Reversing the Flow of the Chicago River: An Engineering Marvel or Environmental Catastrophe?

Matt Buckles

AHTC Summer Fellowship 2009

National Archives and Records Administration, Chicago, IL

To download this lesson in PDF format, click here.

Lesson 4: The US Army Corps of Engineers and the Environment Today: New Orleans

· The US Army Corps of Engineers is still active in projects in the US and abroad.

· Look at Vision and Mission from website. Have they succeeded with this project with the Chicago River?

o Mission: Provide vital public engineering services in peace and war to strengthen our Nation’s security, energize the economy, and reduce risks from disasters.

o Vision: A GREAT engineering force of highly disciplined people working with our partners through disciplined thought and action to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions to the Nation’s engineering challenges.

· What about future projects? The most famous…New Orleans levees, became an issue after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

· Show graphic of elevation levels and levees in New Orleans. Use Google Earth to sow levees, river and lake of New Orleans. Humans started the problem by making this region a major population center. Something bound to happen eventually regardless of the size of the levees. Show YouTube clip about the rebuilding of levees and current issues.

· Start project that will be finished in the final day of the mini-unit

Lesson 5: US Army Corps of Engineers Project (started in second half of Day 4)

· In groups of 4, students will take the role of a US Army Corps of Engineers team. They will have to pick a real or fictional environmental issue and design a project that will address both human needs and environmental concerns.