TX-Sized Stupid: Sea Level In Galveston Up 8" Since 2010; New Condos Planned For Barrier Island Beyond Sea Wall

[Brenda]

9. Folly, borderline insanity

In the wake of Hurricane Ike, Bill Merrell, a professor at Texas A&M at Galveston, helped conceive of the idea of a massive coastal barrier. That effort eventually grew into what has become known as the Ike Dike — the sprawling combination of walls, enormous gates and dunes that the Army Corps is expected to take decades to construct.

The plan would not only protect Galveston. It would fortify the entrance to the Houston Ship Channel — and the massive oil and gas infrastructure that lies behind it — from a catastrophic storm surge.

“The world has got itself in a fix. We didn’t mitigate” planet-warming emissions, Merrell said in an interview. “We are going to have to adapt to it. We don’t have a choice anymore. If we want to maintain our economy, our way of life, our social systems … we are going to have to defend the coast.”