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Jewish World Review Sept. 8, 2005 / 4 Elul, 5765 Under water and under fire — Politicians vs. Mother Nature By Froma Harrop
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Sen. David Vitter gave the federal government an "F" for its
slow response to the catastrophe in New Orleans. Vitter has no business
handing out report cards.
Just three months ago, the Louisiana Republican was busy
undermining the Army Corps of Engineers' ability to protect wetlands.
Wetlands serve as a buffer against flooding. The Vitter Provision, in the
Water Resources Development Act, gutted a key section of an 1899 law that
had empowered the Corps to regulate activities in navigable waters that
might destroy wetlands.
Vitter was working for timber interests that wanted to cut down
cypress trees in the swamps — and turn them into mulch. These old trees
survive only because they can stand in water.
The Vitter Provision appalled local environmentalists. After
all, Louisianans were asking American taxpayers to spend $15 billion on a
plan to restore the Mississippi River delta — as their own politicians were
further wrecking it.
John Day, professor of coastal sciences at Louisiana State
University, told me at the time, "If we want to restore the Mississippi
River, we in Louisiana have to show that we're going to be wise stewards of
our land."
Louisiana is probably going to get those billions. But the
motivating factor will be the tragic sacrifice of its own people, not
widespread confidence in its leaders.
There's much talk of the media playing a "blame game." Blame,
yes. Game, not at all. As with 9-11, it's absolutely necessary to learn how
we got here and who was at fault. As with 9-11, I can assure you, no one in
a position of power will ever get fired.
Why more people were not evacuated and the feds took forever to
come to their rescue belongs in another discussion. This one is about how a
major American city went underwater and with totally inadequate defenses.
Here, an honest search for blame goes well beyond the Bush administration
and Republicans. And it goes back generations, if not centuries.
The Vitter Provision did not set off the catastrophic flooding.
It was just one piece in a large mosaic of irresponsible policy. Let it be
noted that the Louisiana State Senate, dominated by Democrats, passed a
resolution backing the amendment and praising timber companies for their
"sustainable forestry practices." It was an act of willful ignorance.
Cypresses need periods of dryness to regenerate; with the sinking land
permanently underwater, they cannot come back.
The original ecological sin of southern Louisiana development is
its very existence. There is no high ground on which to build. The land is a
leaf floating on water. Were it not for the system of levees keeping the
water out, there would be no New Orleans. In his 1989 book, "The Control of
Nature," John McPhee describes the futile but ongoing efforts to build
ever-higher levees.
In the 20th century, the corps has constructed enormous public
works projects to control the flows of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya
rivers. They are failing. And even when things seem under control, the
personnel assigned to restrain Mother Nature get criticized by various
economic interests wanting different things. For example, cities and towns
demand an escape route for flooding waters away from them. Soybean growers,
meanwhile, don't want that route to be over their fields.
His timing was terrible, but U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert,
an Illinois Republican, was on solid ground when he questioned the wisdom of
rebuilding a coastal city in a bowl below sea level. But to the geological
reality, we must add concern that the politicians won't do the environmental
hard work that might let such a project succeed. That means restoring
wetlands — and paying attention to global warming, which will make future
hurricanes more common and more deadly.
For most other cities, I'd say forget about it. New Orleans is
unique and a gem. Man has already tried to move earth to protect her, but
can try again. If he can move heaven, too, he should give it a try.
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© 2005 Creators Syndicate |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||||||||
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