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What is not much reported in the news is the unprecedented extent of
the environmental damage which the flooding of New Orleans has caused.
Yesterday, the Sierra Club issued a gloomy press release about this:
http://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/releases/pr2005-09-01.asp
Raw sewage mixed with corpses and dead animals, along with gasoline,
oil, and huge amounts of many other toxic chemicals, has created a
poisonous witches brew.
The current thinking is to, as soon as possible, pump this poisonous,
toxic water back into Lake Pontchartrain and/or into the Mississippi
River.
This is a huge mistake! Here's why:
By the time the pumps can get started again and the water level in the
city is substantially lowered, those people still living will have
been long rescued (or unfortunately have died). There is no purpose
with regards to search and rescue to pump out the water. Also, most
of the city itself will be evacuated, so the presence of the water,
although a health hazard to those around it, will affect very few
people.
So, what is the purpose in such a big rush to pump the water out,
especially when all the pumping will do is greatly pollute a much
larger area, spreading the ecological damage and affecting many more
people and wildlife in and around Lake Pontchartrain?
In addition, it is unknown what will be done with New Orleans to
rebuild it. Some call for greatly scaling back the size of the city,
others call for full abandoment. One purpose in draining out the water
is to begin reconstruction, but until those reconstruction plans are
finalized, then why the big rush, especially considering the probable
environmental damage to the surrounding area if the water is pumped
out?
Waiting a little while will allow studying alternatives to remove the
water, such as building a temporary reservoir (probably in the lowest
part of the city which was essentially a slum), and to pump the water
there so it can be kept separate as possible from the environment at
large. Then, plans can be implemented to treat the water before it is
pumping back into Lake Pontchartrain.
I say, stop the pumps -- for now -- until rational thinking and
planning are done. There is no compelling reason to pump out the
water, at least for the next few weeks. The Army Corp of Engineers can
instead devote their energy to clearing out the Mississippi River so
vital river commerce to the Midwest can resume.
A concerned American citizen
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