I don’t know if you saw Charlie Rose interview jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis this week, but he (being a child of New Orleans) had some things to say about the government response, among other topics.

I have an essay on my site with quotes from the interview at http://www.paulviapiano.com/blog/archives/wynton_marsalis_the_city_of_new_orleans.html if you’re interested.

Wynton Marsalis & The City of New Orleans

http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/archives/2005/09/katrina_cost-be.html

My rejection of his suggestions is here:

http://gabriel.mihalache.name/bop/archives/2005/09/11/00.30.38/

I’d rather support the natural market mechanism and reduce governmental intervention (including payoffs) to the minimum. Let people express their utility and preference in their actions… it’s as simple as that.

I can imagine the higher-ground areas restored, and lower-ground areas converted to natural parks and wetlands. A positive but unlikely thing that could be done would be to dismantle some of the levees and allow natural Mississippi River flooding to begin depositing silt and replenishing natural wetlands to the south. Hundreds of miles of pipelines which were built to be underground are now exposed to seawater, as Louisiana has been losing almost a football field of land an water.

Reversing that trend will create a stronger buffer zone against hurricanes, protect pipelines and wetlands, and probably aid in the recovery of the fishing industry.

Re-building New Orleans is much like re-building the Twin Towers. No matter how much money, effort or sweat and tears you throw at it, it’ll (they’ll) never be the same.

In twenty years time, if left to fade back into the natural landscape, New Orleans will become a haven for all sorts of fish and birds, and will have a feel and a character all of its own, but for entirely different reasons.

Humans are drawn to the water like the clicheed moths to flames. Water= Life. It is imprinted in our DNA. Everywhere in the world there are cities at the shorelines– and the highest property values. Even you live at the edge, Mike. The conflict comes because shorelines are, by actuality if not definition, the crumbling edges of dry land; the constant battle of water and earth.

The fact is that the ancient cities at land’s end have had to move with the shoreline. It may be New Orleans time to start moving inland a bit.

I’m not saying I necessarily think this is the best idea — but I think it’s what will happen. The city will be reborn around the French Quarter. It probably won’t be the same, but it’ll be a city nonetheless.

As someone who grew up with jazz and majored in jazz in college, it really pains me to know that the city will never be the same — but I know it won’t be.

But the French Quarter, thankfully far less damaged than many New Orlean’s neighborhoods and residential areas, must be restored – It is far too precious to lose.

New Orleans is coming back. Unfortunately, I think a lot of businesses will be driven away because of the flooding, leaving the city as a tourist attraction first and foremost. New Orleans will always be the city of Jazz, Cajun and Creole food, Voodoo, Mardi Gras, and of course, Cafe du Monde. I think the things that make New Orleans unique aren’t going to disappear because of a flood – everything else will take decades to re-build and re-evolve.

This country hasn’t made a smart forward thinking fiscal decision in some time. I don’t expect them to start now. The overwhelming perception that the initial government response was slow and blind will mean, as Pedro points out, that money will be thrown at the issue in an attempt to defuse further criticism.

Mike asks “what’s the best way out of this situation?”

Jeez I have no idea. I’m still digesting the immediate fallout in the form of the victims’ stories now making there way onto NPR and in the NYT.

On one hand I find the notion of building/rebuilding a city below sea level in a hurricane high traffic area completey retarded and a gross waste of resources. On the other hand we have the engineering capability to build a solid margin of safety and I have 0 emotional attachments to NO.

An interesting bit of history – in the ancient worlds, you can literally map regime/dynasty changes to massive floods.

I’m so inspired by the notes in the volunteer database that we have setup. There are people who have MS and other diseases and illnesses who are just begging us to let them know what they can do to help out from their homes as well as companies such as SuperCuts or Hair Cuttery (I forget which) that are working with the Red Cross to collect money but have also offered us a ton of job positions to fill. If I’m not mistaken about 1000 positions and have even worked out a deal with the state to get those people certified in less time then it usually takes to transfer to the state.

Pedro: That is great glimpse into the events in Louisiana. Having been through many hurricanes myself, I feel lucky to have only lost my fences in the back yard and power for about a week last year. It was much more uncomfortable then a picture can show. Imagining a home destroyed by water makes me feel damned lucky in fact.