announcer: on this episode of "earth focus," lessons learned durg g hurrane e kaina arar ing put to the test alonthe coast of losisiana. meme prect n newrleansnsill submerd d by te enendf thisis cetutury. e reregi' survival depen on its ility todapt to clite chang if sucecessfu lououisna mayay provi a a blurintnt f otherer ound theorld. [film advae clicki]]

ccker:herere we famimies hee.e. the werere ds in n e streetlaying ftball, right? ere wereeighborsthis houswas the ndy ladyas kids, wwould co down nd spendur quarts and sitere on ts porch d eat it and jt t enjothe e atspherere ofththe counitity,ight, , d aat we awaway st oveveight. it just got whehed aw. [heliptpter wrrining] man: a are sing g sces likik isis onehrouought the e ty. lieberman: y you rembeber if you told them atat th levs had broken? brown: dodon't recall spififical, bubut was t tt ww orlns i is oodingng

waers: no.it. knckcked or ththemlants s their poch lastninight,uh?h? miss is some seset wi youou. aououple mononthago, w whad a rain storm, jt t a ornaryry instorm in southstst louisian i it waone e of those days that t thoug, "heyjujust aittle ra," b but low and bolold, t city ooooded.he d draage sysyem was noupup to r. tuerer: weoved hurcanenes kids. i remember wn the ca came, would py out inhe wer. it w just anher day off from schoolright, b n now it's teifying.

it's terriing. walts:s: thiis n not hoaxax this is rl.l. clite c chae is real,o o how we e li with h ? i think t this ctioion town,e'e' statartg to undststand at w wat and climate cngnge go hanand hand. johnsn: new leans ithe last 5 to 7 years has alally tan n on areatat aptatioioof climate resience a c clime ange. elevations s one thehe major aptptatio thahat u sometis s see,s ththathe hous are raid d high. this the cenr for th sustaible engament and velopmen we ha rain gaens here. we hel comumuniti howow tbuild d in rdens. walalso he aa

orarard. y see o or hererewe have momons. t usus o off here.ffter atrrin you u d all these toxinsrorom thwateter,o thawent intthe soiland that's all ov the low ninth wa and probly a loin losiana. edently, e process of going througththe treetoto beafruiuit,t doese't come in t the fit. . al, we remmend abe-bed gaens ere you n put frh soil t gi you cro that are not tantnted wh ththatoint.. whawewe've e trd to d dis help with the comninity tfirsrst educe e themecauausthey t confused aboutyou knowisis clime change p polital ise.e. is reaeal?e juststry to gi t them e fafact then n try to shohohow th can be advoceses forow w we apt toto th c clima. tucker: if we n't do mmethg, al this s auty of newrleans tat everody loves, trists co down to ee, th' be l lking at jt water.hat's it.

wiwiiams: thplan we'e've releled on believes that wcan figh water, d d if y' everereen toa a beacwhenen tre's a ripdde a youou tink yoyo can fighwateter,ou w willearn tht t youillll le thatatattle. wagger: with climate adaptati plan, ou have wet systemnd a dryystem, s wheyou neeto liftater ou you cado that, t when you need tlelet thwater in you calelet thwateter throu that syemem inttheese canals a c circute it arnd the city. wiiaiams: memeansome p pple might wa p pastere e an thinknk h, yeah. it'jujust orgrorown grass." no. it's lolow-lng ararea at h hasertainin vegetatn n in ithatat ithe

perft t vegetionon wn youu nt watetoto absb anand able to dissatate at more gradl l ratei memeanit doeoe't look lika a lot nanatal scienc b but tre''a l lot of natalal scice t thagoes i into .. waggone c costsess s toave green inasastrucre b becse this low-maienance. ths isis aodel of part o othe city as theaiain drnagege bin. you haven n underounund stem,, the white nenes unr ththe earthththe id wasas tget thth water intththese pes,s, tget atat wat to o the pumpmpand push it outththat w thehe ththod. willia: : trutof t theatterr , there no way s solveur water iueues wi jusust r pumpsndnd turnes. it's s no enou. it wi never b ough. waggoner: you kno d decad of doing te e wronthing usllyy killou. we t our deh waing in 25. lliams: there w a polical wi to makeure that thisity seesnother00

yearsit wouldeaean hang vy beauful, ve aesthet bluays alonwith greways througut the cy, us ling witwater, sthat whethat next storm com, , becae itit's ing to ce--that's a fa-- that wat has a alace to go other an your rs and yr homesnd the seet. [flm advan clicks] ed: at me pointfter hurcane katna, peop stard d to g reaeallserioio about coaalal isss, and ty started to thk about sksk reductn,n, procting pele from fldingng, geththerith restoraonon as e ththinthat needs to badaddresd, a ando we came up with this asastal aster pl which is a listff projectsththat ve e ben scientificlyly vetd, a ando we haverorojectthatat ddge materi f from e plplacand pupu it in otother ace e toctuallll

buildewew mares w whe therer's open ter at e momenton the risk-reduction sidewewe haveextenive e sees off leveesndnd flogatetes ound somcrcritic coaoast commitities.hesese a projejes that wehihink wl woworknot wornonow, b worork to thehe future. man: this iskykylane4788 noemember. kolke s stat'soastalalaster plan a a $50illilion50-yeaea plani i conser m mysf an ococeanoapheher d a coasl geologis s so ilookok aissuee like y y we sk inin lisianana and a also ok a at sues l le how we rebud coasta landscapeththe baier isisnds e one othe firslines of defens aginst a srm, righ so tice hothis is w pretty muchontinuous. ther's no channelin the mdle of i this is examplef a rested

barrieisland. al r rightthenen y can senenew orans,s, sthat''s one of the moror poskatrininleveee improventnts, sthe e id was t t basiclyly to ll o offhis arar to prevent a stormurge fro gettingo the lor ninth rd. leve a are setimimesuilt w wh earth, and someteses th're but t withoncrcret but t t core points s thathey y arall a wall th p protes anan aa from was s and singng wers from atotorm. e bigges variable this iseaea lev riseif the sl level rise ras s are the lownd of th specum of what peopl redict, en you cld rebui lage areasf the lascape d providflood prection for a t of peoe. if ras are athe highndnd, th i thnk a lotf f area wilill lost, even with thetatate'ss best foforts.

all rhtht. we, wewelce to cocoieie. thmasaste planan nedsds a l of f int, andndo the kind of wo t that do f fee intohe parameters th t the state needss s partf itits master anan. so y you kw, i i jt wantnt to veve you vieiew what t e salt marshes ouound he lolookike. youanan seehat t the'marsh for mes in th d direcon.. marsheprprovida lolot buffefe frm m storenerergyso theh're a buffebebetweeour r hun civilitition a the seaso t the resrarationnvololvepumpinin sediment io o a mah lilikehis to raise thelelevatin tto low it to bter keepacace wi seaea level rise d d to fl inin aas that have ered.

so isis is e bububbdove structure,hihich ione e ofhe majoflfloodges i in e morgaa a to t gululf vee system. wita a leve onene questionhahat yohaveve i who'iinsid annd o is tside ee lev sysyste by drdring thisalall inhe m mar, you'u're changing t e envirmentnt, t yo''e alalsoettingngown a series p princles s ofho lives wherendnd theindsds o choiceshahat the cocommitiess face in theeaears aad, , so of which e e gointo b be ry, veve tough cicices.

albert. . naqu: ththisrea used tbebe lov' lane e cause there watrtrees l ovoverhe pla. . yououldld g in hehe and go hide ba t thereso o w'dd lisn n to mic a andang ouou with uur gifrieiendy'l do't ind d if say t tt, huh? all right. iasas borand d raed right hrere, ithehe tll grara right he. i gue it presenthehere a of f my anctorsrs w born anraised nd died,nd a lots buried overeere, s wewellso to o , it memeans whoholeunch.. comarlle: theand is portant us becae it's whereurur anctors seted.. that's whe are falieses a. that's whe t the hrt of wh we ar i is. ' a sppe that w come onwith.

albert p. nainin: thindidian werinin theay o of e whitit man, so ty alall gneded treaeses forore landnd more landand tha's h we got to overerere. t govoverent chased us, w we seled d ov here d d was ppy,y, a now mother natures s gettg usus away. uunet:his is mgranandpents on my mothe'side,e, m grandmoerer andy grgranatherr righththere. wasas rsed hehe my whole lifeyyes. le de jeanhaharlesas a alws beenena wonderful acace toive.e. t isld d did'tctualal open up toththe wod fufull not u uil oout t eararlyiftieseshen our road w b built itasas vereasysy twake up t morningnd see aadillo t the yd or opoum o or raccoon,oou knw, crossg the

yard whateve whatnotall that has cngnged bausese, th a lot oitit jusbeining ter nono thererees he didiedff. whwh you'rere seeg isis aually y st a kekeletoof what usesed , you kw? alerert p.aquiuin:o me, , means momost, guesess u cann say, like fafamilyembeber ving cancer, u u knowit''s beiei eaten ay,y, younow, whe it's usust a ttlele b by lilile bit gtiting dtroyoyednow, t t only thg is, t piece land is lastingononger an t theuman bo c can.

the e right rere is oil field canal.thther's e aat paes h her there's one that paeses a b fururth, and erere's onone at pasass in the ba, , so y'e lookokg at water s saltwer i intsion coining fr thehe peline e nals, anththey dtroyoyedhe vegetati that wesed to have... butyoyou kn, momostf thee peop w work r ththe l companiesththey'rere e onee that'ss putng f fooand papaing the ntnt andortgtgag and s sff like that, so, amumuch ayouu hatehehem, u h hav to lili them dure: islee e jeanharlrless-- at's the cmmon yinng?-the cary in thmimine fld. . w're

seeing-vever he, wewe cl it elative sea leveririse. u have t g globasea a lel rise, ich is igight, t ababou80% of the sea lev r rise re i is becausef f subsence, soe bothububsidi and youave e th glbal sea vel riset t the same te, so w a are snkiningy, i thk k it's s 3illimemers a year.t t doe't sod like much, t you gontnto 40 years, 50 yrsrs, anyou star to noticeififferees w whe yo''e alalrey onlylylightly abe e the ter r li isle e jeanhaharles brunet: inhehe begning, itas a sw proces i it warealally not alally niceaeabl but t tn whenev the water started coming in evemomore wh it, it got to bmmore pid d bause ey had more watecocomingn a the landidn't stand a chance,

so my y peop on n thr own d m make e dedecion to o ecause othe wate denaaqaquin:y dadad ved ofof the isld,d, i wt toto s, righgh before i wasororn beuse e he was'tble to g to o wo withh the road oooodingnd h he eded to work but i am fm m the biloxi-chitichcha-chtaw band ofsle de jn charle a and th's my herigege, th is s my daughte'' hererige. yy know, aat's ouour mily l lacy. albtt p. quiin:aah! [lghghter] tt allhe p peoe who o ll be namedhuhurry , fafarm boy.. a chilwas born evebobody wt anand sit and broht a gif n now 's t

happening. thankouou forodayay's ssrise. aid, you wa a indianame? yes. younaname ilittttleox. the displacenent rely, , rely made chchangen ouour lture.e. now w weind d ofive-- ha hhaha!--le there e nono indians, ok? dre: the ly way tsese coastal commitities ll survive into thlalater st century itoto proct o ourlves from thgugulf omexixicoi reale e in 3 yeaearsthis w wl probablbebe allpen n war. i mean,hehe seaill l ta us alal over. at i'mm tryg toto dwith the lee system, what'm trtryintoto do,s buy ouelveves o or 3 neration

it's just ouout imssible t inude themntnto a vevee syste it woulcost probly 00 milln, and iwould be near impossible because the llt coitions a so o ba you know, touiuild a flood-proctction oject, y have h have re b benits an cost.nene thi thahat's nono factor i in thcost, th onlnly look t the ct ofof t homeses the costf f the sineness, the infrasucucturebut,t, y know,w, don't t knohowow y put aricee on it,utut thedo n notonsider the cost of a wholculture. [film advan c click [tm-tom pling] comardel: : as dplacacemt kee h happeng a ande

jusfufurthesepapara our mmmmunit it't'll jususget lost [men chtiting] man: turn t the lt. comardell w we lened d abt a national disaster resilncee plan mpmpetitn, s so submitt our pla. we word to fit witththe ste's sterer plan, and th p preseed it, a it gofufunded sande: : righnow,w, t way relocatns typically hapn n in the uniteststateswe relelon an indivuaual buout mode d so, i other words, someone receiv somome mpensati

to go live sowhwhere se, , bu in doing sowwe dlosse at cultul l fabr, soso wdon't really know w we camoveve pelele colctivivelas a g gup chear and mo e efficntlyly than individuals. comardle: there's very littleosositivin t theorm ofof resettlentnt of oplele. u know, gerernmen jusust n't it well. we presteted a different model, community-design,, comnnity-riven. thiinkhat was, d d look on n th and said, "le's t i it. t'try aa pilot proamam, seif we ca figure ouhow w too ththisn a smaller scalsoso we n chchan itoror--" have soanyy coununitiein t the.s. anan aboad th's cingng tse samam clmamate iues, and i tnknk th's y so m my peoplarare wahingng, causee it's le,e, "okcan n weeallyy gett ts right?becacauswe know hoimimportt itit ifor thth future ofhehe wor to o geit right. brut: ther's a realityhere

that ionon't lilikebut i i's somethi that i ve to fa up to becae, you e, i hado go erere anmake a disioion leave a place that's aays s be home f 7 7 or generatis, and that wasn'easy to t go of, and, in fact, in itite of ananswerg g thatuestion feww times, it still esesn't make i easy. [film advance clksks] comardelle: t this thehe n prerrrred se fofor e islala. thiisis whe ourur cmunitytys nnnna mo to.o. 's s beautil l plac to o methis i i new li, , new rth,h, a sustnanable ace.e. ts is a a healthy acace. saders: no w we dondererstd that isis is histstorally

tril l commity,y, a we alal unrsrstandhat t polationon ave left this ptiticula location ov a a perd ofof te, and tho folks w are succesulul in is p proct will have o oppornityty t reconititute t the n locationbubut ouprimimarset of befificiars arare e peopop livi o on thislalandwe wanan to pick up the pplple th arere ving inhis direscenario nd ensurthat they live mewherehat is se now an ntnto thfufuture comarlllle: iope e th the tri w wouldwn t theand, a a acuauallywe e st of l le a mixed nenershi youou kw, thehe llks wld h havfull r rhts to eir r la, bubut the s se tie,e, if ey were go o an want tmomove o of f itit wouou rert back t the tbe s so at way, that land wi b be foverr sacred f t the tbe t to ve. sanders:e'veot to wa a pretty finliline bwhicich 'r dedevelongng somhing t tt makeke sen f for ts cocommity bubu also coulde e applable t ta uch wider array c commnities that y y be ia simila situion. we mply do't he a good answero that ueuestio

yet. comardell i i finthiis ery empowerg.g. it's s alwing u uto breadodown se ofof tse cututural rririe, somom of those griebabarrie thaha'ss been in acace fr yeaearsast. you did'tven n reize itit everotheher rricananseason, yo'rehavivingo replple cars or furnitur y you d' have e chance h have vingngs,nd youou don't he a a chce to o low yo k kids havave bettererext step life. srting ouin thisieiece opropoper, theyey can he e a ho andnd aay too progrs s intohe f fute. if f was to poraray itn anan endgegered ecieies st, thth is r rebirtwhwhere canan starour new pupulati to o ge off atat endgerered eciess lis

announcer: "earth focus" is made possible in part by the orange county community foundation and the farvue foundation.

[monkey screeches] simons: it doesn't seem to matter how long any of us may have anticipated this, this time of cataclysmic climate chaos, escalating violence, and infrastructure collapse. after so many years of learning from brilliant bioneers colleagues how much of our civilization needed reinventing to avoid catastrophe, and recognizing the disastrous effects climate chaos would bring, and knowing that ecological, economic, political, and cultural systems would be stressed to the max, i have to