[neverdem]

Vincent Laforet for The New York Times
Since the Mississippi River was leveed in the 1800's, Louisiana has lost most of its coastline, which is normally replenished by river sediment.

Vincent Laforet for The New York Times
Many scientists advocate diverting the Mississippi River below New Orleans, where towns like Pilottown, above, sit along the delta.

Redirecting a River Overwide grapic opens link in a new window; enlarge to read it.
regular Times webpage with all the crap if you want to view the other photos with an audio track

[neverdem]

In Science-Based Medicine, Where Does Luck Fit In?

The Ten Great Myths in the Debate Over Stem Cell Research

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.

[JillValentine]

Can we move it so it floods Barbra Streisand's yard?

[NormsRevenge]

Man usually finds a way to mess up what nature has taken ages to construct.. that is one hellacious pile of sediment per year, btw

just so the "experts" account for minimizing the likelihood of unintended consequences

[Gondring]

It's mausing to me that the only place I saw this advocated immediately after Katrina was right here at FR. I think finally reality has begun to sink in, and things that were taken for granted pre-Katrina are now finally being re-evaluated. (For one, people are realizing that it's very expensive to fight Mother Nature--rather than work with her--and it also involves a downside elsewhere in the system.)

Of course, if we don't do anything to make this happen, nature will take its course (literally) and do it all in an uncontrolled fashion. That is, we don't have to move the Mississippi--we just have to stop preventing it from moving, and it will do it how it wants (so to speak :-)!

[Toby06]

Civil Engineers ping.

[Jmouse007]

Destroy the levees and let the Mississippi run wild... that's the ticket. Save the swamps for the mosquitoes, crocodiles and poisonous snakes while destroying inhabitable land and possibly killing human beings due to the unbridled flooding. But at least the swamps will be saved.

What a maroon!

[DustyMoment]

Crikeys!! It appears that we haven't learned a whole heck of a lot about monkeying with Nature. In FloriDUH, they re-directed a river (don't recall which one) and it caused them no end of trouble. Eventually, they just let it return to its natural bed and the problems went away.

The Mississloppi River has been no end of problems since it was re-directed. The levee system has been expensive to maintain and, after a hard rain, Nawlins pumping stations work overtime draining flooded streets. In the words of Susan Powter, "End the madness!" Let the Mississloppi return to its natural bed and just deal with it! It's what nature intended.

[capt. norm]

I wonder if they have considered consulting with the Netherlands, since they seem to have a pretty good handle on this sort of thing over there and they've been doing it for many years.

[sergeantdave]

People best realize that the Army Corps of Engineers and EPA will be involved. Anytime you get these two lunatic branches of government together think "disaster."

These two federal "F-ups" are currently engaged in a sh*t throwing contest in Michigan to get tiled drains on farmlands classified as navigable waterways under the bureaucratically defined "migratory molecule" rule. That means a ditch can be defined as a navigable waterway if a molecule of H2O is grabbed by the sun and deposited as rain in a navigable waterway.

These two agencies combined hit +10 on the moron meter.

Look up Rapanos v US for stupidity, attempted extortion, trespassing, violation of civil rights and perjury by federal agents engaged in destruction of private property. I won't hold my breath waiting for congress to investigate these two criminal entereprises and throw these people in prison.

Believe me, Louisianna doesn't want these two fascist agencies in the state.

[dirtboy]

Time to Move the Mississippi, Experts Say

Ya gotta love the arrogance of some. The Mississippi will move when it decides to move. Already a sizeable portion of the river goes down the Atchafalaya. Sooner or later all of it will.

[redgolum]

It has moved before, and will again. All the levies in the world won't stop it in the end.

[dangus]

"Deforestation... has resulted in a ten-fold increase in sediment from the Ohio River."

Deforestation, my ass! There are more trees than there ever were in that part of the country.

[Phsstpok]

Bring shipping in through Lake Pontchartrain and cut a canal through to the Mississippi west of Spillway Levee. You can also put your container stuff up there and get it out of the downtown area. Then put up the flood control systems at the entrance to Pontchartrain that the enviro weenies killed back 30 years ago. That would have solved the surge that contributed to the levee collapse (notice, not "caused," just "contributed").

Then turn everything from New Orleans south on the Mississippi into a managed wetlands, allowing for the grandfathered residents.