatant errors or flat-out lies in most of the coverage. Of course, you have to support the "TERROR IN THE SKIES" banner they put on the screen.:rolleyes: I hate the media.

Man was not meant to fly.

I also just love it wehn APCs and armored howitzers are called "tanks."

oh well....

any of you have dealt with the media have seen some of the problems

I've dealt with them as both scientist and attorney. And from top to bottom -- from the NY Times to some little rag in Hellhole nevada. The better ones ARE better but not one of them seems to have any technical training at all.

I heard they just reported the moon is made of cream cheese too, and since the media is NEVER wrong, that must be correct.

George Bush hates floodwalls.

Thanks for the explanation.

Do they do anything any other way?

Sad but true.

I heard a reporter refer to an "OIL FREIGHTER" yesterday

Well...let's do a search of all your past threads where you've quoted/commented on news reports. Then we'll disect each & every one of them as to accuracy...mmm-kay?

I'm just making a point. The levees (or floodwalls, or both) were not "breached".

Sorry I opened my mouth in defense of the scum-hole that y'all call New Orleans. If I had my way, we'd put barbed wire on top of the FLOODWALLS to keep all its citizens contained.

:p

Oh, BTW folks -- a levee is shaped like an upside down "V" and is made of "dirt" - a little more complicated than that but you get the idea. THe type of fill ("dirt") can be very very critical however.

The answer to who owns levees is incredibly complicated - but boils down to anybody and everybody -- in Louisiana.

Then there are natural levees and... of course artificial ones.

hey Danny -- I snuck out befo' you got yo barb wiya up.

Be careful now, I doan wanna have to come lookin for ya and stuff you full of dirty rice.

You can find scum everywhere.

Search whatever threads you want..mmm-kay. However you're the one that told me I needed to advise the news covering the story based on them calling it a levee. Either way, sorry to wad up your laced panties so bad by pointing out you were looking at flood walls.

FWIW I hear people confusing the Port of New Orleans with the City of New Orleans alot. At least to this dang yankee they sound confused. Many northerners hear "NOLA" they think "french quarter". NEVER the Port. I know I made that same mistake before visiting the area for business. This jerzey boy knows,and appreciates the difference between the two. And yes, I do wish tax dollars were more wisely spent, and accounted for.

Does anyone have any good books that they could recommend on the area? I would love to read some factual history about this.

Steve

"The World that Made New Orleans" is a good start. It's all pre 1819 history of the city and how it was formed.

It's a city very rich in history so there is no shortage of info out there.

The city is fine!