Online Public Relations Thoughts

One of the many giant tasks that Southern Louisiana and Mississippi have is a public relations campaign. That campaign will keep those in place who are determined to move and lure those back who have gone. It will also invite those back who visited New Orleans for a culture that has been nearly ruined. Settlement outside of affected areas has begun. Once completed, it will be difficult to get people to uproot and return. In fact, many won't, and others will take their place.

A second part of that public relations campaign should be to convince people never to settle so close to the water again. This is time to put in -- finally -- rules that prevent people from building on barrier islands and close to shores that are vulnerable to major storms. Inexcusable building on unstable coastlines, such as North Carolina's Outer Banks, has been occurring for the last 50 years. It should be stopped once and for all with the example of Katrina.

Here's a bet that it won't be. The power of public preference overwhelms wisdom time and again.