re: AMAZING RAW VIDEO Hurricane Katrina roof top flooding St Bernard La

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To stop a project that could protect a couple million people around the perimeter of Lake Pontchartrain because Mississippi doesn't want it to happen is ridiculous. In addition, think of the development boom that would follow along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain in the virtual absence of a surge flooding threat. In this way, the project would more than pay for itself.

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There isn't the political will to get things done.

Nature does not abide by man-made lines on a map.

I worked with the Dutch that were brought in after the storm. We worked together for seven years. Some of my old colleagues are still working with them. It was an amazing experience and we all learned so much from them. Those Dutch guys and girls are my brothers and sisters. They came over here and shared their knowledge with us without expectation of striking it rich. They did it because they had gone through it before. The entire region owes them a beer or three.

If you take the Dutch principles they applied in Delta Works and apply it to our coast, it will work. We know the problems. We know the solutions. The politicians refuse to think past their next election cycle and also refuse to work together as a region. It's all about "me me me." It's infuriating.

I and dozens of other people beat our heads against a wall for almost a decade to only get things partway implemented. The Lake Borgne Surge Barrier and reworking of the major outfall canals were a huge step in the right direction, but there is still a lot more work to be done to a) protect the city from a future storm, and b) ensure the long-term survival of the region against things like subsidence, sea level rise, and coastal loss.

The region still has a very long road ahead of it and survival is not yet guaranteed.