Disastrous: Katrina

During the presentation by Steph and Alison the discussion was turned to the issues of how sudden natural disasters are and their origins in the workings of the earth’s physical system. Even with different triggers, all are caused by interactions among three overlapping systems including the human social and cultural system, the built environment, and the preexisting natural environment in which they are embedded. I found the presentation on the social consequences of environmental disasters to be interesting especially with the presenters first hand experience in a disaster zone rebuilding project. Hurricane Katrina, in August of 2005, was a great example of human and non human factors coming together to produce traumatic events that impact all levels of social and economic development. The fact that the city of New Orleans, being built in such a vulnerable area, had little precaution for such a natural and unexpected event seems outrageous to me. Hurricane Katrina is a good example of environmental racism as the individuals of the nine ward are those who are both physically and socially vulnerable because of their economic situation. I find it ironic that corporations and industries are thinking of setting up shop with tourist attractions as I believe the say “strike me once shame on me, strike me twice shame on you” will tend to take effect. I also continue to wonder how those with in this low income area of the city will manage to maintain their homes in New Orleans with the increasing prices of insurance and the cost of rebuilding. Independent insurance companies are creating an unrealistic cost for this necessity of living in which the corporate interests are able to maintain and manipulate the results for a better economic value in the land. I also found the idea of a conspiracy theory to be intriguing, it tends to feel that issues at seem to unreal to be true, tend to no longer be natural or social ways that things in this world are going wrong (global warming or the holocaust) but that it must be a conspiracy of government agents against the rest of the world (9/11 or 2012).
-After seeing the cost of lives and 1.15 billion dollars do you think that the corporation of the city would/should now pay more attention to the externalities previously disregarded?