Amadeus Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 You may have seen it on the news already and I just thought it was worth mentioning here - Hurricane Katrina is about to hit New Orleans. Usually, a little hurricane hitting the US wouldn't be big news, but this one seems to be a bit different: It was upgraded from a categorie 1 (74 to 95mph) to a category 5, the most powerful one, with wind speeds of 155mph and above - that alone sounds scary. Then, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city on sunday, saying Katrina would be "an unprecedented event in the history of the city, and we want everybody to get out." - that's 484,674 people on the move, and over a million if you count the complete metropolitan area in (Source: Wikipedia) - even more scary.. And to make things even worse, the whole city sits in a bowl, most of it six feet below sea level, and is surrounded by water. Lake Ponchartrain lies to the north and on the south is the Mississippi River, which meanders through the city, so severe flooding is pretty much a certainty... In case you're wondering how this will affect us, then you'll find out the next time you stop at the petrol station, as the Beep tells us: "In the Gulf of Mexico, oil production has been hit, with capacity of over 650,000 bpd closed down, along with seven refineries and a huge offshore terminal. In Asian trading on Monday, oil prices jumped nearly $5 to touch a high of $70.80." Now, is it only me that thinks that the whole "global warming" and "climate change" thing may be a bit more serious than we think? I'm by no means a Tree-hugger (as I think I pointed out before), but the stream of bad news regarding the weather doesn't stop, and there's only so many events that you could declare to be part of the "natural cycle" of things.... Edited to add: Come to think of it, what was the worst weather related event to ever hit the Island? And are there any contingency plans in place for a really serious event in the future? I mean like really serious, not just a few cars being moved around on the Prom - just curious.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 New simulation with C02 gasses - may account for extinction 250m years ago? URL above gives info on a new climate modelling software - they reckon that increased C02 had a lot to do with the mass extinctions 250 million years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 For a little while it seemed as if Katrina was going to turn out to be a damp squib and that all the media hype of it was really down to a slow news day. Then all at once the forces of nature asserted themselves and we're left with a human tragedy ona huge scale. If global warming is a reality (and I think the question mark against diminishes with every day that passes) then we should look at the flooding in the USA and perhaps be aware that those scenes may turn out to be the legacy that we leave to future generations in many parts of our world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarBee Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 New Orleans and the gulf states are destroyed. I cannot fathom such devastation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted September 1, 2005 Author Share Posted September 1, 2005 For once, a US coined term for a catastrophic event does not sound cheesy - it does look as if a Tsunami went through there and the sight of New Orleans is truly shocking and terrible. I very much agree with Lonan and believe that events like this are connected to changes in our climate in one way or another, but I was a bit surprised to see that our Minister of the Environment back home, Jürgen Trittin (of the Green Party - what a surprise..) has caused something of an outrage with his recent comments and lack of sympathy. Not very diplomatic at all and he promptly got mail from angry Americans - god knows what he was thinking at the time.. Although he does have a point in blaming Bush, if not on the basis of global warming, then certainly on the fact that the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war, a story I hope will be picked up by the media very soon, as it once again shows his redneck tactics and inability to lead the "Greatest Country in the World". Everytime I watch the news, I feel as if I'm watching "Escape from LA" and expect Snake Plissken to appear at any moment - only to realize that this is real and as unbelievable as it seems... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stavros Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 I've been sent this link and thought that I'd post it in case anyone is interested or would like to help. Link: American Red Cross Stav. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarBee Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/2001/07-...7no16_myths.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 German Environmental Minister Jürgen Trittin remains stolid in his assertion that Hurricane Katrina is linked to global warming and America's refusal to reduce emissions. He may be right, but the timing of his tirade is way off. Essentially, they were outraged that in the middle of a crisis, a German minister would turn to America and -- instead of reaching out a helping hand -- virtually point a finger and say, "You asked for this." Why? They bloody did ask for it. Now is the perfect time to stand back, point fingers at the Yanks, and laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theintelligentthug Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 " ive a suggestion to keep you all occupied;learn to swim" Maynard J. Keenan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScope Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 Saying "I told you so" at a time like this is a little insensitive to say the least. But they've definitly got a point - maybe Dubya will have another read of the Kyoto Protocol now. And take a bit more notice this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trinity 23 Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 just watched Shrub jr's interview on the TV and I have to say the man is a goon... Grr that man makes me angry! My thoughts are with the people waiting for the emergency aid to get through... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 It does seem that the New Orleans/Mississippi area has been a disaster-in-waiting for quite some time, and that the measures that could be taken to counter it have been ignored. It may be fair enough to condemn the Dubya administration for diverting funds from such projects to his foreign adventures (anything that condemns or undermines that pathetic and ridiculous individual is fair in my opinion!) but the last time there was a disaster of this kind in the area was 1969. Therefore, it ought to be asked why nothing effective has been done in the intervening 36 years under a variety of administrations? Whilst all efforts are, quite rightly, focused on dealing with the plight of the survivors at the moment, there ought to be a time quite soon when those kinds of questions need to be asked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeyconcrete Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 Something someone posted on a list I'm on, noticed the subtle differences in the message portrayed in both pictures http://news.yahoo.com/photo/050830/photos_...1810_shxwaoma_p hoto1 http://news.yahoo.com/photo/050830/480/ladm10208301530%3E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesemonster2005 Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 You may have seen it on the news already and I just thought it was worth mentioning here - Hurricane Katrina is about to hit New Orleans. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> And while this catastrophe happens in the US no one gives two xxxxs about the goings on in Iraq or the result of the stampede which cost over 1000 lives north of Bagdad. I love how the media are so quick to clasify anything as a catastrophe or a disaster regardless of it's size but dependent on its whereabouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 I am astounded by the way the relief operation has been handled. The national guard (at least those not in Iraq) have been deployed to stop looting. Meanwhile, those left in the city don't have food or fresh water. And this is four days after the storm. This is a major city in a major country and the response has been slower and less effective than that following the Tsunami. Should Bush be appealing to the rest of the World for assistance, because at the moment they are showing no signs being able to cope? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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