The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is undertaking a $31 billion, two decade project to build a system of flood protection levees and gates for Houston. At first I thought maybe it was designed during the Eisenhower administration and the Corps is just now getting around to building it. But no, it’s nickname comes from Hurricane Ike in 2008. According to Grist, this is “the largest project that the Corps has ever undertaken”. This is impressive, considering the size, scale, and speed (by Corps standards) of the levee construction to protect New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Both systems are being questioned as possibly under-designed for projected future climate conditions. It does tell me one thing though – the U.S. Congress will pony up to protect major coastal cities when push comes to shove. There will be more to come.