Saturday, September 03, 2005

Environmental Extremism - Category 5

This is the first new entry I've made in a week. It was time to observe what went on regarding the hurricane that struck the Gulf Coast. So here are the observations:

What went right:
  • The National Weather Service accurately predicted the course of the hurricane many days in advance
  • As the hurricane became more violent, people were told to evacuate the coastal areas, including all of New Orleans
  • Most areas hit by the hurricane are beginning the rebuilding process
  • The entire nation is rallying to help those in the damaged areas with supplies and money
What went wrong:
  • New Orleans
Yup, that's it in a nutshell. Oh, I don't just mean that New Orleans was virtually destroyed. That's just the aftermath. Also the chaos afterward is a result of what went wrong... before the hurricane actually struck the city.
  • Settling on a flood basin
  • Building levees that were inadequate to withstand one-in-a-century storms
  • A local government with no emergency plans, including evacuation of the poor, infirm, or hospitalized.
  • A state with no emergency plans
  • A federal government with no emergency plans
  • House representatives and senators unwilling to set aside their pork projects for needed improvements to the levees
  • Local officials unwilling or unable to lead local resources
  • State officials unwilling or unable to lead state resources... including the state national guard under control of the governor
  • Federal officials slow to react to the situation
What's going wrong now:
  • Finger pointing by "leaders"
  • Finger pointing by the press
What's going right now:
  • Army and Navy units have been deployed and are bringing the situation under control and actually helping people.
So what's the conclusion:
  • In a catastrophic situation, politicians and the press are virtually useless
  • When something really needs to be done, bring in the military
  • It's all President Bush's fault because he didn't sign the Kyoto Accord and that let excess CO2 expand too fast and cause a category 5 hurricane
Okay, the last one really doesn't count unless you are JFK, Jr.