I find myself in front of Ann Duplessis' house, a Senate member of our state legislature, in a super-wealthy gated community in New Orleans East that I didn't even know existed. The place is trashed. Million-dollar homes with floodwater lines 4- to 6-feet-high. It is a weird feeling to stand next to that line on the house and imagine being here a month ago. The grass of the golf course is dry and brown. The NRDC team I am here with gave me a mask to wear to protect my lungs from the mold, which is everywhere. There is not much reconstruction going on here. I wonder if these people are going to try to bring this place back. The levees that were supposed to protect this area were over-topped. They did not fail, they just were not tall enough. There is no way to really protect this place from the encroaching tide.
Sad really when you think that they probably were not required by their lenders to have flood insurance. Even still, they would only get $250,000 (which does not include contents). Poor rich people. At least they can pick up the pieces and move to higher ground. Not true of our other New Orleans East friends.
I wonder what we are breathing here. I think about the air all the time, and it is strange because today is one of those beautiful days you just want to hang out in a park with a picnic lunch, a Frisbee, and a great friend. But, instead, I worry and drive around my city with a public health team sampling our air for mold, endotoxins, and particulate matter.
Don't get me wrong, I am happy to do it. We need independent sampling. Who trusts the government to do it? The EPA has been gutted by budget cuts and tainted with cronyism just like every other incredibly important government agency. FEMA went from a saving grace to a damn disgrace. It is a shame. I love my home and it is hard to see it like this.
Casey Roberts is the Chair of Sierra Club's New Orleans Group.
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