In the weeks since the devastation along our U.S. Gulf coast, we have heard everyone from the government to Rush Limbaugh being blamed for Hurricane Katrina.
But here's a twist...
all that destruction was really the fault of the environmentalists!
A writer from the Competitive Enterprise Institute charges that environmental groups like American Rivers and the Sierra Club are to blame because they filed lawsuits calling for review of levee projects prior to their construction, delaying building of protective barriers that would have prevented much of the damage from the hurricane. At first glance, the argument seems to have at least some merit. But...
it turns out that American Rivers never discouraged repairs to levees that were vital to protecting New Orleans and that the accusations against the Sierra Club stemed from a case dating back to 1996, pertaining to levees located a hundred miles north of New Orleans.
Even pre-Katrina, an American Rivers statement cautioned that levees give floodplain residents a false sense of security and the building of leeves has encouraged even more floodplain development. You can see American Rivers statement on levees and floods at their website at America Rivers.org
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