[quote]RHINO928 wrote:
Garrett W. wrote:
Thanks for the well-wishes. Everything was fine.
The MS Gulf Coast is the one getting the biggest shaft I feel. But then again there isn’t as much of a need for heavy flood protection etc. They’re getting overlooked.
Now… On the topics of flood control. Isn’t that what is causing the destruction of the bayous etc in LA? Now I’m a big fan of levelling forests and beating up Greenpeace activists. But some concern has to be taken. The port is central to trade, however, could it be moved up the river a bit? Could they move some of the FTA to surrounding ports to reduce reliance on NOLA and its port? We don’t need to have warehouses stocked full of coffee etc. Creating additional FTA up the river 20-50 miles would help to alleviate this problem to a degree. Its a quite complicated problem with no cut and dried answer. But the answer isn’t to just continue to rely solely on the port in NOLA.
Bottom line: Rebuild the city, but find ways to reduce dependence on it in case this happens again.
I was talking about casinos in Biloxi. (You know the area that received the most damage from the storm.) However, its applicable to the areas in LA also. They pay taxes and are generating dollars to help rebuild the area. I see no problems with it. Once again the free market economy is working.
My Job covers the Gulf coast all the way to the Miss/Bama border, so I’m well aware of the horrible conditions in Billoxi. I’m confident Trent Lott will get what the state needs, he’s quite powerful.
The Coastal restoration is important and a seperate issue from flood control. The diversion of the Miss River combined with the MRGO, has contributed to the deterioration of wet lands. Also by putting better storm surge controls in place, the marsh can remain protected and will stop the shrinfing of our coastline. The Netherlands have had huge success in doing so and they are involved for the new South Louisiana system.
The port is extemely unique.
You need to understand a few things about port operations first.
The port of NO has material handling operations that cannot be replicated anywhere else on the Gulf Coast. One reason is the depth of water off of NO. It’s very shallow off Galveston by comparison, so ships can’t simply be redirected here. Some can, but many are too big. The ship channel for the port of Houston is 56 miles long. A lot of the ships that go into NO simply can’t go to Houston. Besides, the off-loading tankers have to load off into something. It’s not like you can off load extra LPG or crude into some random warehouse somewhere. The port of Los Angeles is vital too, but it’s primarily a container and bulk carrier port. Those types of cargo are child’s play to handle compared to the bulk of NO’s freight, which is petroleum based. Not to mention that NO’s port is the river port for farm products from the midwest for export. There is no viable alternative for the export of those goods. It’s impossible to replace southbound barges with trucks. There is too much freight for that.
So yes, it IS that important. Why does progress languish? Because every level of government we have has failed. No one person in a position to do something has shown the leadership qualities necessary to forge a path and clear the way for progress. They’ve all failed, and continue to serve as walking displays of failure.
I’m sure we ALL can agree to that.?[/quote]
So, fire them. Make government funding voluntary. If they fuck up, cut their paycheck. Don’t you realize that putting the Feds in charge of anything is just inviting more disasters?
2 Billion in private charity is worth 20 billion in extorted dollars administered by looters and extortionists.