New Orleans is losing the battle

@Stopmakingsense Yeah, they built skyscrapers in the wetlands, causing the whole city to sink even further.

@SnowBlack they're hard at work in Hawaii.

@SnowBlack There are no skyscrapers in wetlands in or near New Orleans. The skyscrapers downtown were built in one of the higher areas of the city. But coastal erosion is very real and very serious. It makes us far more vulnerable to hurricanes.

@quitwhendone Some of the wetlands were drained decades ago and buildings were erected.

@SnowBlack Yes, but not downtown where the skyscrapers are.

I'm not trying to minimize the problem. It's a serious issue that everyone in South Louisiana is aware of. And, fortunately, both the political right and left here recognize the problem and are surprisingly agreeable on preventing more erosion and fixing past erosion.

@quitwhendone I used skyscrapers to describe high-rise apartment buildings. My error.

@SnowBlack I don't even know of any high-rise apartment buildings in the wetlands. But there has been development of canals, waterways, and oil and gas production development that has help erode wetlands.

@quitwhendone the pattern of development indeed includes all the elements, channelization, roads, buildings of significant weight, bad levee planning, and pollution-. It's coast to coast and includes oil pipelines, fracking- they're gunning for the world's largest aquifer.