Surviving Katrina
Tomorrow night at 9PM in the US the Discovery Channel is screening their premier of the two hour special Surviving Katrina.
Using a combination of news footage and home video, as well as dramatic reconstructions, the show recreates the buildup and landfall of Hurricane Katrina from the perspective of several survivors. The scenes showing the speed of the deluge as the levy system literally collapses under the pressure are quite shocking, but more shocking is the posturing and hapless floundering of the authorities. They Mayor is impotent, Homeland Security just get in the way, the Police are overwhelmed, FEMA just seem to have no clue: the whole situation is a giant SNAFU.
More shocking however is the aftermath, as people are literally abandoned by their leaders to fend for themselves in the drunken ruin of their city. As the interviews with FEMA director Michael Brown, and Charity Hospital doctors make clear, no-one knew what to do or how to help people. There simply was no plan in place.
Climate scientists agree that rising levels of atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases, the lead cause of global warming, are causing hurricanes to become stronger and more frequent.
The frightening thing about the tragedy in New Orleans is that no-one seems to have learned lessons from it. With sea-levels predicted to rise by six meters over the next ninety years, thousands of coastal cities will face similar catastrophes. Planning for the impact of the damage we’ve already done is a necessity our myopic leaders are choosing to ignore. Reducing our carbon emissions now is the only way to prevent even wider devastation. — DS
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