ArticlesReader.com Menu
Newest Articles
Most Viewed Articles
ArticlesReader.com RSS
Submit Article
Login
Signup
Search the articles

Articles Main Categories
Advice
Animals
Automobiles
Business
Career
Communications
Computer Programming
Computers
Entertainment
Environment
Family
Fashion
Finance
Food
Health & Medical
Home & Garden
Humor
Internet Business
Internet Marketing
Legal
Leisure & Recreation
Marketing
Other
Politics
Reference & Education
Religion
Self Improvement
Sports
Technology & Science
Travel
Writing
Subscribe
Receive alert message from us when new articles submitted to our site for free.

Enter your name

Enter your email

Syndicate

















Related Products
Home::Environment

Since Katrina, the Environment Is Front-Page News

Author : Aldene Fredenburg

Ever since the end of August, when Hurricane Katrina devastated
the major American city of New Orleans and the coastlines of
Louisiana, Mississippi, and parts of Alabama, the consequences
of environmental degradation have been front-page news.
Politicians and ordinary citizens are openly discussing what
scientists have believed for years: that the widespread
destruction of wetlands along the Gulf coast eliminated a
natural buffer zone which in the past had served to slow down
powerful hurricanes before they hit dense population areas.

The manmade levee systems in New Orleans and along the
Mississippi River also came in for some blame. The levees
disrupted natural processes which in the past had expanded the
fertile farmlands of the Mississippi delta. Instead, the
diversion of water caused subsidence which actually lowered
major parts of New Orleans below sea level - making them a prime
target for flooding, even without the breach of the levees.

Katrina and other recent natural disasters have become grim
lessons in the consequences of failing to protect the earth's
natural environment. Floods on the Malibu, California coast
periodically wash away million dollar estates - a result of the
soil on hillsides being weakened by clear cutting which
eliminated the root systems of trees that had served to hold the
soil in place. High priced residential communities encroach into
previously virgin old growth forests, and then are destroyed as
wildfires, often a natural result of lightning storms, wreak
havoc on the forests. Antiquated coal burning plants in the
Midwest cause air pollution that travels to the Northeast,
resulting in mercury pollution that kills rivers, lakes, and
streams and ends up in the human food supply via fresh-water and
ocean fish.

If there's a silver lining to the Katrina disaster, it's this:
Mother Nature has finally, dramatically, gotten our attention.
Proposals in the U.S. Congress to begin a wetlands reclamation
project along the Gulf coast are being taken seriously, and even
the issue of global warming is center stage again as scientists,
politicians, and pundits debate the effect of the phenomenon on
increasingly powerful and frequent hurricanes.

So What Now?

The awful destruction of Katrina, with its human and
environmental costs, presents a unique opportunity - to rebuild
a major American city from the ground up. Imagine a city
re-created in a way that functions with the natural forces of
the area, instead of against them. Imagine ruined homes replaced
with sustainable housing, a city running completely on
alternative sources of energy - wind and solar power, biodiesel,
energy harnessed from the tides. Imagine a city with broad
social reforms, universal health care, a superlative educational
system, and training for the jobs which will be created in the
new sustainable economy.

Katrina has gotten our attention. Now we need environmentalists,
experts in alternative energy and sustainable housing, and
politicians to come together to be a powerful force for the
future. There will be no better time to make the earth's
environment the number-one priority.

Spam emails More free articles

Related articles


  1. Dear our beloved crying planet...
  2. Can sustainable development work? What then will be the impact on business and what will be the impa
  3. How You Can Give Better Holiday Gifts AND Be More Environmentally Friendly
  4. IT'S STILL A "JUNGLE" OUT THERE
  5. Avoiding Allergies by Use of the Right Native Plants in the Landscape
  6. Cottonwood "cotton" is flying/ Bad Company
  7. NLR: CONNECTICUT'S ONLY DEP PERMITTED MERCURY LAMP RECYCLER
  8. Can bamboo flooring really help save the worlds' environment?
  9. Real estate construction revolution - Epilogue
  10. Computer e-waste recycling now fueled by lack of Australian legislation.
  11. Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Mudslides: Extreme Events - What do they Mean?
  12. Ten Steps to Avoid Mold Problems and Lawsuits in the Rental of Residential and Commercial Real Estat
  13. Maguma has integrated support for the eBay Acellerator Toolkit for PHP (PHP-AT) in their PHP IDE Mag
  14. A Simple Way To Offset the Environmental Effects of Driving Your Car
  15. The Weather Forecast on Your Computer
  16. How Specialty Gases Differ from Industrial Gases
  17. How to Ensure Quality Control with CO2 Analytical Support
  18. The Cost of Inaccurate CEM Calibration Gases
  19. Mosquito Control: The Best Ways to Effectively Combat Mosquitoes
  20. Another Doomsday, Another Dollar: Shifting Science Towards Peace and Ecology
  21. Customer service 101- What You Absolutely Need to Know
  22. Employ passive solar energy and start saving electricity today.
  23. Dallas Contracting Co., Inc. Completes Concrete Aggregate Crushing Project
  24. There's a snake in the yard! -- What to do (and not do) when you see a snake.
  25. Environmentally-Friendly Earth Homes
More related feeds
Pam's House Blend:: Company supports violating its own non ...
Why are we making any excuses for this? If the company was raising money for the Mormons, would you feel so open minded about it? After all, the Mormons gave lots of valuable aid to Katrina survivors. You see what I'm saying. ...

Since Katrina, the Environment Is Front-Page News
Ever since the end of August, when Hurricane Katrina devastated the major American city of New Orleans and the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, and parts of Alabama, the consequences of environmental degradation have been ...

Sister Toldjah » Two breaking news stories
http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2008/11/20/two-breaking-news-stories/trackback/. » Trackbacks & Pingbacks. Hillary Clinton… Sec of State… Nation Pukes…… Cover your six folks, I’d laugh if it weren’t so disturbing… Politico ...

New Orleans City Council president supports colleague in war of ...
Maybe one more: Where is he claiming Homestead Exemption, here in New Orleans, or in the area where he must have bought a new house by now since relocating his family since Katrina? Where does Ray Nagin cast his vote? ...

Oxdown Gazette » Alaska Poker Players Unimpressed by Palin Fey Speech
I know that most people in the rest of the country don’t have a clue, but after Katrina and the pinpoint hit on NOLA I’m wondering if that will change. Begich’s brother wrote a great book with Jeanne Manning called “Angels Don’t Play ...

since katrina, the environment is frontpage news
since katrina, the environment is front-page news by: aldene fredenburg. ever since the end of august, when hurricane katrina devastated the major american city of new orleans and the coastlines of louisiana, mississippi, ...

TheWolfpacker.com - Lowe announces Degand out with an injury
TheWolfpacker.com: Complete football, basketball, baseball and recruiting coverage and breaking news of the North Carolina State University Wolfpack. ... Football Front Page. Scores. Schedule. Roster. Depth Chart. Statistics ...

Whither Joe Lieberman?
But in the 36 hours since the meeting, we have heard two reports that suggest that Joe really wants to hold onto his Chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. First, the story was circulated ...

Dec 2008 to July 2009 events, Acoustic Americana Music Guide - Nov ...
The GUIDE and the NEWS FEATURES post separately. + IF YOU USED A SPECIFIC URL to reach this edition of the Guide, and more than a few days have passed since the date it posted, THERE MAY BE A NEWER EDITION. ...

Watching Hurricane Gustav, remembering Katrina, worrying for the ...
Katrina and Rita, which trailed a couple of weeks later, resulted in 125 spills of petroleum products from platforms, rigs and platforms, dumping 685000 gallons into the environment. How could anyone think it would make sense to start ...

 

 

© 2007 articlesreader.com - All Rights Reserved