Newswise — Two years after Hurricane Katrina much has become clear. We know that the devastation in New Orleans was less a natural than a man-made disaster. Katrina's surge into New Orleans and surrounding areas was the direct result of poorly constructed levees, an ill-conceived navigation channel, and the destruction of millions of acres of coastal wetlands. Furthermore, the storm's intensity itself was fueled by unusually warm waters in the tropical Atlantic due, in part, to global warming pollution.
How have Congress and the Administration responded to these lessons of Katrina and addressed the chief causes of its tragic aftermath? A report card is due on the federal government's response to:
"¢ Global Warming"¢ restoring Louisiana's coastal wetlands "¢ reforming the Army Corps of Engineers"¢ fixing Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
See www.nwf.org/hurricanes for the report card and additional press resources, including storm-surge animations for key coastal metropolitan areas and a summary of the latest scientific research on hurricanes and global warming.
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