Unfeasibility of Rebuilding New Orleans
The river is moving away from the city. The city is sinking because of its weight, because no upbuilding by new muck for many decades, because of being cut off from the fresh water, because it is sliding off a cliff (the Continental Shelf), and because the Oil and Gas Industry is extracting oil out from under it. It is a city that for all intents and purposes is now Sea domain. Spend the money on developing alternative energy solutions instead.
By Paul Noel and Mary-Sue Haliburton
Pure Energy Systems News - Exclusive
Copyright © 2005
The President of the United States of America has announced in a theatrically heroic manner that New Orleans will be rebuilt. At first blush, what he has proposed seems like a nice idea.
That is the best that can be said of it.
A wise evaluation of the facts tells us that the horrendously expensive project he has proposed is a foolâs errand. The city is doomed. There is absolutely no hope for it in the long term. Emotionally pleasing as it may be, rebuilding New Orleans prophesies an even worse disaster than what we have just seen. Hurricanes are only a small part of the threats destroying the city.
Historical Compromise Location
To understand the City of New Orleans one must first understand the massive Mississippi River delta. New Orleans was built at the site of the old âFrench Quarterâ on the high ground adjacent to the Mississippi river. This location was picked because the Mississippi River didnât have a mouth into the ocean. The river simply went into the âBlack Swampâ and disappeared. This was where ships headed down river had to stop and unload their goods to be transshipped across Lake Pontchartrain to the sea. This was done by unloading the goods at the docks and then hauling them to the lake where shallow draft boats would take the goods to the seagoing ships.
By using some ingenious methods, Henry Shreve -- after whom Shreveport, La., is named -- forced the river to dig its own channel out to the sea where it now goes. This allowed the ocean-going boats access to the enormous Mississippi river. This, together with the work of the US Army Corps of Engineers, produced what is functionally the largest ocean port on earth. The Mississippi River is ocean draft in the channel half way to Memphis Tennessee even at the lowest water times. In normal water times, it is ocean draft depth all the way to Memphis. No other nation on earth can boast such a treasure. The value of this port is fantastic on a world scale.
Mississippi River: A Rebellious Monster
Few people understand just how big the Mississippi River Delta is. The delta begins at Cairo, Illinois. It in times past has seen the big river move east and west across the delta from what is now the Pearl River in Mississippi to the Sabine River on the Border of Texas. This river never sits still. It is a powerful monster that at best can be somewhat handled. Managing it is the largest existing construction project on the planet.
There was a fatal problem known from the days of Henry Shreve. The Atchafalaya River has a steep gradient leading into the sea. In the old times, this was a small leakage stream off of the looping Red River. With the work of Henry Shreve and the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Red River was opened for navigation to the Mississippi and inadvertently this opened the Atchafalaya to draw water off from the Mississippi River, and to begin cutting a larger and wider channel for itself. Certain to steal the whole Mississippi River in time, this process is well under way now.
During a powerful flood in the late 1950s, the Mississippi River forced its way into the Atchafalaya River and the main channel began to go far to the west of New Orleans. With this flood the City of New Orleans and the ports there were threatened with being cut off from the river. The US Army Corps of Engineers was tasked with attempting to keep the Mississippi River controlled and in its old channel. The âOld River Control Structureâ (ORCS) was completed in 1963 to keep 70% of the river in the old channel.
How a Port Becomes a Backwater
This set of dams worked for a while. In 1973 the river threw another enormous flood and undermined a large section of the ORCS. Since that time the river has progressively become more and more uncontrolled as the ORCS is further and further undermined. The status at this time is that another event on the river will probably cause a large part of the ORCS to disappear without a trace and the Mississippi River will finish moving west to Morgan City. This is probably going to happen within the next 20 years or so. It is probably unwise to even consider trying to stop this event which natural forces are working to bring about.
The Mississippi River is moving westward. The City of New Orleans will be cut off from fresh water, and be attached to a silted-in port of no value, attached to water that doesnât go anywhere. This is a certainty. The only issue with this event is when. The event is going to happen shortly. If the events occur as a result of a flood rather than by deliberately managed processes, the USA may find that its precious Mississippi River port area is worthless. Even before Hurricane Katrina, the city was living on borrowed time. Its dance with the Mississippi River is soon to end.
The swamp in which New Orleans sits can only be supported by a continual influx of fresh water from the Mississippi River. The US Army Corps of Engineers damaged this process severely with canals and channels as well as by putting up dikes. The city is sinking for lack of this water. Mud deposited by floods would have rebuilt the naturally sinking land. This became painfully apparent when the city dikes broke.
In fact, as reliably reported in the Hunstville Times on Sunday September 11, 2005, breakage of the levees occurred two days before the arrival of Katrina. (Ref. ) It may have been due to seismic activity, the rhythmic pounding of resonant waves whipped up by hurricanes which precede landfall by up to two days. These resonant waves reached a solid point and cracked it. It was the new segments, made of concrete reinforced with steel, which failed.
Thus it could have been human error that flooded New Orleans. In assuming that rigidity means strength in every circumstance, did engineers fail to recognize that the whole region is more like jello than strong rock and soil? If so, the planners didnât grasp that the barrier would have to flex along with the soft muck beneath it. Any reinforcing would have to be flexible as well, such as a fibrous or woven-link Kevlar, or some such material. In such a location, rigid reinforcing would inevitably result in breakage,
Whatever the reason for the failure, the dikes broke more than 18 hours before the storm came ashore. The US Army Corps of Engineers and the New Orleans and Lousiana Authorities all knew there was already serious flooding one day before the storm. The whole issue was that the bureaucrats argued over who was in charge and nobody did anything. Officials passed the buck back and forth until the Big Excuse arrived, both completing the flooding and distracting everyone from the issue of legal responsibility. If engineering mistakes were involved, no one in authority would announce them, as no one in charge would want to be sued for the astronomical level of financial damages, not counting loss of life.
What had been predicted to be 4 to 6 feet of floodwater was nearly 20 feet in places. The city is sinking faster than anyone believed.
http://pesn.com/2005/09/23/9600175_Rebuild_Energy_Systems_Not_NewOrleans/
The river is moving away from the city. The city is sinking because of its weight, because no upbuilding by new muck for many decades, because of being cut off from the fresh water, because it is sliding off a cliff (the Continental Shelf), and because the Oil and Gas Industry is extracting oil out from under it. It is a city that for all intents and purposes is now Sea domain. Spend the money on developing alternative energy solutions instead.
By Paul Noel and Mary-Sue Haliburton
Pure Energy Systems News - Exclusive
Copyright © 2005
The President of the United States of America has announced in a theatrically heroic manner that New Orleans will be rebuilt. At first blush, what he has proposed seems like a nice idea.
That is the best that can be said of it.
A wise evaluation of the facts tells us that the horrendously expensive project he has proposed is a foolâs errand. The city is doomed. There is absolutely no hope for it in the long term. Emotionally pleasing as it may be, rebuilding New Orleans prophesies an even worse disaster than what we have just seen. Hurricanes are only a small part of the threats destroying the city.
Historical Compromise Location
To understand the City of New Orleans one must first understand the massive Mississippi River delta. New Orleans was built at the site of the old âFrench Quarterâ on the high ground adjacent to the Mississippi river. This location was picked because the Mississippi River didnât have a mouth into the ocean. The river simply went into the âBlack Swampâ and disappeared. This was where ships headed down river had to stop and unload their goods to be transshipped across Lake Pontchartrain to the sea. This was done by unloading the goods at the docks and then hauling them to the lake where shallow draft boats would take the goods to the seagoing ships.
By using some ingenious methods, Henry Shreve -- after whom Shreveport, La., is named -- forced the river to dig its own channel out to the sea where it now goes. This allowed the ocean-going boats access to the enormous Mississippi river. This, together with the work of the US Army Corps of Engineers, produced what is functionally the largest ocean port on earth. The Mississippi River is ocean draft in the channel half way to Memphis Tennessee even at the lowest water times. In normal water times, it is ocean draft depth all the way to Memphis. No other nation on earth can boast such a treasure. The value of this port is fantastic on a world scale.
Mississippi River: A Rebellious Monster
Few people understand just how big the Mississippi River Delta is. The delta begins at Cairo, Illinois. It in times past has seen the big river move east and west across the delta from what is now the Pearl River in Mississippi to the Sabine River on the Border of Texas. This river never sits still. It is a powerful monster that at best can be somewhat handled. Managing it is the largest existing construction project on the planet.
There was a fatal problem known from the days of Henry Shreve. The Atchafalaya River has a steep gradient leading into the sea. In the old times, this was a small leakage stream off of the looping Red River. With the work of Henry Shreve and the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Red River was opened for navigation to the Mississippi and inadvertently this opened the Atchafalaya to draw water off from the Mississippi River, and to begin cutting a larger and wider channel for itself. Certain to steal the whole Mississippi River in time, this process is well under way now.
During a powerful flood in the late 1950s, the Mississippi River forced its way into the Atchafalaya River and the main channel began to go far to the west of New Orleans. With this flood the City of New Orleans and the ports there were threatened with being cut off from the river. The US Army Corps of Engineers was tasked with attempting to keep the Mississippi River controlled and in its old channel. The âOld River Control Structureâ (ORCS) was completed in 1963 to keep 70% of the river in the old channel.
How a Port Becomes a Backwater
This set of dams worked for a while. In 1973 the river threw another enormous flood and undermined a large section of the ORCS. Since that time the river has progressively become more and more uncontrolled as the ORCS is further and further undermined. The status at this time is that another event on the river will probably cause a large part of the ORCS to disappear without a trace and the Mississippi River will finish moving west to Morgan City. This is probably going to happen within the next 20 years or so. It is probably unwise to even consider trying to stop this event which natural forces are working to bring about.
The Mississippi River is moving westward. The City of New Orleans will be cut off from fresh water, and be attached to a silted-in port of no value, attached to water that doesnât go anywhere. This is a certainty. The only issue with this event is when. The event is going to happen shortly. If the events occur as a result of a flood rather than by deliberately managed processes, the USA may find that its precious Mississippi River port area is worthless. Even before Hurricane Katrina, the city was living on borrowed time. Its dance with the Mississippi River is soon to end.
The swamp in which New Orleans sits can only be supported by a continual influx of fresh water from the Mississippi River. The US Army Corps of Engineers damaged this process severely with canals and channels as well as by putting up dikes. The city is sinking for lack of this water. Mud deposited by floods would have rebuilt the naturally sinking land. This became painfully apparent when the city dikes broke.
In fact, as reliably reported in the Hunstville Times on Sunday September 11, 2005, breakage of the levees occurred two days before the arrival of Katrina. (Ref. ) It may have been due to seismic activity, the rhythmic pounding of resonant waves whipped up by hurricanes which precede landfall by up to two days. These resonant waves reached a solid point and cracked it. It was the new segments, made of concrete reinforced with steel, which failed.
Thus it could have been human error that flooded New Orleans. In assuming that rigidity means strength in every circumstance, did engineers fail to recognize that the whole region is more like jello than strong rock and soil? If so, the planners didnât grasp that the barrier would have to flex along with the soft muck beneath it. Any reinforcing would have to be flexible as well, such as a fibrous or woven-link Kevlar, or some such material. In such a location, rigid reinforcing would inevitably result in breakage,
Whatever the reason for the failure, the dikes broke more than 18 hours before the storm came ashore. The US Army Corps of Engineers and the New Orleans and Lousiana Authorities all knew there was already serious flooding one day before the storm. The whole issue was that the bureaucrats argued over who was in charge and nobody did anything. Officials passed the buck back and forth until the Big Excuse arrived, both completing the flooding and distracting everyone from the issue of legal responsibility. If engineering mistakes were involved, no one in authority would announce them, as no one in charge would want to be sued for the astronomical level of financial damages, not counting loss of life.
What had been predicted to be 4 to 6 feet of floodwater was nearly 20 feet in places. The city is sinking faster than anyone believed.
http://pesn.com/2005/09/23/9600175_Rebuild_Energy_Systems_Not_NewOrleans/