Future of New Orleans: Bright

[donsutherland1]

As New Orleans continued to struggle with the catastrophe brought on by Hurricane Katrina, a legion of pessimists led by such prominent figures as House Speaker Dennis Hastert, were in a morbid race to write the stricken city's obituary. Each, it appeared, wanted to be the first to confirm the death of New Orleans.

While the city is seriously ill in the aftermath of Katrina's devastating blow, it is far from dead. All one has to do is go back to the historical experience.

In April 1906, San Francisco was smashed by a powerful earthquake and fire that resulted afterward. Looting broke out. An unconscious 20-year-old woman's finger was cut off for her ring. The city was a smoldering ruins.

In August 1945, in the wake of the atomic bombs, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were decimated, radioactive wasteland.

Yet, one thing was absent. The "Apocalypse Now" crowd had not gathered. In the years that followed, one saw the triumph of humanity over adversity. Bold leaders took charge and the pulverized cities sprung to life anew.

In the weeks and months ahead, that experience--actual real-life experience--not the latest "Chicken Little" prophecies will have far more to say than those who are lost in the fog of their pessimism.

But, cynics such as Hugh B. Kaufman protest, "There is not enough money in the gross national product of the United States to dispose of the amount of hazardous material in the area." Again, history has a more than adequate refutation.

The radioactive waste that covered Hiroshima and Nagasaki was magnitudes of order greater than the far less deadly stew that will cover New Orleans. Japan's economy was nothing compared to what it is today, much less the 21st century American economy. Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not wither and die. Neither will New Orleans.

Moreover, the EPA's Hugh Kaufman--a modern-day Thomas Mathus--will be confounded in the months ahead when the toxic waste issue in New Orleans is addressed--and addressed without breaking the U.S. economy.

Today, tomorrow, and perhaps for many days, the pessimists and timid souls will continue to sing their mournful dirge of despair and bold doers go about with the rescue and recovery operation. This crowd will see only the falling sky.

But they won't have the final say. In the end, history will have the last word and it will be anything but what the pessimists expect. It will be a future in which the timid souls are too fearful to believe.

In its current state, one might be hard-pressed to find hope. However, one should not let the pessimists and timid souls mislead them to believe that the future of New Orleans is bleak.

As has happened so often in the past, the pessimists and timid souls will be left mourning yet another gloomy prophecy that failed to materialize. The sky will have fallen, but only on their dismal predictions. They do not understand human nature. They do not understand the human spirit. Thus, they are proved wrong over and over again. New Orleans will be just the next example of their futility.

New Orleans will have risen anew. It will again be a glittering city full of life and culture. This time, it will be protected by an effective seawall.

Clearly, some might state that my outlook is "unrealistic." Let them. History has backed outlooks founded in such reasonable optimism before. It has done so repeatedly. History is a powerful ally. So, not only is my outlook optimistic, it is one in which I have a good degree of confidence.

[dwg71]

If NOLA can handle the Saints they can handle Katrina.

[birdwomn]

If NOLA can handle the Saints they can handle Katrina.

ROTFLMAO

ok, after that beautiful bit of prose by don....you boil it all down to football teams!

Thanks so much for the smile in these dark days!

[sponger]

Thanks for the dose of optimisim Don! We all hope history proves you right!

[jpigott]

here's a little history also - Galveston - was going to be the diamond jewel of the south until the "big one" hit, never quite got rebuilt the way it was intended to. Folks, here is the cold truth of the matter; rebuilding NO is an exercise in futility UNLESS this govt sinks some serious $$$ into re-engineering the levee system to withstand a dead on hit from a CAT5. Whether it be this year, next year, 10 years or 100 years down the road NO will be impacted by other hurricanes and if there is not the proper levee system in place this will happen all over again.
I have mixed feelings about the future of NO, half of me says "we're Americans, we shouldn't just abandon one of our most culturally colorful cities." The other half says we really need to think this all the way thru. There have been enviormentalist for years that have said NO's very existence is ruining the LA delta b/c of how the waterways have been manipulated to allow for NO's being there.

[OtherHD]

here's a little history also - Galveston - was going to be the diamond jewel of the south until the "big one" hit, never quite got rebuilt the way it was intended to. Folks, here is the cold truth of the matter; rebuilding NO is an exercise in futility UNLESS this govt sinks some serious $$$ into re-engineering the levee system to withstand a dead on hit from a CAT5. Whether it be this year, next year, 10 years or 100 years down the road NO will be impacted by other hurricanes and if there is not the proper levee system in place this will happen all over again.
I have mixed feelings about the future of NO, half of me says "we're Americans, we shouldn't just abandon one of our most culturally colorful cities." The other half says we really need to think this all the way thru. There have been enviormentalist for years that have said NO's very existence is ruining the LA delta b/c of how the waterways have been manipulated to allow for NO's being there.

Bingo! Common sense has to prevail over pie in the sky can-do-ism. Don't rebuild. Let's learn from our mistakes.

[vbhoutex]

here's a little history also - Galveston - was going to be the diamond jewel of the south until the "big one" hit, never quite got rebuilt the way it was intended to. Folks, here is the cold truth of the matter; rebuilding NO is an exercise in futility UNLESS this govt sinks some serious $$$ into re-engineering the levee system to withstand a dead on hit from a CAT5. Whether it be this year, next year, 10 years or 100 years down the road NO will be impacted by other hurricanes and if there is not the proper levee system in place this will happen all over again.
I have mixed feelings about the future of NO, half of me says "we're Americans, we shouldn't just abandon one of our most culturally colorful cities." The other half says we really need to think this all the way thru. There have been enviormentalist for years that have said NO's very existence is ruining the LA delta b/c of how the waterways have been manipulated to allow for NO's being there.

Bingo! Common sense has to prevail over pie in the sky can-do-ism. Don't rebuild. Let's learn from our mistakes.

I agree and disagree here. It is easy for us to sit here and say don't rebuild. We aren't homeless, without jobs, etc. like some of our very own members are. If NO is all you have ever known, whether it has been a wonderful experience or not(previously), it is not a simple matter of leaving it all behind and moving elsewhere. One thing we all can agree on is the fact that no matter what, unfortunately, NO will never be the same. That makes me sad because I have lots of fond memories of good times in NO with both friends and family.

Yet, as stated, common sense tells me that it might be smarter to move on. Somewhere in all of this there has got to be a common ground.

As always Don EXCELLENT POST!!!

[OtherHD]

I agree and disagree here. It is easy for us to sit here and say don't rebuild. We aren't homeless, without jobs, etc. like some of our very own members are. If NO is all you have ever known, whether it has been a wonderful experience or not(previously), it is not a simple matter of leaving it all behind and moving elsewhere. One thing we all can agree on is the fact that no matter what, unfortunately, NO will never be the same. That makes me sad because I have lots of fond memories of good times in NO with both friends and family.

Yet, as stated, common sense tells me that it might be smarter to move on. Somewhere in all of this there has got to be a common ground.

As always Don EXCELLENT POST!!!

David, the people of NO have already lost everything. Whether they go back there to rebuild or not they will be in the same position. There's absolutely no point in having this same exact thing (or worse) happen in the future.

[OtherHD]

Of course, the levees could be improved drastically in order to protect the city from the surge of a cat 5, in which case I'd say rebuild. Either way it would take years for this process to begin in earnest.

[Mesohunter]

you're missing one big thing between your examples and New Orleans.

With the flooding, the city is sitting in a toxic stew. everything, every building... will have to be torn down. the soil will be toxic, the EPA will probably not allow the soil to remain, so in addition to rebuilding the levees and other drainage systems, the entire water and power infrastructure would have to be rebuilt from the ground up.

keep in mind the city water/elec systems 100 years ago are incredibly simplistic compared to modern day systems.

the cost is going to be incredible... we're talking trillions. yes, trillions when it comes to a final total. why so high? add in rebuilding utilities, buildings, food, records, the levee system, geological work, rebuilding the rest of the coast, cleaning out the contamination of the lake and river, attracting people, and whatever else needs to be done.

[mascpa]

Don't forget the Chicago fire and the Johnstown flood. New Orleans will be rebuilt.

[HurriCat]

Let's just keep pouring tens of billions into a city that can be destroyed over and over.

Sorry, but who can say that this exact area won't take a similar or even stronger hit THIS season?

For cryin' out loud - "it" finally happened, and a lot of people just want to set the pins back up for the next tropical bowling ball. And don't argue - look at the earlier activity this year - they seem to flow right up in there.

I know: I might as well be fiddlin' in the wind.

Rebuild and maybe sooner than we think, we'll be here again - same city, same victims and same pointless arguing.

We-are-so-smart... S-M-R-uh--A-R-T

[Liberty30]

Don't forget the Chicago fire and the Johnstown flood. New Orleans will be rebuilt.

I agree, but certainly not to the level it was once at. (For one, they will have to use land for the re-engineering of the city to protect it from the water.) It WILL be rebuilt, and it will not be a ghost town, but it will not be rebuilt to the same levels as San Francisco, nor will it be done anytime soon. A better case than Galveston, but less than San Francisco, perhaps becoming something along the lines of a Mobile, Alabama. While this is good news, and better than some say, unfortunately it is certainly not a bright future of a city better than ever.

[NFLnut]

What I can't understand is why after Hurricane Betsy did they decide to just build a levee system which would only survive a Cat3?! I understand that it would have cost a lot more, but it would have actually cost MUCH less had they done so then, than now!

[vbhoutex]

you're missing one big thing between your examples and New Orleans.

With the flooding, the city is sitting in a toxic stew. everything, every building... will have to be torn down. the soil will be toxic, the EPA will probably not allow the soil to remain, so in addition to rebuilding the levees and other drainage systems, the entire water and power infrastructure would have to be rebuilt from the ground up.

keep in mind the city water/elec systems 100 years ago are incredibly simplistic compared to modern day systems.

the cost is going to be incredible... we're talking trillions. yes, trillions when it comes to a final total. why so high? add in rebuilding utilities, buildings, food, records, the levee system, geological work, rebuilding the rest of the coast, cleaning out the contamination of the lake and river, attracting people, and whatever else needs to be done.

Some very good points here. However, it doesn't matter if we rebuild NO here or on the Northshore or wherever. IT WILL COST TRILLIONS. The only way it won't cost trillions is for us to allow all of the displaced citizenry of NO to fend for themselves without assistance and be absorbed into the population of other cities all over the country and even that will cost billions of dollars unless we just walk out of NO and leave it like it is right now and do nothing else. There are no easy or necessarily good solutions the this tragedy.

[donsutherland1]

Jpigott,

A big factor that stunted Galveston's post-hurricane growth was that oil was discovered near Houston. That changed the whole dynamics of how the region evolved.

[Cookiely]

Can't we learn from our mistakes and not rebuild on the coastal areas already destroyed. Why reinvest trillions which could be destroyed next year. It just doesn't make sense or cents. Emotionally I realize what home means to people but with the number of storms we are anticipating in the next decade its not logical. I am so sad I can't begin to share the feelings. Nothing affects me more than seeing a home destroyed.

[DoctorHurricane2003]

rebuild on the North Shore...

I'm starting to wonder how many times I will say that...lol

[donsutherland1]

Mesohunter,

I disagree with the idea that it will cost trillions of dollars to rebuild New Orleans. Much of the downtown commercial district will not have to be torn down. In contrast, all of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by the atomic blasts. The rebuilding there was a much larger task than what will be entailed in New Orleans.

[jpigott]

Jpigott,

A big factor that stunted Galveston's post-hurricane growth was that oil was discovered near Houston. That changed the whole dynamics of how the region evolved.

true, and perhaps a big factor in the re-building of NO will be they finally discover the northshore of Lake Pontratrane(sp) isn't as prone to flooding as the southshore. I'm sorry, but unless the levee system in NO is completely revamped it makes ZERO SENSE to reinhabit NO for this all to happen again down the road