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237 comments on DrumBeat: April 3, 2008

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darwinsdog on April 3, 2008 - 11:43am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

- what happens if we have another flood year, like 1993?

The way the Corp of Engineers has mismanaged the Mississippi floodplain the past century, massive floods are inevitable. Mark Twain himself warned about how stupid it is to try to "control" the mighty Mississip. What needs to be done is to rip the levees out & let the big ole river act like a river's supposed to. Farm the flood plain but don't live there. If people are stupid enuf to "develop" the floodplain, they shouldn't expect any taxpayer funded bailout when the river whacks them for their stupidity. Furthermore, the same mismanagement that has ruined the Mississippi floodplain has also ruined the delta buffer zone that once protected NOLA from hurricanes. Anyone dumb enuf to live in NOLA following Katrina deserves what they get when a cat 5 or 6 makes a direct hit one of these years.

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freeyourmind on April 3, 2008 - 11:53am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The point is that if that section of the country faces flooding and therefore and inability to produce substantial amounts of crops, everyone in the US suffers, and therefore everyone in the world suffers (as food supply drops and therefore food prices skyrocket). It's not a case of "Us vs. Them," or "thats what you get for living there," its a case of, "we all need that area to grow our food."

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darwinsdog on April 3, 2008 - 12:03pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The point is that if that section of the country faces flooding and therefore and inability to produce substantial amounts of crops, everyone... suffers

Allowing the river to periodically inundate its floodplain would renew the fertility of the alluvial soils. This would increase agricultural productivity in the North American Midwest, while reducing the amount of artificial fertilizer required. It would also allow the Mississippi to renew its delta, protecting the Gulf coastal plain from storm surges during hurricanes. Channelizing the Mississip only allows the precious topsoil that erodes due to agroindustrial stupidity to reach deep water. Eroded topsoil should be redeposited over the floodplain and in the delta, where it would do some good.

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freeyourmind on April 3, 2008 - 12:42pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Oh don't get me wrong, restoring the natural flooding cycle of the floodplain would be hugely beneficial to long term crop production from the area.

What the thread has been referring to is a summer where flooding ruins crop production for that year and how devastating that would be to our food supplies. It only takes 1 winter for people without food to starve.

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darwinsdog on April 3, 2008 - 1:10pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Okay, gotcha. But even in '93 farmers managed to grow a crop on the floodplain. Taking out the levees & allowing snowmelt to renew the floodplain might preclude winter wheat and delay working the fields some years, but it wouldn't eliminate an entire growing season's crop. The occasional short-term detriment to agriculture would be enormously offset by the long-term benefit.

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AlanfromBigEasy on April 3, 2008 - 11:56am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Your ignorance of hydrology, economics, culture, public law and value is astounding !

For he knew the price of everything and the value of nothing

Alan

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