The fast disappearing wetlands,
seen from the air. They are what
chiefly protects the life, land, and
people of south Louisiana from
hurricanes. We cannot build
endless levees, and as the world
knows, they often fail - and it only
takes one break to invalidate the
entire levee system. BUT as people
elsewhere DO NOT know - often
levees cause more problems, such
as trapping water, and removing
even more precious land just to
build them. Levees need to be an
ADDITION to the wetlands, not the
cure to its loss. As wetlands
disappear, that means less flood-
surge protection, but also - that
Louisiana, once growing new land
for thousands of years, is now
shrinking - and homes and
livelihoods that lasted generations
are vanishing alongside.
