New Orleans and Katrina
I have yet to insert my political views into my blog, but I figure that this is as good as a time as any. First, let me state that I characterize myself to be a moderate liberal, although many conservatives might call me "far left" (this is probably true with regards to most social issues). Of course, these same people call anyone who disagrees with them to be "far left".
The situation in New Orleans and the Mississippi/Louisiana coasts is simply awful, unimaginable devastation. I feel bad about the people are have been killed, whose homes have been destroyed, etc.
That said, I think the situation in New Orleans is the worst example of governmental failure in the history of the United States. My perspective is a little bit different than you might think. I do not necessarily agree with one woman who claimed that the State of Louisiana has left her to die. Is it the government's role to help secure the safety of 1.2 million people who live in a city after they were hit by a hurricane? I don't think so. I think the government is actually doing a reasonable job of handling the aftermath. The looting is appalling, but I don't think it is the government's fault for this atrocious activity. These looters are the worst of human beings (unfortunately, horrible people are far too common) who do not even deserve a government, let alone one as good as the United States.
The fault of the government revolves specifically around New Orleans and its readiness for a hurricane of this magnitude. Katrina was a class 4 hurricane, which exceeds the design capacity of the New Orleans system. Who decided to design levees capable of handling a class 3 hurricane? Well, that is your friendly neighborhood government. I have heard that they did not want a better design due to ascetic reasons. Regardless of the reason, this is the failure of the government. Above all else, the government should have prepared New Orleans for a hurricane of this magnitude. This would still be a disaster, but the city would not be under 20 feet of water and the death toll and subsequent recovery would not be so expensive.
The government needs to make reasonable assurances that its public will be kept safe. It has been known for years that New Orleans was not ready for a big hurricane. And this is the failure. People are now complaining about levees that have failed and that they are slow to be fixed. Well, they were not designed to handle this situation, so it was expected that they would fail. And using reason, it would be expected that these levees would be very difficult to fix during any catastrophe that would be big enough to cause them to fail.
Our president (and most other conservative politicians), in my opinion, is very short-sighted on virtually every issue of importance. Our failure in Iraq is one example. I agree with him that removing Saddam Hussein from power would be a good thing. However, removing Saddam Hussein from power would have all sorts of trickle down effects, which would far exceed the benefits of removing him from power in the first place. And, my dear readers, my opinions on this subject pre-date our invasion of Iraq. The abyssmal situation in Iraq should have been anticipated, much like a Class 4+ hurricane hitting New Orleans.
Where am I going with this? I have little doubt that global warming is one of the factors causing all of these hurricanes. Our president says that the scientific evidence is not compelling enough to warrant the negative economic impact of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. I ask: What will be the economic impact of ignoring global warming in the long term? Unfortunately, the "long term" is now, because our government's failure in New Orleans has substantial economic impact on the country and the world right now. Our economy, which has been blessed with very low gasoline prices until recently, is now going to be hurting. Lucky for me, I have a stable job and my economy can handle the increased costs associated with higher gas prices.
In conclusion, I have two hopes right now. First, that our government (particularly G. W. Bush) gets their collective heads out of their asses and starts considering the long term. The word that they should recite at least 10 times each day is "sustainability". Second, given the inevitable cyclic nature of politics, our society will not swing too far to the left in the near future. Afterall, I am a big believer in being a moderate. The only thing worse than a government that is too conservative is one that is too liberal.
The situation in New Orleans and the Mississippi/Louisiana coasts is simply awful, unimaginable devastation. I feel bad about the people are have been killed, whose homes have been destroyed, etc.
That said, I think the situation in New Orleans is the worst example of governmental failure in the history of the United States. My perspective is a little bit different than you might think. I do not necessarily agree with one woman who claimed that the State of Louisiana has left her to die. Is it the government's role to help secure the safety of 1.2 million people who live in a city after they were hit by a hurricane? I don't think so. I think the government is actually doing a reasonable job of handling the aftermath. The looting is appalling, but I don't think it is the government's fault for this atrocious activity. These looters are the worst of human beings (unfortunately, horrible people are far too common) who do not even deserve a government, let alone one as good as the United States.
The fault of the government revolves specifically around New Orleans and its readiness for a hurricane of this magnitude. Katrina was a class 4 hurricane, which exceeds the design capacity of the New Orleans system. Who decided to design levees capable of handling a class 3 hurricane? Well, that is your friendly neighborhood government. I have heard that they did not want a better design due to ascetic reasons. Regardless of the reason, this is the failure of the government. Above all else, the government should have prepared New Orleans for a hurricane of this magnitude. This would still be a disaster, but the city would not be under 20 feet of water and the death toll and subsequent recovery would not be so expensive.
The government needs to make reasonable assurances that its public will be kept safe. It has been known for years that New Orleans was not ready for a big hurricane. And this is the failure. People are now complaining about levees that have failed and that they are slow to be fixed. Well, they were not designed to handle this situation, so it was expected that they would fail. And using reason, it would be expected that these levees would be very difficult to fix during any catastrophe that would be big enough to cause them to fail.
Our president (and most other conservative politicians), in my opinion, is very short-sighted on virtually every issue of importance. Our failure in Iraq is one example. I agree with him that removing Saddam Hussein from power would be a good thing. However, removing Saddam Hussein from power would have all sorts of trickle down effects, which would far exceed the benefits of removing him from power in the first place. And, my dear readers, my opinions on this subject pre-date our invasion of Iraq. The abyssmal situation in Iraq should have been anticipated, much like a Class 4+ hurricane hitting New Orleans.
Where am I going with this? I have little doubt that global warming is one of the factors causing all of these hurricanes. Our president says that the scientific evidence is not compelling enough to warrant the negative economic impact of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. I ask: What will be the economic impact of ignoring global warming in the long term? Unfortunately, the "long term" is now, because our government's failure in New Orleans has substantial economic impact on the country and the world right now. Our economy, which has been blessed with very low gasoline prices until recently, is now going to be hurting. Lucky for me, I have a stable job and my economy can handle the increased costs associated with higher gas prices.
In conclusion, I have two hopes right now. First, that our government (particularly G. W. Bush) gets their collective heads out of their asses and starts considering the long term. The word that they should recite at least 10 times each day is "sustainability". Second, given the inevitable cyclic nature of politics, our society will not swing too far to the left in the near future. Afterall, I am a big believer in being a moderate. The only thing worse than a government that is too conservative is one that is too liberal.
posted by frazwood at 11:20 AM
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