South Louisiana
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The New York Times has an article today about south Louisiana. One scientist is quoted as saying, “It’s the fastest disappearing land mass on Earth.”
The problem in South Louisiana comes from several sources. The ocean is rising, but this is the smallest problem.
For years waterways have been dredged into the salt marshes, mostly to help the oilfield industry. These waterways greatly accelerated erosion from storms in the Gulf of Mexico.
The land in south Louisiana has been gradually sinking for thousands of years, but the Mississippi river used to flood regularly, each time depositing some alluvial soil. Starting in the 1930’s levies and dikes were built to prevent flooding. The byproduct is that the Mississippi no longer deposits its load of soil on the land. And on top of that add in all the water wells draining the fresh water aquifers, and you have a situation where the land is sinking ever more rapidly.
I lived in south Louisiana for several years. It is a unique place, but the philosophy behind slavery and the plantations is alive and well down there. If you are white and rich, you are powerful and respected in the community. Whether you have a good education and how you got your money are both almost irrelevant. Graft and corruption is rife.
Greed and the Profit Motive rule completely. Environmentalists have about the same social status down there as poor blacks do. Naturally the cancer rate is much higher in south Louisiana than in places where the environment is better protected. If Louisiana were a country, it would be one those that the media likes to call a "failed country."
Yes, the common people (even the red necks and the wealthy racists) in Louisiana are basically good people. Honest.
But over the last half a century I have had common working class people work for me who came from Mexico, Vietnam, Tunisia, and Afghanistan. These were also good people. The point is: People Are People, and most people are decent and hard working. The Cajuns are no better or worse than any other group.
South Louisiana is doomed. It is a shame. The Cajuns are a lot of fun, and crawfish are great to eat. But long before California falls off into the ocean due to the San Andreas fault, much of South Louisiana will be nothing more than a memory.
LINK: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/us/25louisiana.html?sq=louisiana&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=5&adxnnlx=1219684781-YcmGwyF4NhBCSqV6gllUvg
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