Why Rebuild and Protect the City of New Orleans?
The Port of New Orleans is the largest in the US and the fourth largest in the world. 62% of the consumer-spending public in the U.S. receive their goods through the Port. Founded 289 years ago on high ground along the Mississippi River, the city was originally 125 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Sadly for the City, the unintended consequences of engineering decisions that benefited the rest of the nation greatly increased the vulnerability of the region. Dams and flood control structures north of New Orleans have starved Louisiana of land building sediment. Also, 10,000 miles of navigation canals dug into Louisiana coastal wetlands for oil and gas exploration have damaged or killed the state’s natural barriers to storm surge. But environmentalists and business interests agree that this is reversible and cost-feasible. With proper coastal management and a robust commitment from the Corps and Congress, New Orleans levees can and should be rebuilt.
