Why New Orleans matters

For those still asking why they should care or help pay for the recon-
struction of New Orleans and wondering why a city exists in such a vulnerable location in the first place, The Times-Picayune succinctly provided the answers today in an editorial previewing the one year anniversary of the hurricane:

"The location of greater New Orleans is at once ingenious and perilous. Having a settlement at the confluence of the greatest river in North America and the Gulf of Mexico has reaped tremendous political and economic benefits for the United States.

The hardy, resourceful souls who settled here almost 300 years ago carved a world-class city out of marshland. Those early settlers withstood plague and war and built a seaport filled with graceful homes and sweeping boulevards. They mixed French, Spanish, African and Caribbean influences to concoct a delectable cuisine. Later generations gave America the gift of jazz and turned street parades into high art."

But wait, there's more.

"The state is a prime supplier of oil and gas and seafood to the nation. Nearly 34 percent of the nation's natural gas supply and more than 29 percent of the crude oil supply move through coastal Louisiana. Eighty percent of production in the Gulf of Mexico occurs off our coast.

As for seafood, 40 percent of the shrimp, oysters, crabs and fish consumed by Americans are from here."

Of course, as New Orleans goes so goes the state of Louisiana. Now do you get it?