National Geographic article about New Orleans
The guy that wants to sell us to Disney is obviously quoted for shock value. Journalism 101.
And a perfect reminder of why I hate journalists.
"Massive" is a relative (but loaded) term. Compared to our spending in Iraq, the necessary funding for proper hurricane/flood protection is not "massive," it is barely a blip on the radar. And it does not need to be "endless" - especially if our share of oil royalties actually comes to pass.
Bottom line is that they led off the article making it sound as if there is no way in hell anything good can possibly occur down here. I resent the hell out of it.
As for the corps, in addition to levees and pump stations, there are all kinds of plans on the boards for structures further out (such at the IHNC/MRGO intersection, as mentioned earlier), and collaboration with the State's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority on Cat 5 projects and coastal restoration. There are also some local groups looking at ways to better wall of sections of the city into compartments so that a flood in one area does not take down the whole city.
There is a lot going on. National Geographic chose to ignore the parts that didnt make us look like blinkered boobs.