Let’s not even discuss whether global warming contributed to hurricane Katrina’s fury by creating warmer waters in the Gulf or higher sea levels. Let’s instead focus on the fact that sea levels are rising and more and more areas are going to be at or below sea level in the future. What do we do to protect coastal cities?

There is no silver bullet answer to this question. It’s going to require a combination of different techniques and approaches in different areas. In New Orleans, restoring the wetlands is going to be crucial, along with a levee system. A lot more cities are going to have to build levees (or build more levees) in the future.

There are other common-sense things that can be done too. Any at-risk city should be building or raising a series of thoroughfares throughout their cities to be above the water line (by several feet to account for the upcoming rise in sea level).

Cities should also amend their building codes for all future construction. Concrete would be a much better choice. Countries like the Bahamas and Mexico already mandate concrete. (They can’t afford $100 billion to rebuild people’s houses–I’m not entirely sure we can either, but we must and will.) Concrete provides a natural insulation so you don’t have to sandwich layers together. It can withstand hurricanes much better than brick and wood. Post-flooding it isn’t prone to mold.

The human link in the chain will remain the weakest but it is also the easiest and cheapest to fix: just elect competent officials.

A common-sense approach to disaster planning, disaster management, and post-disaster management is essential to saving lives, saving property, and saving our entire economy. After all, how many Katrina’s can we take?