An AP poll has 80% saying don’t rebuild New Orleans below sea level. This sounds like a rough consensus, but it doesn’t include everyone, obviously. Here’s one alternative voice:
Joyce Jones, a retiree from Modesto, Calif., said: “If the levees were built stronger, they should put it back the way it is. We’re a nation of lots of smarts. Those Corps of Engineers can do just about anything.”
I find the language here interesting. I absolutely agree that the nation has lots of smarts, and, given those smarts and sufficient time, money, and effort, great feats of engineering are possible. However this statement contains an implicit limitation on what we are allowed to use those smarts for: can we apply the smarts only to the engineering, or are we also allowed to be smart about what goals we choose to engineer?
The other obvious question, not posed by AP, is “which sea level?” Do we pick a value from the 19th century, the 20th, or what reasonable expectations are for the 21st? And who gets to define “reasonable expectations”? This one could get very sticky and political, but get it wrong, and the same problem could repeat far sooner than necessary.