Pro-Infrastructure, Anti-War Web Site Announces Overhaul, Expansion

NEW YORK CITY, Aug. 8 - As America's infrastructure shows cracks all over, one of its most committed defenders is stronger than ever.

The premier “pro-levees� online resource LeveesNotWar.org announces a “total overhaul� and expansion of its information and political action web site, just in time for the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches (Aug. 29).

Founder and chairman Mark LaFlaur says, “LeveesNotWar.org is now a more robust, user-friendly resource for political action than ever before. We’re calling on the White House and Congress to spend bravely and liberally on America’s infrastructure, and we invite everyone to use our site to fight the good fight.�

“We were lucky to hire web programmer Ed Swartz of Sandy Pond Consulting,� says LaFlaur. “We are delighted with the top-notch work he did to make Levees Not War a better organized and more attractive resource.�

*New and Improved Features*
The revamped web site includes news and commentary (on hurricanes, wars, etc.); links to lively New Orleans blogs and Louisiana web sites; phone and fax numbers of the White House and Congress; engineers’ post-mortems and congressional testimony; relief and environmental groups; exclusive interviews with authors and experts; and a well-stocked library of recommended reading.

Founded in 2005, Levees Not War is a nonprofit information resource and action network dedicated to generating help for the Katrina storm victims and aggressive funding for coastal restoration and a comprehensive storm protection system for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

The group will also be attending the second annual Rising Tide conference of “Katrina bloggers� in New Orleans on August 25 as part of the promotional launch of the refurbished web site.

Levees Not War’s web site and advocacy work are informed by consultation with engineers, ecologists, and other experts in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Washington, D.C., including the LSU Hurricane Center, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, engineers on the American Society of Civil Engineers’ levee-breach investigation team, and the staffs of various members of Congress.

*Homeland Security Begins at Home *

“If ‘homeland security’ means anything,� says LaFlaur, “it means taking care of our land and guarding our cities.�

As was seen with the post-Katrina spike in oil prices, the entire nation will pay dearly if the Port of New Orleans and the state’s oil and gas and seafood industries are not protected. Nearly 25 percent of all oil and gas consumed in the U.S. and 80 percent of the nation’s offshore oil and gas pass through Louisiana’s wetlands—of which almost 2,000 square miles have been lost in the past century.

“If New Orleans isn’t safe,� says LaFlaur, “no American city is safe.� While federal funding for disaster response and infrastructure reinforcement—levees, flood control pumps, etc.—is a matter of life and death for New Orleans, it concerns every American, regardless of residence or party affiliation. “Where is the federal government going to be when a disaster strikes your town?�

Further information contact:
Mark LaFlaur
leveesnotwar@mac.com <mailto:leveesnotwar@mac.com>
Kew Gardens (Queens), New York City