Saturday, April 8, 2016
12:30-2:00 PM
Organization of American Historians (OAH) Annual Meeting
New Orleans, LA
Keynote Speaker: Craig E. Colten, Louisiana State Univeristy
Tickets available through OAH registration process
Exporting Risk: New Orleans, Commerce, and Flood Water Diversion Craig E. Colten Carl O. Sauer Professor Louisiana State University From its founding, New Orleans has hunkered down behind ever-growing levees built to a blockade to the annual risk of Mississippi River floods. To protect its commercial infrastructure, the city has supported efforts to divert flood waters through natural and human made floodways and impose new risks on rural residents. In the face of rising sea levels and a subsiding shore, the city is supporting current state efforts to restore the coast. This position, once again, is forcing non-urban residents to adapt to changing conditions. The situation in Louisiana offers a glimpse into the larger urban-rural conflicts that will accompany climate change.
We Hope to See You There!