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Years ago the people of the delta region made some disastrous decisions that are now being felt by the people of Louisiana and Mississippi. In order to control flooding along the Mississippi River, the Army Corps of Engineers constructed levies along the bank of the river. Unfortunately, they didn't understand the importance of those floods to the health of the wetlands. the floods allowed the Mississippi River to deposit soil into the wetlands. Now, all of that soil is being dumped into the Gulf of Mexico. Without that soil, the wetlands are eroding away and disappearing.

The other bad decision was in digging irrigation canals. The canals have allowed salt water to enter the wetlands, killing much of the vegetation, and causing the erosion of the wetlands to increase.

What was not completely understood at the time was that the wetlands provided a natural buffer against hurricanes. As hurricanes approached New Orleans, they would lose much of their intensity when they left open water and moved over the wetlands. With the wetlands eroding away and getting smaller, that buffer has all but disappeared.

This is not good news for a city that was built below sea level

This is not a prediction of eminent disaster, but it's only a mater of time before another major storm strike the New Orleans region. When it does, we can only hope that people will heed the warnings and evacuate.

Learn more about this author, Jim Smoot.
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