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In New Orleans, the lowest-lying, least protected areas are the poor, Black neighborhoods and the white working class sections is St. Bernard’s Parish.
The vulnerability of New Orleans to profound and extensive damage from hurricane winds, water and flooding, has been well documented for many years. It was the focus of several federal studies, including one in 2001 in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) warned that a hurricane flood in New Orleans was one of the three mega-catastrophes most likely to strike the United States in the near future.
But Bush and the Democrats’ “war on terror” superceded all real problems that the country might face. Funding for reinforcing the levees that keep Lake Ponchatrain out of New Orleans was cut by nearly 50% by the Bush administration last year.
Environmental destruction
But the problems go much farther back. The barrier islands, or the coastal wetlands as they are sometimes called, are an integral part of the environment. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Louisiana's wetlands today represent about 40 percent of the wetlands of the continental United States, but about 80 percent of the losses. The State's wetlands extend as much as 130 kilometers inland and along the coast for about 300 kilometers.
The Survey goes on to say that “unregulated activity is largely responsible for the destruction of the wetlands. The seasonal flooding that previously provided sediments critical to the healthy growth of wetlands has been virtually eliminated by construction of massive levees that channel the river for nearly 2000 kilometers.” The levees were constructed by the Army Corp of Engineers to improve shipping lanes for the huge amounts of barges that come down the Missisippi. “The sediment carried by the river is now discharged far from the coast, thereby depriving wetlands of vital sediment.” The continued dredging of the wetlands to allow for petroleum production has helped destroy them as well.
As the Survey explained, the wetlands play a critical role in lessening the impact of hurricanes on the Gulf, the Missisippi River by acting as huge shock absorbers for the mainland. These areas were the subject of a special project, Coast 2050, which was shelved by the Bush administration in favor of spending for the war on Iraq and tax cuts for the rich.
The increased fury of the hurricanes -- one of the busiest years for hurricanes on record -- is due in part to global-warming. The Gulf of Mexico has surface temperatures of 30 C. After the passing of Katrina, there were places where the temperature drop was a full 4 C. All that energy fueled Katrina. And Rita, the next category 5 hurricane, was re-energized by the same very warm Gulf waters.
Democrats and Bush
The aftermath of Katrina revealed starkly the malicious neglect of the major cities and their infrastructure by government and by the corporate owners. Whether it’s levees, roads, sewers, sanitary water, subway systems, public housing, food inspections or hospitals, many big cities have crumbling or neglected infrastructure. Several big cities have poverty rates exceeding 25% of the population.
Many of the central city residents are Black or Hispanic. The discrimination against people of color is institutionalized, in other words, it is not the attitudes or actions of an individual, but a neglect built into the current system of government and political economy. The inability of the local African-American mayor, a representative of the wealthy classes in New Orleans, to protect the poor and indigent people, despite similar problems when hurricane Ivan hit in 2004, shows how deep this institutionalization of oppression is.
The horror that befell residents in the New Orleans Superdome three days prior to Katrina’s arrival, displayed for all the world to see, the economic racism that permeates America. The memory of tens of thousands of Americans, overwhelmingly Black, chanting for food and water, demanding “Help us!” is seared into our minds.
The new story of Blacks “looting” for food and whites “finding” food will not be forgotten. Some writers and news people, stunned by the same images and their complicity of silence, woke up, as if from a dream, for a few moments, and showed some of the truth of this America. As the New York Times headlined: “From the margins to the center of the tragedy.”
Solutions
Former Black Panther and recent Green Party candidate for New Orleans City Council Malik Rahim said: “The Republicans and Democrats didn't do anything to prevent this or plan for it and don't seem to care if everyone dies.” Only an independent political solution -- a party and a program opposed to corporate control of the country -- will rebuild New Orleans and help prevent the murder of another city.
The people of New Orleans deserve their city back -- not a city of racist oppression, but a city where all the citizens have quality housing, affordable healthcare, good paying jobs and free access to quality education. They deserve an end to the sacrifice of their environment on the altar of corporate profits. The rebuilding of New Orleans must be in the hands of the vast majority of residents. They must control the money and the plans. Only then will they benefit.