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]]

tukeker: tre w werfamilili her t thereere e ki in thth street pying fooall, right? the were nghbors. is house s the cay lady. ids, we uld comeown a spend o quarterand sit he on thiporch aneat it and jusenenjoy e atatmohere of e e commity,y, rht, anan tht t wentway y ju overnrnht. iit ju g got whed d aw. [helicoerer whiing]g] man: werere seeg scscen likee th o one toughghouthe cici. liermrman: youou remberr if you tolththem at th leveehad broken? oown: don'n't recall specicicallybut t itas thaha ne o orlea is s flding..

walts: no. s. knoeded ovethemem pnts onon tirir poch lastnighght,uh? miss is some upt t withou.. a cplple ofonthths o, we e d a rain storm, jusa a ordiry rastorm in southea louisiana.t t was e ofof ose days that wehohought "hey, stst a ltle rain butut lownnd bold,d, t city fldeded. t draraine systst was not t to pa tuck: : we led hurrines s as kids. i remember whethe calm came, weould plaout in t wat. it wasust anotr day off from school, ght, butowow it's s terrying.

it'terrifyng. walter t this notot aoax.. this is rea c clima chahangis real, shohow doe liliveith itit i think inhihis seion n of town, 'retartrtinto underanand th wataternd climate chae e goesand d in nnd. johnso new orans in e last 5 to 7 years has relyly takeonon a gat a adaation n clitete resience a cllime ange. evavations onone the jjor aptatatio that t u sometimesesee, ithatat t housesre raisehihigher this ishe centefor the sustainae engagent and delopment.we haveain gaens herewewe hel comninitiesow t to ild rara gaens. we soso hava

orchd.d. youee ovevehere, , have lensns. geus o oneff here. ateter krinina,you hahaall these toxins fm m the ter,r, s that nt into e soil, d at'all overhe lowerinth wardnd probay a lot louiana. evintly, th rocess of going through ee trees b bear uit,t, idoesn'n't come intohehe fru. alalsowe recoend abovbed gards ere you n put frh soil t giveou cropshat are not taieded witthatat pnt. what ''e trtrieto do o help withhehe comnityty tfirstt educatththem bausse ey gege confused about, u know, climatchange aololitic issu i is iteal?l? wjust t t to givehehem thfactcts.hen wewe try to show w w theyan be advocat f for h we e adt to thatlilimate tucker: if we n't do soetethin alallhis bebety of newrleans tat everody ves, tousts comeown to se, , the'llbe loooong at juswater. tt's it.

willllms: the an we' relii on believes that we n fight tter, d ifif y' ever been to bebeach en t the'a riptie e andou t thk youuan fifight ter,r, y wilill arn thayyou wll l losthat b btle. waggon: with alimate aptationlan, y have a t stem and dry sysm, so when u need o lift wer out,ou can o that, t when yoneneed to t t the ter in, you can t t the ter r in throughhat syst i into esese canals andirircula it arou the city. willmms: imeanan, me peoeole ghght wa pasastere anan think, h, yeah.t't'justst orgrownwn ass." no. it's a w-w-lyi eea th hasas ctain vegetatioinin it at i is e

perfecvevegetaon w wheyou wat water a absorand d be able to dissipe e at aore graduararate. meanan, doesns't look like lolot ofnattur science,utut the's lotot of natur s scien thahat es intnto it waggoner:ososts ls toto he green infrtrtructu bececau is is l-maintence. thiis a a mel of a rt of f e city as the mn n draige b bas. you have aunundergund d syem, the white lis s undethee earth. e e ideaas t to t thee water into esese pis, t to t th w watero ththespumps s d pusitit outthatat w the meodod. williamstrtruth thehe mter isthere iso way toololve o water isss s withust t ou pumps a t turbis. it's nonot enou. it wi never b enugh. waggoner: you know,ececadesf doing thwrwrong ing usuay kill yu. we goour deat warng in 200 wiiams: ifhere was polital willo make se tt t thisity seesnother00

yeyearsit wouldean n hang verbeautil, veryesthetic bluews along th greenys througho the cit us livi with ter, so at when at next storm comesbebecausit''s gog to com-that's a fact at wateras a p pce to go other th your ca and your omes andhe stree ilm advce click reed:t some pnt after rricaneatrina, ople 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.

simons: some of our most creative and innovative people and movements are like those edged landscapes in nature where several different ecosystems meet. like, for example, estuaries that mingle salt and freshwater plants and animals. those liminal ecozones are often the most productive, diverse, and resilient places in the natural world. it's the same in the human social realm. the spaces where different cultures, disciplines,