Saturday, October 13, 2007

Glass Half Full



The city of New Orleans sits to the right in this picture.
The view all around is of water.

The reason I have named this post Glass Half Full is because someone said that to me today. A white man in the French quarter tourist info booth. He told me that was how most New Orleans people viewed the situation. I don’t know if that is really true or not--it might just be a bit of positive spin for the tourists.

New Orleans is surrounded by water.
That is a fact.

Mayor Nagan has come out saying he supports self-determination in what will happen in the various neighborhoods.




Grass plugs planted by volunteers to try to save the wetlands

The preservation of New Orleans Depends on Healthy Wetlands


We visited Bayou Sauvage-possibly the largest national wildlife refuge within a city, located in the east of New Orleans. The Hydrology (movement of water due to seasonal changes) is artificially managed because the levees have interrupted the natural hydrology. Gates to control the water levels mimic the seasonal changes.



Brandon explains some wetland facts



Dry cracked mud and garbage =unhealthy wetland.

We stopped at the point where a barge broke through and destroyed the wetland. Volunteers have replaced a lot of the grasses called Spatina Acturnal flora. You can see there is still a need for more.



HUGE oil refinery (one of many) that sits just outside New Orleans.

New Orleans refines and ships through its port a lot of the country’s oil. This process has had a detrimental effect on the wetlands.

Thats it for tonight.

Best, suzanne

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wonderful report! People must be made aware of the awful destruction still present. I think the earth is crying and we must remedy its pain. Your photos and paintings are so lluminating. I look forward to your next blog.

Suzanne C Anderson said...

Thanks for your really nice comments! I am learning a lot here and am happy to pass it on :)

zeraph said...

'spartina alteriflora'
=)