Wiers Opening?

[Andy C]

Originally Posted by Duck Butter

At the time 'they' didn't know what they were doing was bad. All they knew is that they were keeping people out of danger (by building levees). Just like the oil/gas companies didn't know that their canals were going to create future problems. There are actual lawsuits out there right now to try and get money from oil companies for causing erosion when they dug canals way back when

Now we KNOW what saltwater does, and that erosion will follow, but 'fixing' it is the issue because all this is new, its never been done before. There are some tough decisions to be made. You can leave it alone and watch it all go away (but in the meanwhile enjoy the fishing/hunting while it lasts and future generations will look back and ask why nothing was done), or try and do something to mitigate the problem (let your kids and grandkids get to be able to enjoy it too). We have to have the ship channel and we are probably not going to see the MS River levee taken down in our lifetime. Sorry I am getting off topic

I agree with that, but what makes us now that much smarter??? They where doing the best thing for there kids and grandkids !!!

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[Duck Butter]

Originally Posted by Andy C

I agree with that, but what makes us now that much smarter??? They where doing the best thing for there kids and grandkids !!!

???????

Damn thats a tough one, you have a point there

BUT, I think the distinction is that they didn't know what they were doing would have long-term consequences like they do. They were successful in what they wanted to accomplish (no mo big floods) but the indirect consequences of their actions were not foreseen. In other words, looking back now knowing what we know now do you think we would build those levees along the MS River? People would surely have been flooded out again, but we would have a much healthier landscape. Good question

I think we are definitely smarter now than we were (maybe not in a common sense fashion) but technologically speaking we are.

Its funny how we shoot ourselves in the foot and never learn. The farmland in floodplains are much much more fertile than other places and its from the flooding that makes the soil fertile yet we lose one crop from flooding and we want to dam the river so that we won't lose another crop . The river was the 'fertilizer' for years, and now we dam up the river and spray fertilizer its almost comical anyways...


but the gist is that (I think) the wiers are doing much more good than harm. There isn't ever going to be a shortage of trout in Louisiana but marshland is going away a football per hour, pretty easy call in my book