From: S.J. Van Sickle (sjvan@csd.uwm.edu)
Date: Thu Sep 16 1999 - 07:24:54 MDT
On Wed, 15 Sep 1999, Spike Jones wrote:
> It does bring up an interesting point tho. What if we could divert a hurricane
> from a densely populated area to a sparsely populated one? Those few in
> the sparsely populated area could sue. They would win. Once again, our
> legal system to the rescue. spike
Something like this already happens from time to time in New Orleans (my
hometown). The whole place is 6 feet or more *below* sea level, so every
drop of rain that falls in a short time has to be pumped out. The Dutch
visit to learn how it is done. From time to time, we got a *lot* of rain.
Like 12 inches in 12 hours. So sometimes the engineers (and their bosses)
have to decide if the Rich Folk's neighberhood gets flooded, the Poor
Folk's neighberhood gets flooded, or they both get flooded. Almost
invariably, the Rich Folk's neighberhood gets saved. The Poor Folks sue.
Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose. Nothing changes: next time the
Rich Folks get spared, the Poor Folks get new interior decorating courtesy
of the Federal Flood Insurance Program, and the lawyers make out like
bandits.
steve
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