You remember Katrina, right? You know, the gigantic hurricane that nearly wiped out New Orleans? It's kind of hard to think that anyone could forget, what with the death toll and property damage and devastation and all. The Gulf Restoration Network (GRN) certainly hasn't, and they haven't forgotten why the city took such a hard hit, either.
The reason? Depleted marshes, a.k.a. New Orleans' natural buffer against the Gulf's tropical storms. The levees that were in place when Katrina hit may have actually been effective had the marshes still existed. Thanks to decades of canalizing, however, the marshes have become dangerously flooded, increasing the Louisiana city's risk of further hurricane damage. Like we saw. With Katrina. Riiiight.
Like all things of this nature, it's hard to imagine exactly what this situation looks like - and exactly how widespread. To give the world an idea, the GRN put together the above video. Watch. Learn. Tell your friends. Because, like all things of this nature, the damage will only increase unless we spread the word and take action.
To learn more about the GRN's efforts, check out the article they wrote for Think Earth.
