On Common Sense

I just saw a great post on today's DailyKos concerning the aftermath of the Katrina disaster.

You know who has the most experience in the world in dealing with below-sea-level land and protecting same? The Netherlands, of course.

So in today's DailyKos, they tell about the chief Dutch engineer who has great ideas about how to rebuild, manage, and control the land situation in New Orleans.

I quote:

Hans Vrijling, a renowned authority on flood control who designed part of the Dutch system, says it should be possible to protect New Orleans---even low-lying sections---from storm surges more than 10 times Katrina's. The price tag: less than $10 billion.

Our solution: throw nearly $6 billion at rebuilding levees that we know are far from fail-safe, and then throw another $20 million for the Army Corps of Engineers to come up with a plan. Once again, "Old Europe" looks at us and shakes its head:

Vrijling, for one, can't understand what the Corps is going to study for so long. The technology already exists and has been tested over decades in the Netherlands. He says Dutch and American engineers, working together, would need only "a couple of months" to draw up a detailed plan.

Tom again: I have always been critical of the C of E ever since I was old enough to see their mistakes. They're about to make another big one.