Da Poâ Boy said something in his blog yesterday that struck me as important:
People in Southeastern Louisiana have to be smart. If the government says, âWe will no longer protect you,â? then we canât rebuild in the same places. However, the government *can* protect us. They just wonât.
I think heâs right; the protection can happen. The jury is still out, though, on whether the government will or wonât deliver it.
Much of the paralysis surrounding the rebuilding decisions for New Orleans is rooted right here. If people arenât protected, then they canât rebuild in the same places. Sounds simple, yes?
Hereâs what keeps giving me indigestion:
Even if the government commits today to a levee system that encompasses all factors, including wetland restoration, it will take years to reach fruition.
Will it take five years? Ten? I donât know, but in those intervening years, the storms will still come. If people rebuild before the city is safe, who will then be responsible if New Orleans takes a direct hit next hurricane season, or the season after that?
Itâs a Catch-22. For everybody.
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