Human Contribution And Environmental Issues

This case summarizes events preceding the Hurricane Katrina, which was one of the worst natural catastrophes in the modern history of the USA. It raises questions about the lack of reasonable prevention and preparation actions due to flimsy structure and management of the responsible organizations and persons, invalidity and inconsistence of their actions and incapability of making the decisions in a timely manner. As a result of the unstructured and incoherent activities, we could observe several ineffective and costly attempts to mitigate floods and hurricanes. In the beginning the local officials, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and “White Houses past and present always seem penny-wise and pound-foolish” because of the chain of the wrong

“There are natural hazards, but disasters are the result of human actions that put people and property in harm’s way” (Cigler 2007: 64). Throughout history New Orleans has been continuously altered by the presence of humans through the creation of levees and canals, the introduction of artificial irrigation systems, and through human induced processes that have ultimately accelerated the process of land degradation and erosion. While a natural hazard struck New Orleans in 2005, the disaster portion resulting from Hurricane Katrina was a result of human induced interactions throughout the history of New Orleans.

In the late summer of 2005, a terrible tragedy occurred that changed the lives of many in the south-east region of the United States. A Category 3, named storm, named Hurricane Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast on the 29th of August and led to the death of 1,836 and millions of dollars’ worth of damage (Waple 2005). The majority of the damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. Waple writes in her article that winds “gusted over 100 mph in New Orleans, just west of the eye” (Waple 2005). Not only was the majority of the damage due to the direct catastrophes of the storm but also city’s levees could no longer hold thus breaking and releasing great masses of water. Approximately, 80% of the city was submerged at sea level. Despite the vast amount

B. Thesis: The government should have help Hurricane Katrina, through additional money, supplies, and community help.

New Orleans was originally founded on high ground overlooking the Mississippi River, above sea level. Also surrounded by Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne, New Orleans was susceptible to hurricanes that would come up the coast into the Gulf. Originally New Orleans was naturally protected by “coastal swamps that helped absorb the energy of storm surges before they reached dry land.” (Stillman 228) At this point Americans were more concerned with the floods that happened annually from the Mississippi River. In the early days, settlers built a mile long levee to block overflows from the mighty Mississippi while landowners constructed their own levees.

Since African Americans are limited to such opportunities, New Orleans is considered what is presumed to be a “racially segregated landscape of differentiated risk” -- spatial benefits of the post natural disastrous situation flowed to those who weren't from the lower socioeconomic tier. The racial projects that emphasize this formulation are found in how mainstream press coverage viewed those who were stranded and how structural programs not only failed to prepare relief but also intensified city

The issue with the re-developing of New Orleans is an area that has been debated between governors, investors, urban planners, residents and other professionals since hurricane Katrina, the costliest “natural” disaster in 2005. This wonderful place, is a Louisiana city near the Gulf of Mexico. Its strategic position, becomes the exit of the great Mississippi-Missouri river system, which drains the interior North of America. New Orleans is one of the lowest spots in the United States, it is already as much as 17 feet below sea level in some places, and it continues to sink more than an inch a year. Re-developing New Orleans will be a difficult aspect because of its location, topography and weather conditions. However, New Orleans is one of the most culturally rich urban

New Orleans was built on a marsh. The city was inundated by water during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, causing a tremendous loss of human lives and costing the economy billions of dollars in damage. Since the storm, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has built a system of lift stations and levees to control the flow of water around the city. This has created what is best described as a bathtub surrounded by water. To further elaborate, New Orleans is the bath tub, while Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River surround the city. Over the years keeping water from entering the city has become more difficult because the city continues to sink lower below sea level. Subsidence of marshy soils lowers the ground elevation in and around the City of New Orleans. The gradual caving in or sinking of land is known as subsidence.

Katrina hit New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29th, 2005, but the failure of the local government started before this day “by allowing building and growing in areas in low flood lands.” The local government did not regulate these land areas that have always

The failure to adequately prepare for the storm led to increased and more widespread devastation, which in many cases harmed those living in the affected areas. An independent analysis of the reason for such massive chaos was performed and determined that “Most of the damage was due to the failure of the levee system that surrounds the city to protect it from flooding” (Ubilla). Had these levees been properly built, and had there been more of them protecting the city of New Orleans, major flooding could have potentially been lessened. A simple feature of the levee structure which engineers neglected to include is the concrete

Hurricane Katrina resulted in massive loss of life and billions of dollars in property damage. There are many lessons worth learning from this event. Finger pointing started before the event was over. Most of the focus on Hurricane Katrina was on its impact on New Orleans; however, the storm ravaged a much wider area than that. This paper will briefly summarize the event, the impact on the city of New Orleans and the lessons learned to ensure preparedness today.

Large portions of Orleans, St. Bernard, and Jefferson parishes are currently below sea level — and continue to sink. New Orleans is built on thousands of feet of soft sand, silt, and clay. Subsidence, or settling of the ground surface, occurs naturally due to the consolidation and oxidation of organic soils (called “marsh” in New Orleans) and local groundwater pumping. In the past, flooding and deposition of sediments from the Mississippi River counterbalanced the natural subsidence, leaving southeast Louisiana at or above sea level. However, due to major flood control structures being built upstream on the Mississippi River and levees being built around New Orleans, fresh layers of sediment are not replenishing the ground lost by subsidence.[47]

In Kelman’s and Campanella’s articles, the two authors raised the racial issue of building water management infrastructure as New Orleans’ defense from natural disasters. Voracious flood from Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain continued bothering New Orleans government during the 19th century. Thus, New Orleans government enacted “levees only” policy to control the disaster and built urban drainage system. The development of water control system in and around New Orleans increased the number and heights of levees, but also made more wetlands vanished. The segregation of landscapes also led to racial segregation and increased the risk of discriminated people suffering from flood.

Nearly everything that a human does is in response to the environment. Our lives are defined by what is around us and what we find in front of us, whether this means accepting, dealing with or changing it. This has been the pattern since primates first stood up and became Homo erectus, and has continued until we considered ourselves doubly wise. The shape of the land affected where humans moved. Weather was something with which to contend. Fire affected humans until they conquered it – and herein lies the core of the relationship. The earth affects humans, and humans affect it back, viewing characteristics and patterns as problems and challenges, and finding a solution.

Before we discuss disaster management, it is important to briefly sum up the events of the events that began on August 25, 2005 to fully understand the brevity of the situation. Meteorologists began warning inhabitants of the regions that were hit by Katrina on August 23, 2005. By the 28th, evacuations were under way, that day, the National Weather Service predicted that after the storm hit, “most of the [Gulf Coast] area will be uninhabitable for weeks…perhaps longer.” (Spowart, 2015) New Orleans was particularly vulnerable. More than half of the city was built below sea level, and the levees protecting it were built on porous sand. The poorest parts of the city were completely unprepared for a storm surge. Many of these citizens lacked transportation and could not evacuate, and were left to wait out Katrina in their