Rita proof that New Orleans should not be rebuilt

The hurricane forecastors have been saying since last year we are entering a phase that could last 20-45 years (depending on which once you listen to) of active hurricanes.

Can we really afford to rebuild New Orleans over and over again in its present state??

In the end it really doesn't matter how we got here, whose fault it is that New Orleans is how it is. Where do we go from here??

The Gulf of Mexico is a hotbed for hurricane formation and the strengthening of hurricanes that move into that area because the water in the Gulf is really like bath water its so warm. Anyplace on the Gulf is at risk regardless of the level above sea level, however with the fact that New Orleans is below sea level they will get it worse then anyplace else, over and over again.

I know the levees were a temporary fix but lets remember that Rita was only a category 3 by the time it hit New Orleans area, and it wasn't even a direct hit. This could happen yearly for 20 years !!!

I think the area should be filled in to raise the level of the ground. Some solution has to be found, we can't let people die over and over again. We can't have the government rebuilding this bowl of disaster over and over again. We can't afford that.

Rita could have so easily been a category 5, think of the disaster if it had been.

I hope and pray that the people of New Orleans move to higher ground on their own and don't put themselves in harms way again. Knowing what I do now about New Orleans, I don't think I could even visit there without feeling some anxiety about my own safety.

Of course Rita is proof that NO should not be rebuilt, but do you think anyone's going to heed nature's warning? People are complete, headless retards. They'll storm right back in and rebuild. Fuck, they already signed the contracts. People will want their homes back, then they'll want the stores and the entertainment and soon enough the whole cespool will be on its feet again. Everyone will forget about the horror, the loss, the violence, the rape, the unsanitary every-damn-thing. Until the next hurricane comes along and sweeps them right back onto their asses. I sincerely hope it does.

I felt bad for them this time; people don't have the capacity to monitor their population and thus live only in safe areas, or to ignore the lure of a famous city or a scenic view or anything else they desire, even when it's entirely counter-productive to live there. Next time, they'll have no sympathy from me. Learn your lesson or you deserve to die; that's how it would be if we were actually part of nature, that's how it needs to be before people are exterminated. (A day I truly wish I get to see.)

In an interesting aside, Nostradamus (sp) predicted that our doom is on the way in the form of a massive drought. Seems we environmentalists aren't concerned over nothing--this tattered ozone layer, global warming, destruction of ecosystems rubbish we've been harping about. Maybe you'll listen to us next time. On the up side, he also predicted a time of universal peace to follow. I hope he's right.

I am deeply sorry for the people who have lost homes, businesses and loved ones in Katrina. That said, rebuilding New Orleans is a huge waste of time, money and effort. The last estimate I heard was somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 billion. Why? What do we, as a country, have to gain by pouring that much money into rebuilding New Orleans?

The major port for generic oil supply. The most popular destination for tourists in the south. The birthplace of R&Blues. The hub of Jazz. I dunno.

Why rebuild?

Holland is built on similar topographics. New Orleans has stood for how long now? You're gonna let a little old storm tell you what you can and can't do?

The French quarter is high and dry. As if letting the squalid quarter fester is gonna close the money-making part of town.

Oh, and the cost is two hundred billion? Chicken feed. Suck some funding out of the reconstruction of someone else's god-forsaken land.

Darwin in Austalia's north was flattened on Christmas morning 1974 by cyclone Tracy. 98 % of housing was destroyed. Did we walk away?

Darwin is a thriving port City today. We rebuilt it. Stronger.

More resistant to old mother nature.

Have some fucking faith.

Why rebuild? The French Quarter, which is only a small part of the city, is on higher ground. If it were a question of only preserving that area because of historical/tourism reasons, I'd have no problem. But, for emotional and political reasons the government is going to allocate a couple of hundred billlion dollars to rebuild the entire city. For practical and financial reasons, I think it's a waste.

New Orleans is 7-10 feet below sea level. For various reaons, including the fact that it is a major port for oil, it will continue to sink. Geographically, New Orleans has been on borrowed time for decades. Time simply ran out with Katrina.

The Army Corp of Engineers has stated that they will only be able to bring the levees to Catagory 3 strength by 2006 hurricane season. Katrina was a catagory 5. So what happens if a cat 4 or another 5 hits next year?