HURRICANE KATRINA AND THE ENVIRONMENT INTRODUCTION
Hurricane Katrina, the sixth-strongest Atlantic Hurricane ever recorded and the third-strongest landfalling U.S. hurricane to date, left an estimated .2 billion (2005 US Dollars) in damages and killed at least 1,836 people (2006). Not only was the destruction physical, it also caused much human misery and environmental degredation according to (2005). The following sections present the major environmental effects of this natural disaster.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
Katrina left in its wake serious environmental implications, which affected the natural order of the environment that it touched. Consequences of the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels, human-induced global warming, neglect of wetlands, which are natural buffer zones, and use of toxic and hazardous chemicals have been brought out in the open subsequent to the disaster (2005). Efforts by the US government to address such threats to the environment have received wide support, especially from the affected regions. The current state of the world’s natural environment was dragged in the spotlight, resulting to various research and studies on the subject of alleviating the present conditions in order to prevent, or at least prepare for worse disasters to come.
EFFECT TO THE STATES’ NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
The natural disaster left the United States facing perhaps one of the worst environmental catastrophes in history. The more observable effects were: (1) severe air and water pollution that has led to health problems in the affected regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio and Kentucky (In a September 14, 2005 post in the CNN site entitled ‘The Latest on Katrina’s aftermath’, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said air quality samples taken in New Orleans showed high levels of some toxins, including ethylene glycol, used as a coolant, and isobutylene, a byproduct of gasoline and other fuels. Water was polluted mainly from floods brought by the hurricane); (2) oil and toxic chemical spills and leaks ( (2005), barely one month after the hurricane hit, 575 spills of petroleum or hazardous chemical has been reported to the US Coast Guard and the EPA and; (3) wetland and timber loss, and declines in fisheries and wildlife populations (Katrina damaged 16 federal wildlife refuges and altered habitat for at least three endangered or threatened species, including the endangered Alabama beach mouse, Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, and some species of wading birds, according to the US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in September 2005).
NATIONAL AND GLOBAL IMPACTS
Its national impacts are evidenced by the figures provided by government agencies after the disaster struck. For instance, the Bureau of Labor Statistics provided data on the short and long term economic effects of the hurricane, with emphasis on employment in the affected regions. The ultimate impact of the calamity was foreseen to dampen real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second half of the current year (2005). In the global level, the impact can be seen on the interest of the world regarding disaster preparedness and environmental awareness. Most neighboring nations extended support to the country, while others were forced to look into their domestic situation, how they would come up in the event that such catastrophe happens to them.
INFLUENCE OF GLOBAL WARMING
Katrina sparked debates over whether global warming influences the frequency or intensity of hurricanes. Last year, a number of studies conducted have tried to make a connection between the two. At least one prominent study suggests that hurricanes have become significantly stronger in the past few decades during the same period that global average temperatures have increased but some other scientists believe that a natural environmental cycle is responsible rather than any human-induced change (2005). Findings by of the Institute of Technology showed that the work of his group is consistent with the concept that there is a relationship between increasing sea surface temperature and hurricane intensity. ‘However, it’s not a simple relationship. In fact, it’s difficult to explain why the total number of hurricanes and their longevity has decreased during the last decade, when sea surface temperatures have risen the most’, stated (‘Did global warming power Katrina?’ 2005). Several recent studies have warned that human-induced climate warming has the potential to increase the number of hurricanes (2006). In particular, James Elsner of Florida State University in Tallahassee inferred from an examination of the two occurrences that ‘future hurricane hazard mitigation efforts should reflect that hurricane damage will continue to increase, in part, due to greenhouse warming’ (2006). To date, no specific and hard evidence from the numerous studies have proven the direct relationship of global warming and hurricanes.
NATURAL ‘BUFFERS’
Wetlands are generally believed to be a natural buffer against hurricanes. The over development of the Louisiana wetlands have eroded a major buffer against massive storms, as wetlands act as a sponge to collect and hold large quantities of surface runoff during storms, helping to prevent floods (2006). Additionally, the Center for Policy alternatives believe that wetlands intercept polluted runoff before it contaminates lakes, rivers, and coastal waters and act as natural water filters, absorbing pesticides, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other pollutants before they cause water pollution (2006). Ivor van Heerden, deputy director of the University Hurricane Center pointed out two things: that first, what is known is that a wetland reduces the storm surge because of the frictional effects as the surge moves through it. ‘The second thing is as a hurricane approaches the coast, the right-hand side the winds are blowing to the shore, the left-hand side the winds are blowing out to sea. And so on the left-hand side you actually lower the water level so the plants and levees and the barrier islands stick up into the wind field, and as a consequence they take some of the energy out of the wind field. So the wetlands have two very important roles to play’ ( 2006). Other buffers such as barrier islands and cypress swamps could have protected the mainland from strong winds and ocean waves but they have been battered by natural calamities and human activities over the past years (2006). Protection of these natural buffers could have significantly decreased the damage that hurricane Katrina brought to the country, but it appears that people, by nature, do not take any action until it is too late.
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