The city council of New Orleans voted unanimously to demolish thousands of public housing units while protesters tried to get into the chambers and were maced by police standing behind iron gates, some of who appeared to be smirking. Yeah, that’ll get a lot of good PR for the city.

And no, they aren’t rebuilding an equal number of affordable units. Instead it’ll be the usual forget the poor and build upscale units. So where are the former residents supposed to go? Perhaps if the city had made some semblance of caring for them, they wouldn’t be faced with pitched protests that will undoubtedly continue.

Myths and facts about public housing in New Orleans

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The Bush administration’s decision to deny California the right to regulate greenhouse gases from vehicles exploded like a grenade here and in California. But it was hiding in plain sight for weeks.

Schwarzenegger says California will sue the federal government, which certainly indicates an open rupture among Republicans. And at least eight other states are joining California in the fight.

I wonder, does Bush have any allies left? Or has he alienated all of them?

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Don’t let TinKKKerbell attack you too!

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The Rio Grande has no excess water left to give, so border cities are looking at desalination.

“The Rio Grande is one of the most stressed river basins in the world and water use is already at its limit,” said Casey Walsh, a water specialist.

El Paso, some experts say, could run out of water by 20 10. Think about that, a major city with no water. So, El Paso has built an innovative inland desalination plant that processes brackish ground water into 25 millions gallons per day of drinking water while Mexico may channel the river into pipes to prevent loss from seepage and evaporation.

California might want to do this too, as the all-important California Aqueduct flows through desert areas in open channels where water loss must be substantial.

Will technology be able to provide water fixes for increasingly drought-stricken areas? The inescapable fact is that, for many areas, there is too little water and too many people.

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