Comments on: 18 Missing Inches in New Orleans http://www.gregpalast.com/18-missing-inches-in-new-orleans/ Greg Palast, reporting for BBC, Harpers and more Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:16:20 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: MacGruber http://www.gregpalast.com/18-missing-inches-in-new-orleans/comment-page-1/#comment-83603 MacGruber Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:36:24 +0000 http://www.gregpalast.com/18-missing-inches-in-new-orleans/#comment-83603 Just Outrageous. The reason some levees were scandalously low is the entire New Orleans 'bowl' is sinking. The original National Geodetic surveys done only 50 years ago, and then in 1993 differ by 1.5 foot or more! The reason for the sinking is the lack of river mud from the Big Muddy's annual floods that are now walled off, obviously. The Corps knew all about this. As early as 1985 their response was to raise the height of levees being planned, BUT NOT TO INCREASE THE HEIGHT OF EXISTING LEVEES. No 'glitch' here. Funding to prevent more drowning deaths in New Orleans had to compete with Reagan's tax cuts for the rich. Monday at 2p.m. was indeed the earliest anyone could fly after the hurricane passed. However, the storm surge was pushed ahead of the hurricane. All the flooding and levee failures had already occurred hours earlier. Just Outrageous. The reason some levees were scandalously low is the entire New Orleans 'bowl' is sinking. The original National Geodetic surveys done only 50 years ago, and then in 1993 differ by 1.5 foot or more! The reason for the sinking is the lack of river mud from the Big Muddy's annual floods that are now walled off, obviously.

The Corps knew all about this. As early as 1985 their response was to raise the height of levees being planned, BUT NOT TO INCREASE THE HEIGHT OF EXISTING LEVEES. No 'glitch' here. Funding to prevent more drowning deaths in New Orleans had to compete with Reagan's tax cuts for the rich.

Monday at 2p.m. was indeed the earliest anyone could fly after the hurricane passed. However, the storm surge was pushed ahead of the hurricane. All the flooding and levee failures had already occurred hours earlier.

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