I have already noted my pessimism about the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina’s massive destruction. I predicted that the people would not return to rebuild their homes and lives. However, there is a part of the greater New Orleans complex that probably should be rebuilt and that is the shipping ports. The country can live perfectly well not having a rowdy Mardi Gras celebration, but without the ports of South Louisiana and New Orleans, which lay north and south of the city of New Orleans, we and the rest of the world would experience economic disaster.

These ports at the delta of the great Mississippi River have been important throughout the history of the United States. Today they are important to the world’s economy as well. A large portion of the agricultural commodities from the bread basket of the midwestern states exit these ports on their way to the world’s markets and a large portion of the materials necessary for America’s industrialization come into these ports. The delta ports will be rebuilt and a city will surround them, but it will not be the City of New Orleans that once was. See Katrina the Prophesied Storm.

The road southwest from New Orleans into the heart of Cajun country rolls past chemical plants, oil refineries, pipelines, and storage tanks, crisscrossing a network of manmade waterways and natural rivers and lakes. In this land of levees, canals, bridges, and bayous, nearly all industry and residents are connected in one way or another to the maritime and energy industries.

Transected by the Mississippi River, which carries 40 percent of all U.S. exports, southern Louisiana is also home to the Port of Southern Louisiana — the busiest port in the world in terms of tonnage — as well as the Port of New Orleans. Combined, these two facilities account for 60 percent of all U.S. grain exports.

In addition, the region is a hub for both offshore oil and gas drilling operations and the offloading of petroleum from foreign tankers, as well as a strong industrial base for the refining, distribution, and storage of petroleum products. Southern Louisiana accounts for significant production of military and civilian jet fuel. (January 1, 2005, Clifford S. Barney, John Borden, GeoIntelligence)