Posted: Sep 1, 08 2:37pm
I want to add a little note here, now that New Orleans is once again in the news. It has been mentioned, but not often enough, that the reason that New Orleans is below sea level is because so much water has been pumped out from the land beneath the city in the last century. Some critical parts of the city have sunk three feet in the last thirty years. Here is a 2006 article with more details:
New Orleans Sinking Faster than Thought
I am not sure what all that water is used for. But, the big point is that it is our own, human, intentionally-blind-to-the-consequences actions, that once again shoot ourselves in the foot (feet?). Projects such as straightening the Mississippi have led to increased flooding along that river due to elimination of curves and wetlands. Preventing small fires out West in California have caused underbrush to accumulate leading to larger fires. Elimination of wolves and cougars in Yosemite park led to increased deer and led to destruction of the native forests there.
Surely there are other obvious cases of careless manipulation of the environment which have not been thought out or tracked over time, and which lead to unplanned results, possibly more severe than the problem solved. Isn't it time to realize that human beings are powerful, and with great power, comes great responsibility? Clearly, this applies to our current use of Earth's resources and our production of greenhouse gases and other outputs that impact land, air, and water.
