I meant to write a post about this before I fell off the face of the planet for 5 days (aka drank myself into oblivion in Maryland), but that was the post that got deleted that time when Firefox quit on me.
Basically, everyone knows that the marshes and wetlands surrounding New Orleans (and the rest of the Gulf Coast, for that matter) provide a natural barrier against hurricanes. The creation of the levee system actually aided in the destruction of the wetlands - confining the Mississippi River as it enters the Gulf of Mexico prevents it from depositing sediment in the surrounding wetlands. That sediment is full of nourishment that is crucial in keeping the wetlands alive. "We cannot survive with levees alone, [...] The reason the levees are not working now is because of the destruction of our wetlands systems."
So that brings me back to my original point. The city is collecting Christmas trees "to help rebuild sediment traps destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge." The trees will be put in the water to trap sediment and block waves.
The program existed before and there were hundreds of thousands of trees in the water, but the hurricanes washed them away.
More information (and photo credit) at the Department of Environmental Quality here.
I think that's a really, really cool program. I wish I could donate my tree, but the drive from PA to LA would probably do more harm to the environment than good.
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