[i_love_my_yorki]

Here's the Story of a Hurricane
> >
> >In 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency ranked a major hurricane
> >strike on New Orleans as "among the three likeliest, most catastrophic
> >disasters facing this country," directly behind a terrorist strike on
New
> >York City. Yesterday, disaster struck. One of the strongest storms in
> >recorded history rocked the Gulf Coast, bringing 145 mph winds and floods
> >of up to 20 feet. One million residents were evacuated; at least 65 are
> >confirmed dead. Tens of thousands of homes were completely submerged.
> >Mississippi's governor reported "catastrophic damage on all
levels."
> >Downtown New Orleans buildings were "imploding," a fire chief said.
Oil
> >surged past $70 a barrel. New Orleanians were grimly asking each other,
> >"So, where did you used to live?" (To donate to Red Cross disaster
relief,
> >click here or call 1-800-HELP-NOW). While it happened, President Bush
> >decided to ... continue his vacation, stopping by the Pueblo El Mirage RV
> >and Golf Resort in El Mirage, California, to hawk his Medicare drug
benefit
> >plan. On Sunday, President Bush said, "I want to thank all the folks at
the
> >federal level and the state level and the local level who have taken this
> >storm seriously." He's not one of them. Below, the Progress Report
presents
> >"How Not to Prepare for a Massive Hurricane," by President Bush,
> >congressional conservatives, and their corporate special interest allies.
> >
> >SLASH SPENDING ON HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS IN NEW ORLEANS: Two months ago,
> >President Bush took an ax to budget funds that would have helped New
> >Orleans prepare for such a disaster. The New Orleans branch of the U.S.
> >Army Corps of Engineers suffered a "record $71.2 million" reduction
in
> >federal funding, a 44.2 percent reduction from its 2001 levels. Reports
at
> >the time said that thanks to the cuts, "major hurricane and flood
> >protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. ...
> >Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5
> >hurricane has been shelved for now." (Too bad Louisiana isn't a swing
> >state. In the aftermath of Hurricane Frances -- and the run-up to the
2004
> >election -- the Bush administration awarded $31 million in disaster
relief
> >to Florida residents who didn't even experience hurricane damage.)
> >
> >DESTROY NATURAL HURRICANE PROTECTIONS: The Gulf Coast wetlands form a
> >"natural buffer that helps protect New Orleans from storms,"
slowing
> >hurricanes down as they approach from sea. When he came into office,
> >President Bush pledged to uphold the "no net loss" wetland policy
his
> >father initiated. He didn't keep his word. Bush rolled back tough wetland
> >policies set by the Clinton administration, ordering federal agencies
"to
> >stop protecting as many as 20 million acres of wetlands and an untold
> >number of waterways nationwide." Last year, four environmental groups
> >issued a joint report showing that administration policies had allowed
> >"developers to drain thousands of acres of wetlands." The result?
New
> >Orleans may be in even greater danger: "Studies show that if the
wetlands
> >keep vanishing over the next few decades, then you won't need a giant
storm
> >to devastate New Orleans -- a much weaker, more common kind of hurricane
> >could destroy the city too."
> >
> >GUT THE AGENCY TASKED WITH DEVELOPING HURRICANE RESPONSES:
Forward-thinking
> >federal plans with titles like "Issues and Options in Flood Hazards
> >Management," "Floods: A National Policy Concern," and "A
Framework for
> >Flood Hazards Management" would be particularly valuable in a time of
> >increasingly intense hurricanes. Unfortunately, the agency that used to
> >produce them -- the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) -- was gutted
by
> >Gingrich conservatives several years ago. As Chris Mooney (who
presciently
> >warned of the need to bulk up hurricane defenses in New Orleans last May)
> >noted yesterday, "If we ever return to science-based policymaking based
on
> >professionalism and expertise, rather than ideology, an office like OTA
> >would be very useful in studying how best to save a city like New Orleans
> >-- and how Congress might consider appropriating money to achieve this
> >end."
> >
> >SEND OUR FIRST RESPONDERS TO FIGHT A WAR OF CHOICE: National Guard and
> >Reserve soldiers are typically on the front lines responding to disasters
> >like Katrina -- that is, if they're not fighting in Iraq. Roughly 35
> >percent of Louisiana's National Guard is currently deployed in Iraq,
where
> >guardsmen and women make up about four of every 10 soldiers.
Additionally,
> >"Dozens of high water vehicles, humvees, refuelers and generators"
used
by
> >the Louisiana Guard are also tied up abroad. "The National Guard needs
that
> >equipment back home to support the homeland security mission,"
Louisiana
> >National Guard Lt. Colonel Pete Schneider told reporters earlier this
> >month. "Recruitment is down dramatically, mostly because prospective
> >recruits are worried about deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan or another
> >country," the AP reported recently. "I used to be able to get about
eight
> >people a month," said National Guard 1st Sgt. Derick Young, a New
Orleans
> >recruiter. "Now, I'm lucky if I can get one."
> >
> >HELP FUEL GLOBAL WARMING: Severe weather occurrences like hurricanes and
> >heat waves already take hundreds of lives and cause millions in damages
> >each year. As the Progress Report has noted, data increasingly suggest
that
> >human-induced global warming is making these phenomena more dangerous and
> >extreme than ever. "The hurricane that struck Louisiana yesterday was
> >nicknamed Katrina by the National Weather Service," science author Ross
> >Gelbspan writes. "Its real name is global warming." AP reported
recently
on
> >a Massachusetts Institute of Technology analysis that shows that "major
> >storms spinning in both the Atlantic and the Pacific ... have increased
in
> >duration and intensity by about 50 percent" since the 1970s, trends
that
> >are "closely linked to increases in the average temperatures of the
ocean
> >surface and also correspond to increases in global average atmospheric
> >temperatures during the same period." Yet just last week, as Katrina
was
> >gathering steam and looming over the Gulf, the Bush administration
released
> >new CAFE standards that actually encourage automakers to produce bigger,
> >less fuel efficient vehicles, while preventing states from taking strong,
> >progressive action to reverse global warming.
>
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