Messing With Mother Nature

In the wake of Katrina (is that the forgotten King Crimson album?), both USA Today and the BBC website have stories today about how development of the Mississippi delta around New Orleans contributes to the problems the city is facing now. Basically, you can't disrupt the terrain's natural characteristics that tend to take the brunt of hurricanes and the like and weaken the storms before they hit the mainland. We've seen a similar phenomenon in West Virginia, as mountainsides clear cut of timber simply funnel heavy rain water into the hollers, rather than helping absorb the water as it falls.