[Mind-numbed Robot]

If the EPA had existed "back then" we would never have had the levees and New Orleans would have consisted of the French Quarter and some of the downtown area until the silting from the flooding filled in others areas so they were suitable for building. The area below New Orleans would not have subsided and much of the storm surge and rain would have been absorbed by that. Also, the main channel of the river would have roamed around between where it now is and the Atchafalaya Basin. So much for what if. (Don't let that make you think I favor the EPA, I don't.)

Other than that picky little detail, I agree with you.

[CobaltBlue]

Have you read John McPhee's essay on the Old River locks? It's the "Atchafalaya" section in his book, "The Control of Nature."

I love McPhee and this is his best book (in my opinion) and his best essay, although I admit to being personally interested in the subject matter due to growing up in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

My impression is that some day the Mississippi will break loose again. I've visited the Old River locks twice, once during high water, when it seemed like the structure was about to break at any moment, and once during this long drought, where it was all silted up with grass growing where flood water used to be.

I love that river. Been all the way to Lake Itasca (the beginning) and to the Eads jetties, though not everywhere in between.

Ironic that it wasn't the Mississippi that did this.