After Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, more than 200,000 homes in New Orleans were destroyed and the city was left in ruins. Now, 4 years later, New Orleans is getting a green makeover. Global Green USA, the American division of an international environmental organization, is at the front of the green makeover of New Orleans.
They started a Holy Cross project, which is a sustainable neighborhood being built in the Lower Ninth Ward. Once completed, this sustainable neighborhood will offer 5 homes, 18 apartments and a community center. Global Green USA also initiated a sustainable schools program, where they are making efforts to make existing schools more energy efficient, as well as to build new schools outfitted with solar panels, wetland habitats and rainwater catchment systems. These schools are expected to help New Orlean's economy, since every school will see a reduction in energy bills by about $25,000 every year. The city's libraries are also going green with solar power and very efficient light emitting diode (LED) streetlights. New Orleans is also receiving millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds, some of which is set to help re-establish a citywide recycling program and to vamp up public transportation.
Many people, including long-time residents of New Orleans, are thrilled to see the city get a green makeover. However, there are some skeptics. Global warming will cause more intense hurricanes to occur more frequently, and experts suggest that once global warming causes glaciers to melt, the sea level will rise. New Orleans is a city that is already built below sea level. The Mississippi River, which straddles New Orleans, is heavily managed and altered. The now famous levies of New Orleans constrain the water flow and in the event of a storm, cause the water to move incredibly fast. The levies have caused a saltwater intrusion into the river, which has killed vegetation and caused the river to widen by more than twice its original size.
When another hurricane hits New Orleans, and it will happen, the city will still face danger, even with all of these wonderful green upgrades. The wetlands that used to dot the coastline were destroyed to drill for oil, so the buffer zone that nature designed to mitigate tidal waves is gone. The levied Mississippi River has caused a huge amount of sediment to slip into the ocean and off the continental shelf, which means another one of nature's buffers that would naturally mitigate severe weather, is gone.
The other problem is that New Orleans pretty much sits in a bathtub. It is surrounded by levies. When it rains or when a severe storm hits, the bathtub fills up and electrical pumps have to pump the water out. If the electrical grid were every damaged during a storm it would make it impossible to pump out the water. Instead of getting LED streetlights, maybe New Orleans should look for bigger solutions to remedy the issues related to floods and storms. EnviroCitizen.org encourages you to continue to research this ongoing issue and see if you can come up with a better, more effective solution. |
