Dr. Seed Plants One on the Corps

The UC Berkeley-National Science Foundation report on the causes of the catastrophic flooding in New Orleans was released today, and most media lead with the report's criticism of funding shortfalls for the construction of the flood-control system. "Follow the money." The NYT runs with a story that features the blame the report heaps, mainly on the Corps, with some set aside for the local Sewerage and Water Board, but explain to me, please, how a story whose second-paragraph quote from study member Dr. Ray Seed is this....

"People didn't die because the storm was bigger than the system could handle, and people didn't die because the levees were overtopped....People died because mistakes were made, and because safety was exchanged for efficiency and reduced cost."

...belongs on Page 19. If the same paragraph had said...

"People didn't die because terrorists flew planes into the buildings, people died because mistakes were made, and because safety was exchanged for efficiency and reduced cost.."

... does anyone doubt that would have made the NYT front page? Is the cause of the drowning of a major American city really just a local story?

For a story that emphasizes that the study "proved the inadequacy of the corps", you have to turn to the Times of London coverage.