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GUESTS: Paul Harrison, Senior Analyst at Environmental Defense

About a year ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated the coast of Louisiana, flooding New Orleans and ripping apart communities throughout the Gulf Coast. The breaking of New Orleans levees got the majority of attention in the media and government. But, the wetlands in the Gulf region were a natural hurricane buffer, whose systematic degradation made the region environmentally susceptible to Hurricane flooding. The Bush administration has committed $6.7 billion since last year for rebuilding and strengthening levees. This dramatically overshadows the $115 million for wetlands repairs — a spending ratio of almost 60-to-1. A new report by a coalition of environmental groups issued a report card and roadmap on Wetlands Restoration. It’s called “One Year After Katrina: Louisiana Still a Sitting Duck.” The report authors gave the government a D+ for efforts to protect Louisiana’s wetlands.

For more information, visit www.environmentaldefense.org.

Download the entire report here: http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/5416_KatrinaReportCard.pdf