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| What will happen to the Mississippi river? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 17 2014, 09:08 PM (263 Views) | |
| Hedgehog121 | Feb 17 2014, 09:08 PM Post #1 |
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Rank 9
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With the Mississippi river rapidly growing and causing more spillway openings every Spring in Louisiana, what will be the future of the mighty ancient river? The river has had many paths over the last thousand years. It has gone through the Atchafalaya Basin, missing Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and it currently passes Baton Rouge and New Orleans both. ![]() With growing concerns about Louisiana's rapid coastal erosion, a solution would be to divert the river more south to push the invading saltwater back into the Gulf of Mexico. The river is the backbone of the South Louisiana economy with the largest port in America based in New Orleans and more ports North in Baton Rouge. If the river is diverted away from these cities, their economies will be devastated but it will be beneficial to the environment in the long run. At some points along the river's path in Louisiana the average depth reaches 150-200ft. If the river is diverted, the massive scar from the river will still be there. If diverted to the Atchafalaya Basin, residents on the river will no longer have to worry about the river's rise and spillway openings. When the Bonnet Carre spillway in St. Charles Parish opens due to rising river levels, it introduces a massive volume of freshwater into the saltwater lake. And due to the fact that the Mississippi is the most polluted river in America, it introduces toxic waste which have been put in by people North of Louisiana. The situation is really tricky to deal with and there's no winners in it. I really hope no major changes happen in my lifetime. |
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| CJ | Feb 17 2014, 09:15 PM Post #2 |
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A very minor case of serious brain damage
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Wow, I didn't know its course had varied so much over mere thousands of years! It does sound like a tricky one to deal with, though. Just going from what's in this topic, I get the impression that it'll have to be diverted eventually, but when it does happen, it'll be painful - especially for the people living along the river's current course. |
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| Jarkko | Feb 17 2014, 09:19 PM Post #3 |
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Christian. Exterminator of Spammers.
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I thought LA was the largest port in the USA in terms of cargo. In any case, I agree that it's a tricky situation to handle. Economy vs. environmentalism is an ongoing battle in parts of BC as well (Vancouver, Kitimat, Vancouver Island, etc.) |
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| Hedgehog121 | Feb 17 2014, 09:21 PM Post #4 |
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Rank 9
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Yeah. And to clarify, the map is labelled wrong. The red one should say Cocodrie and the green one should say Bayou Teche. |
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