...a calamity compounded by poverty and neglect...

Now is not the time to heap blame...now is not the time to attack people for what went wrong in the preparation for Katrina. Now is the time to help. I strongly encourage readers to donate...as much as you can...to the Red Cross (www.redcross.org). But, please come back after you donate to read a perspective about one of the reasons Katrina was so bad.

I'm posting a big piece of an article I found on the Asian Tribune website. The entire article may be found at

http://www.asiantribune.com/show_article.php?id=2678

but I think this portion is particularly disturbing. It talks about the lack of preparedness to deal with hurricanes, etc. The title of the article is Hurricane Katrina: a calamity compounded by poverty and neglect. The article reports, very clearly, that governmental policies that dictate how to set priorities contributed to the catastrophe; not that government could have prevented the hurricane, but it could have used its resources to minimize the horror.

Lack of preparation

As always with a devastating event like Hurricane Katrina, voices are raised claiming that nothing could have been done to prevent the catastrophe. Such declarations are thoroughly false. While it would have been impossible to prevent all damage from the hurricane, there were definite measures that could have been taken to minimize the impact. That such steps were not taken is despite the fact that the areas devastated by Katrina lie along a path that has repeatedly suffered massive hurricane damage in the past. New Orleans is particularly vulnerable. It lies below sea level, surrounded on three sides by water—the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain—from which it is protected only by a network of levees and pumps. For years scientists and engineers have warned that a major hurricane could inflict catastrophic damage on the city. After Hurricane Betsy, the levee system was modified to withstand the force of a category three hurricane, but Katrina, when it hit land, was stronger—a category four storm. It was only a matter of time before a category four or five storm hit the city, but government officials failed to commit the resources necessary to shore up the levee system to withstand an event of that magnitude, including raising the height of the barriers to prevent the sort of flooding that occurred in the Lower Ninth Ward. The city depends on pumps to push water uphill, away from the city and back into the surrounding lake and river. However, these pumps operate on electricity, which has been entirely cut off since the hurricane struck. The pumps have apparently ceased operating. According to an article in the New Orleans CityBusiness, from February 7, 2005, the US Army Corps of Engineers “identified millions of dollars in flood and hurricane protection projects in the New Orleans district,” however “chances are... most projects will not be funded in the president’s 2006 fiscal year budget.” The article noted that between 2001 and 2005, the amount spent on such projects declined from $147 million to $82 million. “Unfunded projects include widening drainage canals, flood-proofing bridges and building pumping stations in Orleans and Jefferson parishes.” Officials have deemed a revamping of the levee system to protect the city against a category four or five storm prohibitively expensive, but the cost would have been far less than the damages caused by Hurricane Katrina. That these resources have not been marshaled to address the pressing needs of social infrastructure in New Orleans is due to the fact that the priorities of the government and the American ruling class lie on an entirely different plain. The attempts by the city to evacuate the population likewise demonstrated the lack of preparation in addressing the needs of the residents, particularly the poorest sections. In spite of an enormous traffic backlog, most residents with transportation were able to get out before the storm hit. But many of those without transportation were left stranded. In 2002, the Times-Picayune wrote a series entitled “Washed Away,” in which it discussed what would happen in the event of a major hurricane. “100,000 people without transportation will be especially threatened,” the newspaper wrote. “A large population of low-income residents do not own cars and would have to depend on an untested emergency public transportation system to evacuate them.” The lack of preparation for the city’s poor was revealed in an article that appeared in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, which was otherwise devoted to extolling the efficiency of the city’s evacuation measures. “Mayor Nagin urged churches Sunday morning to arrange evacuations for those who might not have access to a car. He mentioned Amtrak and Greyhound as possibilities... The mayor encouraged people leaving the city to pick up anyone they knew who didn’t have means to evacuate, but acknowledged that many poor New Orleans residents lacked a clear way to get out.” Even in the first days after the hurricane, it has become clear that the tragedy could have been much reduced if adequate measure had been put in place. As we learn more about the events, there will no doubt be further revelations regarding the social components of this disaster.

Energy

George Bush has decided to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help offset the reduction in production capacity that resulted from Hurricane Katrina. That's probably a good move, psychologically (it will give him more time to act), but I suspect it won't have any appreciable impact on the availability or price of gasoline; the lack of production is part of the problem, but it's refining capacity that will have the most immediate impact on availability and price. Refining capacity was already at its limits before Katrina.

My guess is that we will soon see some very severe shortages of gasoline, leading to rationing, long lines, and angry consumers. To quell the unrest of the populace, George Bush will begin to impose marshall law far outside the confines of where it is now imposed on the Gulf Coast. We'll see the U.S. government, along with state and local governments, do more and more to restrict personal freedoms.

Some people may think I'm crazy to think such things. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm afraid I'm right. It's almost as if Bush and his cronies stumbled upon a means to control the climate...and used it to advance their agenda.

A couple of years ago, I started one of my many failed attempts to write some interesting fiction. One piece is particularly relevant to the last sentence of the paragraph above. Mind you, I was jotting ideas and making notes about things I might include in the book:

Climate Control Service

It's some time in the not-too-distant future...ability to control climate has been attained...hemispheric climate control agencies have been formed by consolidated governments...there are political ramifications of immense proportions, in that one hemispheric climate control agency’s actions have a direct and measurable impact on the other agencies’ actions...evil political powers can try to wreak havoc on the weather of another area, as a military mechanism of control...Middle East gains control of certain climatic agencies in an attempt to develop large areas of arable lands, and to augment their already important control over oil reserves...the crux of the issue is that weather is caused by energy, and there is only a finite amount of energy in the earth’s atmosphere...so, positive changes in one area can create negative changes in another...the bad guys plot to control climatic control services to further their own ends...groups whose livelihoods depend heavily on weather (e.g., farmers) form political interest groups to exert pressure on governments to arrange weather that’s favorable to their interests...farmers & others threaten to create havoc if their demands and expectations are not met (e.g., crop destruction, etc.)...

News report...”Moderate rainfall has been scheduled for the next two days, with accumulations of 2-5 inches planned for the metropolitan area”...”

News report...”Unauthorized climatic interventions have been reported throughout North America by the Climate Control Service; North American President Robert Andressen has ordered the North American Military Protective Agency on full alert and has cautioned European President Jacques Clemente that dire consequences will befall the European Community if these interventions do not cease immediately.”

New Orleans...Maybe It's Too Late

The devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina may be, judging from what I have seen on television, the end of the city. Just a short while ago, I heard that attempts to plug the breeches in the levees have failed and the flow of water into the city is apt to increase rapidly tonight...possibly taking the water level in the city to three feet above sea level.

Even if the levees are repaired, where can the water be pumped to? How long might it take, even if it is possible?

I fear it may be necessary to completely abandon New Orleans. I fear it may be a city that recognizes, too late, that it should not have been where it is.

I suspect it may be necessary to build refugee camps to accommodate hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people. It is so painful to think about how absolutely horrific it must be to have to deal with the aftermath of the storm.

Hoping for Help for Victims of Katrina

I've been watching the horrible reports about the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. It is so awful to see the damage and to image how people are suffering through the ordeal. My immediate reaction this afternoon after hearing about the devastation was to make a contribution to the Red Cross.

Tonight, I heard news reports of so many organizations sending supplies and assistance to the affected area. Interestingly, many of the organizations are religious...churches, the Salvation Army, etc. It makes me think about an earlier post, in which I commented that I appreciate people offering help when it is not tied to their political or religious agendas. I realize I have a bias against religious groups...I make the assumption that they are out to convert people.

But when I see groups go out to help people in a situation like this, I soften a bit. I suspect the church groups that are making the trip to the hurricane-devastated area are not focusing on conversion, but on giving people aid. I suspect the people involved really do want to help. Their religion, as it happens, supports the concept of helping people. I admire that. I just don't admire the other aspects of their faith. But I do appreciate that there are so many that step up to help.

And, it makes me wonder why I rarely see humanist groups, secular groups, avowed atheists, etc. in the news. I wonder if such groups get involved like religious groups. I suspect they might be turned away if they tried to help. But I'd like to see them involved.

At any rate, I hope lots of people who are financially capable will donate to organizations like the Red Cross to help the victims of Katrina.

Who IS This Guy?

I sometimes...increasingly frequently...discover that I've let my emotions take complete and utter control of my good senses. Anger, annoyance, whatever...it captures the ability to dictate how I behave and how I speak to other people. A guy I consider to be generally a pretty nice guy, that would be me, turns into a banchee...screeching, screaming, behaving badly. People I like, people I love, people I don't know...any or all of them can be the subject of my scorn.

This is not new...but it's becoming more common. Could it be the insanity in our political system? Could it be the lack of fairness in our social system? Could it be growing impatience at my inability to completely change the world? Or could it be me...something about me.

All of this reminds me of some of the words to a Greg Brown song...."I don't know this guy." He's speaking of himself.

Food--It's What I Like

This morning, I woke up considerably later than I normally do on weekends, due in large part to the fact that I stayed up very late...reading blogs, watching television, and being generally unproductive. When I awoke, my mind immediately went to one of my favorite subjects...food.

I'm not quite sure why, at 6:45 am, I started thinking about gazpacho, but it was on my mind. I had read some new recipes for gazpacho recently and I decided I needed to find them so I would not lose them...I want to make some of them soon. So, I spend the better part of half an hour finding the Word files in which I had saved the recipes. I am not particularly good at organizing information on my computer at home...much better at the task at the office. After a somewhat frustrating search, I found them. I will plan on making a couple of different receipes for gazpacho soon.

Since food was on my mind, when my wife got up I suggested we go out for breakfast. We went to a very popular pancake place, where she had a pecan waffle and I had a dish composed of two halves of an English muffin, each topped with a sausage patty, a poached egg, and a mushroom sauce, with potato pancakes on the side. Decadent.

I may expand this post later...for now, I'm off to do errands.

Lives in the Balance

Today I had to drive about two and a half hours south to meet with members of an organization's board of directors to discuss the services my company could provide to them. I was able to pick up a radio station from the place I was heading after driving only half-way. I'm glad I did; the station played several songs that I really enjoyed. Much of the music was from artists like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, but there were pieces from artists I didn't know and some from singers/songwriters I know, but not well.

Today, there was to be (and I guess there was) a huge pep-rally for George Bush near his ranch in Crawford, Texas. I wish the folks who participated in that rally had, instead, listened to some of the music I heard:

Lives in the Balance, Jackson Browne
Jerusalem, Joan Baez
You Let Him Take Advantage of You, Guy Forsyth
Empire, Dar Williams

Anyway, I listened to the music and enjoyed it, but it made me think, again, about how many men and women have their lives in the balance at this moment because of George Bush's decision to start a war in Iraq. Still today, though, despite enormous volumes of evidence that the entire Iraq and antiterrorism agenda is based on lies, there are many, many people who think it's more patriotic to support a morally bankrupt administration than to call on our country to change its policies.

When will they finally realize that patriotism is not the same thing as blind nationalism? And when will they realize that what we sometimes mistake for patriotism frequently ignores own history?

I heard a debate, about the time of the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombs being dropped on Japan about the legitimacy of the decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. One of the debaters said the decision was justified because the Japanese attacked us and it spared untold lives that would have been lost if the war had continued. The other responded by asking a question, phrased something like this: "If a country is justified in using such weapons to stop a war because it did not instigate the war, then would Iraq be justified in using such weapons against the United States?" I thought the question had real merit...and it exposed something that too often Americans do not choose to acknowledge; our political policies frequently call for other nations to live by rules we choose to ignore.

It's not just that lives are in the balance anymore. It's that our way of life is in the balance.