Finally A Win For Victims Of Katrina

Judge Stanwood Duval is a friend to people who lost their homes in the flooding that happened as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Under George Bush, the Federal government has all but ignored the area, unless of course we are talking about Trent Lott. Just as the policy was before the Hurricane, the area surrounding New Orleans was largely dismissed as nothing special and therefore deserved nothing, such as flood protection. Most of the infrastructure built was meant to reduce shipping times and one such project actually helped lead to the flooding that billions around the world saw on their television screens. The Army Corps of Engineers is trying to avoid blame just as the man on top of all the Federal agencies is, but Judge Duval has something else in mind.

From RawStory:

The Corps of Engineers had argued that it was immune from liability because the channel is part of New Orleans' flood control system. The law says the federal government cannot be sued if something goes wrong with a flood control project such as a levee, reservoir or dam.

Judge Stanwood Duval dismissed that argument, saying the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, or MRGO, was clearly a ship channel and not a flood control project.

Plaintiffs' lawyers said Duval's decision is a victory for homeowners, who have suffered setbacks in their efforts to hold the government legally responsible for storm damage. They also said it clears the way for a Sept. 8 trial.

The trial is what is needed for residents that want accountability from their government. Accountability is something that has been sorely lacking in the Bush Administration for some time now and it is nice to see it could possibly start with so many people that have lost so much.

A Price Tag For Katrina?

Nearly two and a half years ago a medium grade Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans and the surrounding area wreaking havoc. Even with all of the wind and water damage, it was nothing compared to what was about to happen the next day when the levees broke. Sixteen hundred Americans perished in the most horrific natural calamity to hit the United States, ever. At this point the government has hardly done anything to help the victims of the storm. Now they want to claim their damages. Certainly the monetary cost is in the billions or hundreds of billions, but could we be talking quadrillions?

From MSNBC:

The total number — $3,014,170,389,176,410 — is the dollar figure so far sought from some 489,000 claims filed against the federal government over damage from the failure of levees and flood walls following the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.

Of the total number of claims, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it has received 247 for at least $1 billion apiece, including the one for $3 quadrillion.

"That's the mother of all high numbers," said Loren Scott, a Baton Rouge-based economist.

The mother of all storms helped cause that number, but we know there will never be a payout that comes close to that figure. Of course you can't even put a dollar amount on the absolute human tragedy that occurred after the storm passed. The poverty, the desperation, the lack of empathy from the President and the funds that he indirectly held back from the victims, it all needs to be made up for.

Three quadrillion is merely a high number that is to be bargained down, but if the cases are determined by the conservative courts that the President has helped shape, the victims shouldn't expect much.

Changing The Gulf Forever

Hands down, climate change is serious business. Al Gore was mocked for talking about it in the 1980s, now he has won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Though for some people, large ideas do not have much meaning in their own lives. Now the residents of the Gulf Coast have been dealing with those effects, specifically from Hurricane Katrina for the last two years. Many people have already left the area for good and at this point, the Army Corps of Engineers wants people to leave the area for good so they can try to combat the effects of man on the environment.

From The Guardian:

The United States is working on a multi-billion-dollar plan to depopulate vast swaths of coastline along the Gulf of Mexico in a move which it is hoped would help re-establish a natural barrier against the catastrophic flooding caused by the likes of Hurricane Katrina.

In the first sign that the federal government is favouring a retreat from the coast rather than rebuilding, the Army Corps of Engineers is to present to Congress a radical plan which includes rebuilding the wetlands that have been disappearing at an ever-accelerating rate in recent years.

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The Corps, the engineers responsible for protecting the coastline, has been working on the plan since Katrina struck in August 2005. President George Bush promised after the floods to rebuild New Orleans and other Gulf communities.

But federal agencies and environmentalists have concluded that climate change has increased the threat of further devastation and continued rebuilding makes no sense. To be included in the overall plan is $40bn (£20bn) to be spent on the Mississippi coast. Part of this would be for a voluntary buyout of 17,000 houses in Mississippi, particularly in Bay St Louis, east of New Orleans. The corps is likely to extend the plan to New Orleans and Louisiana.

Of course there will be people that object to a project that encourages people to leave their community behind. It is never a happy day when you just have to pick up and leave. However, people can easily forget that the world is bigger than themselves and larger than life events have a real impact on the individual.

It may be hard to comprehend the realities of climate change, especially when they are staring you right in the face. It is also hard not to sympathize with those that should or must leave the Gulf Coast regions. However, as years go on and we continue to see the planet change at an increasing rate, they will not be the only ones to have their lives significantly altered as temperatures increase and sea levels rise.