A riot of finger-pointing is raging over the whys and hows of the Katrina calamity. Mere months ago,
Washington shot down an extra $1 billion in the Energy Bill to strengthen Gulf state coastlines. Expect 25 times that amount in damage. As Michael Scherer of Salon.com says, "The scale of such funding is almost laughable now." Terrorism, a Big Easy hurricane, and a Bay area earthquake were the worst disasters that FEMA imagined, months before Sep. 11, 2001. "But by 2003 the federal funding for the flood control project essentially dried up as it was drained into the Iraq war," points out Sidney Blumenthal. D.C. slashed levee funding by 44 percent. Oh, and FEMA was swallowed up by the Homeland Security Dept., sending emergency response roles to the private sector. Some levees were as low as 10 feet, eight feet shorter than recommended.
But "I told you so" is the last thing that victims need to hear right now. And despite recent ineptitude, what caused the great suffering of the Gulf region has roots earlier than this administration. The city of jazz and jambalaya sank gradually below sea level as it became more populated. News.com summarizes the opinion of one engineer: "If there is a bright spot in the gloom, the disaster may help policy-makers focus more sharply on the relationship of cities and the environment." Hope that's true, with rising sea levels threatening to erase other wonderful places within our lifetimes.
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