Should New Orleans be rebuilt? In addition to its economic importance as the largest U. S. port on the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans is rather an American cultural icon (think music). It has survived a whole bunch of hurricanes in the past, and if the desired levee repairs and improvements hadn't had their funding cut by Guess Who?, it may very well have survived Katrina. It was not that the possibility hadn't been anticipated, it was that New Oleanians' attempts to prepare for it were forestalled.

Take a good look at Holland. The land is flat, with over 25% of it below sea level, some areas almost 20 feet below. The balance of land averages only 37 feet above sea level. Much of the land that was once below sea level is today reclaimed and protected by 1,500 miles of dikes. With a well maintained system of dkes and pumps (the famous windmills), they've managed to get along nicely for centuries.

FYI.

Don Firth