If you do the Great Loop counterclockwise, like most people, you’ll go down the Illinois River from Chicago to the Mississippi; I did this in three very easy days a few years ago on a Beneteau 34 Swift Trawler, and entering the Mississippi was breathtaking. The Mississippi at that point is simply awesome in its breadth and power.
But then, about 20 miles or so downstream, the Missouri flows into the Mississippi on the west side, and the Mississippi simply gains in strength and majesty. It is indeed the Mighty Mississippi, carrying the strength and energy of the heartland all the way down to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico.
But lately the Missouri has been in trouble. It floods way over its banks, and then it floods again, flowing over levees, villages, homes and farmland. And the flood waters, and the debris, all go down the Mississippi, disrupting shipping and navigation along the way.
Here, in a long, detailed story from Bloomberg, is a story under the provocative headline, “The Missouri River Is Just Going To Keep on Flooding,” with the subhead, “Humans have been struggling to confine it for more than a century. The costs seem to be higher than the benefits.”
It’s a significant story about how we manage our natural resources, and what happens when they get out of control. Read more:
