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drwexI'm really sick and tired of the obsession over hurricane Katrina. Nonstop updates, speculation, dire predictions. Enough already.
Let me first say that I love the city of New Orleans; I was lucky to be there for a few days earlier this year, once again and though it's gone downhill (into mass commercialization) compared to 10 years ago when I was there before I still think it's a great city to visit. I'll be sad to see it damaged, though I don't believe it'll be destroyed.
I'm also very sorry for the people who've had to evacuate and for the likelihood that they'll return to destruction and loss.
But that said... people seem to be losing sight of two things that I think ought to put this storm into perspective. One: this isn't the first Cat4 (or 5 or 3 or whatever it is this very second) storm to hit the US this season and I don't think I'd lose money by betting that it won't be the last. The situation sucks just as much if you're in the Florida panhandle, or Atlantic coast, or wherever when one of these massive storms slams in and wipes out your life, livelihood, childhood home, or whatever. Yes, New Orleans is a magical city, but I don't think it means more to the people who grew up there than homes do to people all along the coast who've had them wiped out by hurricanes this year or last. A misery contest is just stupid.
Second, the fact that we've had this many powerful storms isn't an accident. They're referred to as forces of nature and in one sense they are, but hello, we (humanity and particularly the industrialized United States) have been fucking up Nature for the past, oh, hundred and fifty years at least. Hurricanes are one of the major ways that (excess) heat is transferred from the hot tropical regions to the cooler northern regions. Anyone stop to ask why the hell there's so much excess heat to be transferred? Nope, just turn up the AC in your SUV and applaud the government being owned by the carbon industry. To a first approximation you can model the Earth's atmosphere as a heat pump. When you add energy to a heat pump it runs faster and with more extreme cycles. Hotter hots and colder colds.
Meanwhile people blither and dither about climate change - I'm sure I'll get plenty of response comments from the deniers who, as far as I can see, are in the same position as those denying that smoking causes cancer. OK, fine. If you won't do anything about the sources of the problem (and, frankly, it's unclear to me that any of us individually can, at this point) then that's your prerogative. But please don't get sanctimonious about this because as far as I can see there's a direct line from A to B and it's pissing me off.
If there wasn't any risk to actual human beings I'd be sitting here wallowing in the schadenfreude of the fact that Katrina is going to pound the crap out of refinery row.
Let me first say that I love the city of New Orleans; I was lucky to be there for a few days earlier this year, once again and though it's gone downhill (into mass commercialization) compared to 10 years ago when I was there before I still think it's a great city to visit. I'll be sad to see it damaged, though I don't believe it'll be destroyed.
I'm also very sorry for the people who've had to evacuate and for the likelihood that they'll return to destruction and loss.
But that said... people seem to be losing sight of two things that I think ought to put this storm into perspective. One: this isn't the first Cat4 (or 5 or 3 or whatever it is this very second) storm to hit the US this season and I don't think I'd lose money by betting that it won't be the last. The situation sucks just as much if you're in the Florida panhandle, or Atlantic coast, or wherever when one of these massive storms slams in and wipes out your life, livelihood, childhood home, or whatever. Yes, New Orleans is a magical city, but I don't think it means more to the people who grew up there than homes do to people all along the coast who've had them wiped out by hurricanes this year or last. A misery contest is just stupid.
Second, the fact that we've had this many powerful storms isn't an accident. They're referred to as forces of nature and in one sense they are, but hello, we (humanity and particularly the industrialized United States) have been fucking up Nature for the past, oh, hundred and fifty years at least. Hurricanes are one of the major ways that (excess) heat is transferred from the hot tropical regions to the cooler northern regions. Anyone stop to ask why the hell there's so much excess heat to be transferred? Nope, just turn up the AC in your SUV and applaud the government being owned by the carbon industry. To a first approximation you can model the Earth's atmosphere as a heat pump. When you add energy to a heat pump it runs faster and with more extreme cycles. Hotter hots and colder colds.
Meanwhile people blither and dither about climate change - I'm sure I'll get plenty of response comments from the deniers who, as far as I can see, are in the same position as those denying that smoking causes cancer. OK, fine. If you won't do anything about the sources of the problem (and, frankly, it's unclear to me that any of us individually can, at this point) then that's your prerogative. But please don't get sanctimonious about this because as far as I can see there's a direct line from A to B and it's pissing me off.
If there wasn't any risk to actual human beings I'd be sitting here wallowing in the schadenfreude of the fact that Katrina is going to pound the crap out of refinery row.
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no subject
Date: 2005-08-29 07:53 pm (UTC)I'm tired of people deciding to make their home in disaster prone areas and then promptly line up for their government handout when Things Go Wrong. The loss of NOLA, while incredibly tragic, was anticipated- to paraphrase the director of FEMA: "we've been planning for this for years."
As for the future of the city- is the city the buildings, or is it the inhabitants? I say NOLA will endure. Maybe not in its historic location, but it will endure.
(And for a city that has always insisted on doing everything "over the top," if this is indeed its swan song, then it's about as over the top as it could be.)