I recall reading well before our recent New Orleans disaster, -how this City, -below Sea Level, -was so prone to exactly the disaster which has now occurred. (Refer also to the October 2001 Scientific American Article mentioned in another post.).

Metro wide Emergency Preparedness should have included for one thing, -a good supply of Rafts, Boats, etc. (Of course such would have to be well secured from the preceeding Hurricane itself.).

Variously Prepared or No, -What has unfortunately occurred, has now occurred.

I've now heard talk rangeing from eventually Rebuilding New Orleans, -to abandoning it, -calling it a Loss.

The latter is Not an option, -unless the matter absolutely cannot be helped.

America and Americans do Not give up and in!, -just like that! Had a Hurricane obliberated Her say sometime in the 1800s, -She'd have sooner or later, -more like sooner, -Bounced Right Back! Chicago's Recovery from it's Great Fire of those times, -is just one example along such lines. London as well. As with they, -New Orlean's Spirit Lives On!, -it doesn't just go out like a Candle, Light Switch, etc. It's Fitting and Behooved of U.S. to Couple this Spirit of Her's, -with it's Tangible Reconstruction and Recovery.

This will of course take some Time, -and not be Cheap or Easy.

But as with NYC only 4 years ago as regards 9 -11, -We Don't just chuck off, and let our own Special Things or People Down, -just because someone else, -or something else, -does.

I've long had a small but Definite Yen, -to someday go to New Orleans, -and Check Out and Experience Her for myself! (Though NOT at Mardi Gras Time !!!, and all that Disordered Craziness! ) I've never yet been able to do so. Now, when or if I ever do, -She and the Experience will not be the Same. Even at Her Hopefully Recovered Best!

So towards this End Goal of Her Reconstruction and Recovery, -and to all extents Realistically Feasable over time, -I suggest that we "Fill Her Up". To literally Fill this Below Sea Level Bowl *Up* to Sea Level (at least), or Better. To so bring in Rock, Soil, Dirt, and whatnot, -from elsewhere. Fill the "Watersump" in, Eliminate that nagging Possibility and Problem, -and so Rebuild our City on the Gulf!

I am not talking of doing so in it's rather few, Higher Elevated, *Non* Flooded Areas, -I am not advocating doing any of this, -to any extent that it may be Unrealistically or Otherwise Unfeasable.

But to Any and All Extents that it CAN be Feasably Done, -Let's come to Rebuild our New Orleans so!

DON'T make the same Mistake again, -and Rebuild Her in the Bottom of the Same Old Bowl! (That's one Wrong Thing our 1800s Forefathers would have been somewhat likely to do!). No!, Fill Her Up! And only *then* go about a Good Ole Standard Reconstruction. That's what my "Fill Her Up" Proposal, is all about.

Of course, -there comes a point where the more you fill, -the Greater Weight can cause more of a Sink. Let's judiciously work out the Best Arrangement possible there, then.

And again, -"Don't just Write Her Off!, -Just like That!", -either! We owe both New Orleans and Ourselves, -More and Better than that!

On "Another" but related matter, -I Realize that there is Plenty More than just New Orleans Alone, -involved here. There's Biloxi, Gulfport, Mobile, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Cajun Country and the Bayou, the New Orleans Suburbs (I wonder how many *More* People than NO's Half a Million *This* is?!), -and a Thousand or more Small Towns, and who knows how many Isolated Country Folk!, -are *Also* Seriously and Adversely Affected. This in No Way Minimizes or Negates New Orlean's Misfortune and Disaster, -but it is to say that She is not the only one to tragically receive such. Let's of course Work toward *All* their Relief and Recovery, as well!

They too *are* also in the Hearts and Minds of many. Good and Great! But just a Friendly Reminder to Any of whose it may Not so much be!, -under an Understandable Enough New Orleans "Eclipse".

To the extent Realistically Possible and Economically Feasable, -Let U.S., over time, -Rebuild and Revitalize *Both* New Orleans and the Rest of the Affected Gulf, -in a Far Better and Prepared Way, -than Before!

One of the First things to do along such lines, -is to Fill such Low Lying Bowls and Saucers, -Up.

OK, -We Can't and Shouldn't do so toward the whole Bayou Wetland. But maybe we *Can* Come to do so, -as regards the New Orleans Basin. [color:"black"] [/color] [email]ScottRezaLogan[/email]

I think the amount of fill required to do that would make the project much too expensive to be realized. Plus I think it would be difficult to build a city on so much new fill.

Major changes will have to be made to New Orleans if rebuilding is to be accomplished, but I think it will come in the form of new and/or reinforced levees. Even that is going to be monstrously expensive, and no guarantee that this won't happen again.

Like you, I wish I had gone down there one of the times I thought about it before. I had several chances to go to Mardi Gras, but that's not my idea of fun either.

It would take a lot of fill and I do not know if that would work or not.

However, the idea is not as strange as one might think. In 1900 a major hurricane wiped out Galveston, TX. To rebuild Galveston, they jacked up many of the remaining houses and dredged sand from the shipping channel to build up the city. It took over 16 million cubic yards. In some areas of the town the level was raised by over 10 feet.

I do not know if such a thing would be practical or possible around NO with different soil and river/lake conditions. But, if you want to see a good example of how a city was able to recover from a major storm event, check out the 1900 storm in Galveston.

The book "Isaac's Storm" tells the story of the storm and the weatherman Isaac Cline. An interesting read in light of recent events.

My sister currently lives in Galveston -- actually, on Tiki Island, between Galveston Island & the mainland -- and when I went to a bookstore on my last visit, I was amazed at the number of books on the 1900 hurricane. The local newspaper has a short summary of the 1900 storm (and the city's recovery) in today's online edition. But at that time Galveston was the biggest port and biggest center of business in Texas ... and it lost its pre-eminence to Houston largely as a result of the 1900 hurricane. Not a good omen for New Orleans.

Whatever happened to all those barges of trash that were flaoting around because no one wanted them. NO could easily tell all the big cities "pay us $$ toget rid of your garbage" and then dump it all in the lowest points of the city and cover with dirt and compact, then everyone would be happy <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

As I understand it, having a class in natural resources, the majority of the city of New Orleans is built on top of marshland. Marshland will continue to sink over time due to decay of the plant material that it is mainly composed of. Even if they did build it up, it would immediately start compressing the marshland soil underneath and start sinking again. I don't think they would be able to keep it from sinking. Also I read where Houston is sinking faster than New Orleans ever thought about sinking.

If it's going to sink, gradual is best. This central florida thing where you come home from work and find your house at the bottom of a 50ft hole is scary.

Good One there!, Eugene. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Eugene[/email]

To both Paul D. and all other Readers / Responders to this Thread,-

A few thoughts Tugged and Bugged at me, -as I walked home after making my original post.

They can perhaps be summed up in "Sensitivity", "Scaled Down Fillings and Reconstruction", and "1800'ers (while certainly Rebuilding their City) Couldn't have Done the Fill In".

Sensitivity, -I was concerned with how I might be Coming Across, -so close to their Time of Need. But I did and do mean it as a Constructive Proposal towards their Present to Longer Term Recovery.

Scaled Down Reconstruction and Fill In,- If X amount of my Proposal turns out to be too Economically or otherwise Unfeasable to do, -then it can be Scaled Back and Down. Smaller Sections of the City and Basin so Filled in. Restoration and Strengthening of the Levees, Floodwalls, etc, already in place.

And our Good Ole Pioneering 1800's Forefathers Folk, -Great and Quick at Rebuilding their City as they would have been!, -Didn't have it in their Capability to implement a Metrowide and Basinwide Fill In, -as I think we just may be Capable of Today. 1800s'ers had the *Will* though in Spades! Do we?!

I knew I had committed "No High Crime", -and didn't so Sweat or Lose Sleep over it, -but they were Tugging and Nagging Little Concerns nonetheless. I Hope I've now Set any such possible matters Straight!

In any event, -I applaud our President's recent Reconstruction Speech and Resolve in and about New Orleans, -even if it does not involve my sort of Fill In, -but between everything on the current American Plate, -I sometimes really wonder where all the Money's gonna come from!

Money however in at least some Respects is No Object! Our New Orleans has to, -and in some Manner or Other Will, -Be Restored, Reconstructed, and Rebuilt!
[color:"black"] [/color] [email]Paul D[/email]

While I appreciate just about every post you've ever made on this forum, do you Really Have To Capitalize Every Other Word?? It's kind of annoying. Just in case no one's ever told you.