New Orleans
Aug. 30th, 2005 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walbournThe extent of the damage is indeed sobering, and I feel for those who are suffering and will continue to suffer for the foreseeable future. New Orleans is a town of immense character, and it is sad to see it so hard hit. With that said, it was bound to happen at some point. Environmentalists have been warning of the potential damage to the city from lost wet lands for years, and even without the influence of global warming potentially causing more intense storms, a large storm was going to hit the gulf sooner than later in just right the spot to cause major damage.
Perhaps over the coming weeks there will be more discussion of the environmental issues that should have been be addressed, the historical perspective of large storms hitting the U.S., political support for critical scientific thinking on how to address the concerns of increasing storms from global warming, being proactive about other places in the country ripe for such an impact, better civil defense capabilities to help the poor without any effective public transportation evacuate seasonal storms, and the economic realities of being dependant on a few key oil-producing facilities. I doubt it though. It seems to make a better story to make it sound like a random disaster from the blue that nobody could do anything about.
In any case, it is clear the name Katrina will be retired from future use by the US weather center.
Perhaps over the coming weeks there will be more discussion of the environmental issues that should have been be addressed, the historical perspective of large storms hitting the U.S., political support for critical scientific thinking on how to address the concerns of increasing storms from global warming, being proactive about other places in the country ripe for such an impact, better civil defense capabilities to help the poor without any effective public transportation evacuate seasonal storms, and the economic realities of being dependant on a few key oil-producing facilities. I doubt it though. It seems to make a better story to make it sound like a random disaster from the blue that nobody could do anything about.
In any case, it is clear the name Katrina will be retired from future use by the US weather center.
