Hello Everyone:
I’m John Bis, recently a faculty member and Assistant Dean at the University at
Buffalo. I decided to finally pack it in after many, many years. I’m now easing
the transition by teaching part-time this Fall semester.
I responding to issues of politicization of the Katrina disaster. What
particularly caught my eye was the title noting our "Love Canal" disaster here
in Western New York. It would seem that pumping New Orleans’ polluted waters
from neighborhoods back into the nearby lake and the Mississippi is probably
based upon expediency. How to rapidly get those underwater areas dry as quickly
as possible. Much has been said about the plight of the poor, mostly black
residents majorly impacted by Katrina. What reaction do you think would occur
if the federal government said, "Hey, wait a minute. You have to pass all of
that neighborhood water through sophisticated filtration systems before it can
be sent back into the river?" That probable significant delay would most likely
brought a chorus of shouts about the government caring more about some
environmental protection statutes than the plight of the poor blacks.
A good perspective on all of the politicization and impetus for blame of
Katrina’s impacts is provided by a colleague of mine. His opinion piece
appeared in last Thursday’s Buffalo News.
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Rushing to pin the blame after a disaster
Ernest Sternberg
15 September 2005
Buffalo News <javascript:NewWindow(
'FIISrcDetails','?from=article&ids=bfnw');void(0);>
Watching the unfolding of the Katrina tragedy, many of us understandably want
to finger the culprits. But we should be wary of what has been called
"hindsight bias."
To explain, let me lay out an alarming disaster scenario for the Buffalo area.
It starts with a severe winter storm that closes down the streets, stops
business and keeps us at home for a few days. So far, that's familiar. But it's
followed by an ice storm that downs power lines and makes roads slick and
dangerous. Relief cannot get into the city; Meals on Wheels can't get to the
elderly; drugs can't get to the sick; those on home life-support don't have
electricity.
Now comes the bad part. Remember the ice storm that hit the Adirondacks in
1998, stranding 320,000 without electricity? Many of those rural people had
fireplaces or wood stoves. But in Western New York most of us have natural gas
furnaces, which need electricity to operate.
As our disaster scenario continues, a deep, biting cold hits Buffalo. The
majority are now trapped without heat. Reports start emerging of elderly people
freezing to death, others dying of carbon monoxide poisoning from unvented
heaters, and of fires burning uncontrolled because firefighters are stalled on
icy roads.
As usual, those with the fewest resources suffer the most, since they are least
likely to have backup heating or extra food. Those with four-wheel drives try
to get away, but disabled cars clog the roads. The City of Buffalo has a lower
rate of car ownership than New Orleans, and the elderly and inner city poor
cannot get away, even when roads briefly open up.
Sure, it's a terrible scenario, and chances are great that it won't happen.
It's probably a lower chance than that of a Category 4 hurricane hitting smack
against a levee. So, we're warned.
Are we now going to act urgently to spend the billion or so dollars (just an
estimate) to change the region's heating systems? Are we going to purchase a
few dozen extra-large emergency generators able to keep shelters warm, just in
case? How about stockpiles of fuel and food?
Are we at least going to restore job cuts to Erie County's Office of Emergency
Services, which has lost 30 percent of its budget and many employees, or add to
Buffalo's emergency management coordination office, made up of one person?
The answers to all questions, except perhaps the last, will be "No." Nor is it
completely clear that, in view of our many problems, emergency management
should have the highest priority. After all, we don't know how likely this
scenario is.
If the terrible event does occur, all the future critics, all biased by
hindsight -- who are as of now in no rush to spend money on disaster prevention
-- will howl for blood. Such a rush to blame has the destructive effect of
turning responsible officials into defensive bureaucrats.
There is, after all, no such thing as a good disaster. Those on the front lines
of decision-making become the most obvious scapegoats. While others rush to pin
blame for the Katrina tragedy, let us be sure we've got our own house in order.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ernest Sternberg does research on disaster planning at the University at
Buffalo's Department of Urban and Regional Planning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Bis
Youngstown, New York
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Darryl and Natalia
Sent: Sat 9/17/2005 3:30 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc:
Subject: [Futurework] N.O. Love Canals & Secular Inclusion
All mail scanned by NAV
Articles below from Sam Smith's Progressive Undernews:
http://www.prorev.com
Also, at the same site, an important look at how the world of politics
ignores the fourth largest faith group. It's titled:
Seventh Day Agnostics Arise @
http://www.prorev.com/agnostic.htm
HIDDEN LOVE CANALS?
GEOFFREY LEAN, INDEPENDENT, UK - Toxic chemicals in the New Orleans
flood waters will make the city unsafe for full human habitation for a
decade, a US government official has told The Independent on Sunday.
And, he added, the Bush administration is covering up the danger.
In an exclusive interview, Hugh Kaufman, an expert on toxic waste and
responses to environmental disasters at the US Environmental
Protection Agency, said the way the polluted water was being pumped
out was increasing the danger to health.
The pollution was far worse than had been admitted, he said, because
his agency was failing to take enough samples and was refusing to make
public the results of those it had analyzed. . .
Mr Kaufman claimed the Bush administration was playing down the need
for a clean-up: the EPA has not been included in the core White House
group tackling the crisis. "Its budget has been cut and inept
political hacks have been put in key positions," Mr Kaufman said. "All
the money for emergency response has gone to buy guns and cowboys -
which don't do anything when a hurricane hits. We were less prepared
for this than we would have been on 10 September 2001." He said the
water being pumped out of the city was not being tested for pollution
and would damage Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi river, and
endanger people using it downstream.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article311818.ece
NICOLE MAKRIS, ALTERNET - As the government drags its feet, the
unknown number of human bodies decomposing in the New Orleans
floodwaters are becoming hosts for a horde of diseases. The bodies
continue to fester and rot, potentially contaminating the city they
used to call home. . .
The Centers for Disease Control has reported four fatal instances of
vibrio vulnificus, a cousin of cholera. Red Cross and other relief
workers are struggling to prevent outbreaks related to salmonella, e.
coli and other bacteria that cause nausea, diarrhea, and can lead to
severe dehydration. There is also cause to fear the spread of
hepatitis A, a virus that causes liver disease. But a real plan to
assess the health problems that could plague the Gulf Coast for
decades is noticeably absent.
Pollution has been a major problem in Louisiana for decades before
Hurricane Katrina hit. Reporter Ron Nixon coined the term "toxic
gumbo" to describe the potent mix of waste that courses through the
state. The Big Easy, perched at the mouth of the Mississippi River, is
located at the narrow end of a funnel siphoning immense amounts of
industrial, agricultural and human waste every day.
"Virtually anything could be in the water," said Jim Elder, the EPA's
former National Director of Drinking Water and Groundwater. "I'm not
sure that anywhere has ever seen all these chemicals put together in
the same place. That's why people are referring to this as a toxic
soup. I think that's a simple but apt description."
Elder says the many heavy industries based in Louisiana have been
leaching chemicals into the soil and groundwater for decades. But
Katrina stirred up an even deadlier mix of waste: submerged
automobiles are leaking oil, gasoline and other chemicals into the
floodwater; asbestos that may have been contained in old buildings has
been released by the flooding and the collapse of buildings; raw
sewage, decaying body parts, offshore oil rigs and possibly ruptured
pipelines all pave the way for a myriad of serious and potentially
fatal medical conditions.
http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/25552/
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WORST NEWS OF THE DAY
Republicans said Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff and
Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, was in charge of the reconstruction
effort
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MICHAEL BROWN EXPLAINS IT ALL
NY TIMES - Mr. Brown acknowledged that he had been criticized for not
ordering a complete evacuation or calling in federal troops sooner.
But he said the storm made it hard to communicate and assess the
situation. "Until you have been there," he said, "you don't realize it
is the middle of a hurricane."
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AP -
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