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All:<BR>
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My previous post with information on Netherlands's Dikes, etc., had some bad links...<BR>
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Info on the Netherlands flood protection system from a Dutch web site:<BR>
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<A HREF="http://www.deltawerken.com/Deltaworks/23.html">http://www.deltawerken.com/Deltaworks/23.html</A><BR>
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Read at this web link below (accessible from the link above) about this massive storm surge barrier that is expected to be sufficient for 150-200 years. This is long term planning!<BR>
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<A HREF="http://www.deltawerken.com/The-Oosterschelde-storm-surge-barrier/324.html">http://www.deltawerken.com/The-Oosterschelde-storm-surge-barrier/324.html</A><BR>
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Here is more info below (from answers.com) on Netherlands's systems to protect low lying areas from flooding. I quote from this web site below this link. While this system to protect from flooding is called one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers, what do we call the protection systems in place around New Orleans? <BR>
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Consider that even with this mammoth commitment of time and money in the Netherlands for flood protection, the power of the sea to reclaim land is considered by some to be too powerful a force to be worth the ongoing struggle to maintain this protection system. Relocation of populations away from flood prone areas is still debated. <BR>
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If New Orleans is going to be rebuilt, this should only be considered if a massive flood protection system is part of the process, a commitment of time and money that the Federal and State governments may not have the resources or the suitable political/economic ideology (recent calls for funding to improve the flood protection systems around New Orleans were met with a lame response by our Federal government) to complete, even assuming such a system is technically possible.<BR>
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<A HREF="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=469fowg596rw1?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Delta+Works&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc05a&linktext=Delta%20Plan">http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=469fowg596rw1?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Delta+Works&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc05a&linktext=Delta%20Plan</A><BR>
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The <I>Oosterscheldekering</I> is sometimes referred to as the eighth Wonder of the World, and has been declared one of the modern <A HREF="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Seven+Wonders+of+the+World&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1">Seven Wonders of the World</A> by the <A HREF="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=American+Society+of+Civil+Engineers&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1">American Society of Civil Engineers</A>.<BR>
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However, there is an ongoing fundamental discussion about the basics of the Delta Works: the mainland is <A HREF="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Subsidence&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1">subsiding</A> and due to <A HREF="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Global+warming&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1">global warming</A> and <A HREF="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Climate+change&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1">climate changes</A>, <A HREF="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Sea+level+rise&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1">sea levels are rising</A>. Eventually the dikes will have to be made higher and wider, causing even more local subsidence. This is a long term uphill <A HREF="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Battle&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1">battle</A> against the sea that cannot be won. Some people argue that relocation of population centres and giving up land to the sea would be a longer lasting solution than to 'fight the sea'.<BR>
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Vision2020 Post by Ted Moffett<BR>
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