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September 01, 2005
- - - - - Natural Disasters - - - - -
We all know, from photos and the TV reports, that New Orleans is in desperate shape.
Here in South East Georgia, it was 93F in the shade today, with humidity right around 85%. And whenever it got a little warm for me, I could duck back inside and relax in the air conditioned comfort of my non-flooded house.
More than half of New Orleans is under water. In addition to debris from the hurricane, there are dead bodies floating around. There is no power. There hardly any food. There is very little drinkable water, if there is any at all. And now, there are armed looters running around taking pot-shots at any helicopter, cop, rescue worker, or National Guardsman that they see.
The folks at the Super Dome are tired, hot, hungry, thirsty, and angry. They want out, and they want out now.
The problem is that the buses to move them out of New Orleans can't get into New Orleans.
What a mess!
And then there's the idiot politicians who are perfectly willing to use other peoples' misery to hammer the Prez every chance they get.
Like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s post on the Huffington Blog page. (See it HERE)
| On March 13, Bush reversed his previous position, announcing he would not back a CO2 restriction using the language and rationale provided by Barbour. Echoing Barbour’s memo, Bush said he opposed mandatory CO2 caps, due to “the incomplete state of scientific knowledge” about global climate change.
Well, the science is clear. This month, a study published in the journal Nature by a renowned MIT climatologist linked the increasing prevalence of destructive hurricanes to human-induced global warming. Now we are all learning what it’s like to reap the whirlwind of fossil fuel dependence which Barbour and his cronies have encouraged. Our destructive addiction has given us a catastrophic war in the Middle East and--now--Katrina is giving our nation a glimpse of the climate chaos we are bequeathing our children. In 1998, Republican icon Pat Robertson warned that hurricanes were likely to hit communities that offended God. Perhaps it was Barbour’s memo that caused Katrina, at the last moment, to spare New Orleans and save its worst flailings for the Mississippi coast. [UPDATE: Alas, the reprieve for New Orleans was only temporary. But Haley Barbour still has much to answer for.] |
Now, this guy's rantings got my attention, mainly because some idiots in another state were fools enough to elect this clown.
So, let's look at some facts, here, Mr. Kennedy, shall we?
Around the time of the American Revolution, in England, the Thames River, that goes right past the Houses of Parliament, would freeze over. In fact, it would freeze so hard that the residents of the City of London would have a mid-winter's fair on the ice. One hundred years later, in 1876, it did not freeze.
Greenland has never been particularly green. But about 300 years ago, it started to warm up a bit, enough to support a human presence.
It's well known that our planet goes through heating and cooling cycles. We just happen to live in a warming cycle. Furthermore, hurrican activity runs in cycles - which can be checked at NOAA, HERE. Note that the most active decade was 1941-1950. Granted, we're on track to at least match that, but it is obvious from the facts that these things DO run in cycles.
Kennedy knows this. But he chooses to blame the results of Katrina on the Prez and on Barbour. And, it appears to me that he took his line from that well-known "documentary" film maker Michael Moore. See it HERE.
Grrrr.....
Posted by ward at September 1, 2005 06:30 PM