HURRICANE Gustav mercifully struck New Orleans only a glancing blow this week, leaving the evacuated population with homes to return to. As New Scientist went to press, it looks as though some of the tens of thousands of people who left low-lying Louisiana, west of the city, may not have been so lucky. The plight of this poor area of the US exemplifies the problems facing coastal communities around the world as sea levels rise.
According to the US Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the levees around and within New Orleans, the city’s defences are in much better shape…
