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September 07, 2005

LOOK DEEPLY INTO THE EYE OF KATRINA

"If I could get the ear of President Bush, for just a moment, here’s what I would say. Mr. President, if you had looked deeply into the eye of the storm, what you would have seen was the future demise of the planet we live on. It’s time to tell the American people and the world that the real lesson of Katrina is that we need to mobilize the talent, energy, and resolve of the American people and people everywhere to weaning ourselves off the oil spigot that’s threatening the future of every creature on earth. President Bush, spare us your homilies about American grit and determination to “weather the storm and persevere.” Instead, tell us the truth about why Katrina really happened. Ask all of us to consider a change of heart about our profligate energy-consuming lifestyles. Call on us to conserve our existing fossil fuel reserves and make sacrifices in our future use of energy. Provide us with a game plan to move America beyond fossil fuels to a new sustainable energy future based on renewable sources of energy and hydrogen power. We’re waiting."

READ JEREMY RIFKIN'S ENTIRE ARTICLE about our self-induced stupor from the effects of global warming.

EVEN MORE ON RELIEF AND WORLDVIEW @RELIEFNET

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Comments

I know the race to place blame is getting pretty crazy, but, really...

if you really want to know why this hurricane happened, blame me for moving out of Florida. I lived there for 15 years, where there was a strange lull in hurricane activity, ending with Andrew. not too long afterward I went to college, never to return. and then things really got going. remember last year? and now this. so you see, it's all my fault. but dont ask me to move back, as there's far too many people down there for my tastes. but my sister did just move back, so maybe that will help for the future?

seriously, we tiny humans dont know that much about weather patterns, do we?

Posted by: bobw at September 7, 2005 10:44 AM

I heard on NPR yesterday that the number of hurricanes hitting the US shoreline were not statistically relevant enough to determine if global warming was responsible. The man did go on to say that when you look at it globally over the last forty years, then you do see a slight shift. Though even he said he was skeptical as recently as seven months ago before he started writing his soon to be published book (Divine Wind).

I remain skeptical, not just for the reason bobw mentions, but also because we're only looking at a snaphot of data from the modern era.

What really pisses me off about what is going on with Katrina right now is the politicization of it. You can't blame GWB any more than you can blame the presidents from the entire 20th century.

People are suffering and all we can do is lay blame. Why can't people get off their arses and do something constructive? Donate some money, lead a relief team, volunteer your time, etc. I have and plan to continue doing so. Instead, people just gaze at the TV and surf the net for news as if it is nothing more than entertainment.

Posted by: Scott at September 7, 2005 03:18 PM

Yes there is a slight shift. And it's downward. Storms over the last 150 years have, on average, become less severe, not more.

Posted by: sboatright at September 7, 2005 03:29 PM

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