Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Galveston devolved into a smallish port and tourist center that is easy
to evacuate when hurricanes are on the horizon.
Economic arguments to save the New Orleans area include the large
number of oil pipelines that discharge there, the many petroleum refi ner-
ies and chemical plants that line the river, the presence of a large ship-
building and repair industry, the presence of two large universities, and
the fact that the Port of New Orleans is the busiest in the United States
by gross tonnage. Added to the economic considerations are the equally
important but largely emotional responses by people who would be
displaced and those who feel the city's distinctive culture and cuisine are
worth saving. And of course there are the all-important national, state,
and local political considerations that are nearly always a barrier to
major changes in anything, however justifi able on rational scientifi c
grounds.
In 2010, it seems most likely that the city will not be abandoned in
the foreseeable future and that ever greater amounts of money will be
spent in coming decades in a futile effort to thwart natural processes.
The money that will be spent will no doubt dwarf the amount it would
cost the federal government to oversee a phased withdrawal from the
region around New Orleans. But one thing is certain: Mother Nature
will have her way in the end. She always does, and her prowess has
already affected Florida, for many years the mecca for snowbirds from
the frigid Northeast. According to the Census Bureau, the number of
people moving from other states to Florida declined by 87 percent
between 2005 and 2007. In 2007, as many people moved out of Florida
as moved in. 27
Will Your Insurance Cover It?
America's coastal home owners and property insurers are in trouble. 28
Nearly all of the most costly natural catastrophes in the United States
were caused by hurricanes (table 3.2) as a result of fl ooding or by wind
damage, and because of the increasing frequency of hurricanes, the price
of private property insurance has skyrocketed for those located near the
Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Between 2001 and 2006, premiums for some
home owner policies in Alabama rose more than tenfold, while the
average cost for a policy in Florida rose 77 percent; Virginia 67 percent;
Louisiana 65 percent; Mississippi 63 percent; South Carolina 56 percent;
and Texas 50 percent. One retiree in Florida saw the premiums on his
1968 house increase from $394 in 2000 to $5,479 in 2007. Another paid
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