Symposium Asked, Answered Many Questions

Wednesday, Sep 7, 2005

 

 WALLA WALLA, Wash.-- Can –and should—New Orleans be rebuilt? What is the “maximum acceptable risk” when preparing for a natural disaster? Is global warming responsible for more hurricanes and tropical storms–or does it just make the storms more intense? –And whose fault is this mess, anyway?

 
 These and many more questions were asked and answered at Whitman College  Thursday evening. The college organized a community symposium, titled “Hurricane Katrina: The Science and the Societal Impact.” As student volunteers from the Whitman Center for Community Service accepted donations to the Red Cross in the foyer, several hundred active listeners inside Cordiner heard from 10 panelists with areas of expertise ranging from environmental science, chemistry and geology to psychology and social justice. Among key points:

 *At least parts of New Orleans will be rebuilt;

*Katrina was a natural and man-made disaster. In crisis, humans are supposed to take care of the weakest first, and that didn't happen; perhaps this disaster will reshape the political landscape as well as the physical landscape;

 *You can’t build for the absolute worst scenario, but you must make a cost-risk assessment and make the best decision possible;

 *While global warming is probably not responsible for an increase in the number of storms, it was agreed by most panel members that the warming of the oceans is at least partly responsible for the increasing intensity of storms;

 *While many hold our current political leaders partially responsible, the “blame” and the solutions are the responsibility of all of us;

 *The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, including individuals from Walla Walla, are in New Orleans pumping out the water, providing temporary power, water and shelter;

 *The local Red Cross director is pleased with Whitman students who have volunteered at the local office and have applied to be volunteers for this and future disasters;

 *The outpouring of concern from the world includes offers of cash or other assistance from 104 countries and 12 international organizations, according to a Whitman alum now working in the U.S. State Department;

 *New Orleans wasn’t built in a bowl—the land has become bowl-shaped due to the natural impact of sediment flowing from the Mississippi River and the compression of the clay and sand that make up its foundation; 

 *In regards to poverty level, New Orleans is ranked No. 5 in the nation, and many of its people don’t even own cars, yet they were hit the hardest by a storm thats intensity is blamed by some on global warming, brought about in part by CO2 emissions from automobiles;

 *People’s ability to recover from natural disasters depends on many factors, including the quality of help they receive—whether or not it is perceived as adequate, equitable and sustained;

 *The poor are hit the hardest by natural disasters, but this fact seems vague to those of us who have the resources to evade the worst elements of it;

 *East of the eye of a hurricane is the worst place to be, because the winds are coming from over water and are more intense; West of the eye is the better place to be, because the winds are coming at you from over land and have been slowed a little;

 *If you live in hurricane country, don’t build your house on the beach;

 *We can plan for these disasters and we must; we know that we will need water, food, shelter and hospital access—we must ask ourselves what we have learned and go from there.

 Panelists from the Whitman faculty who can be reached for further information include: John Winter, geology, 527-5113; Karl Storchmann, economics, 527-5718; Deborah Wiese, psychology, 527-5750; Kari Norgaard, sociology/environmental studies, 527-4951; Skip Wade, chemistry, 527-5223; Phil Brick, politics, 527-4944; and Bob Carson, 527-5224.

 

CONTACT: Lenel Parish, Whitman College News Service, (509) 527-5156

Email: parishlj@whitman.edu