Public Policy Response to Hurricane Katrina
PUBLIC POLICY RESPONSE TO
HURRICANE KATRINA
Summary
As the Gulf States begin the massive task of reconstruction after Hurricane Katrina, the nation is actively engaged in a dialogue concerning the lessons learned from this catastrophe, and the best options moving forward. Many are asking whether the aid package and policies proposed by President Bush are the right approach to rebuilding and restoring the region. While the hurricane shines a much needed spotlight on a number of societal issues, it is crucial that programs initiated in the storm¡¦s aftermath have the desired effect¡Xnot just regionally, but on a national scale. The devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina has raised other, more general public policy issues about emergency management, environmental policy, poverty, and unemployment. The discussion of both the immediate response and of the broader public policy issues may affect elections and legislation enacted at various levels of government. Environment
Others have noted the growing evidence that the increase in recent years in the frequency of such mega-hurricanes as Katrina is a result of global warming. A checklist of environmental policy failures must also include the administration¡¦s head-in-the-sand approach to global warming. The Bush administration has aggressively undermined international efforts to forcefully address such potentially catastrophic changes in the world¡¦s climate as a result of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States and other industrialized nations. It is impossible to say whether even a responsible approach to climate change would have dampened Katrina¡¦s fury. But the fact remains that scientists believe global warming will make future hurricanes more severe. The president¡¦s policy of blocking meaningful efforts to reduce global warming emissions no doubt means that future storms will do greater damage than they would otherwise.
Besides contributing to global warming, our reliance on fossil fuels also invites
HURRICANE KATRINA
Summary
As the Gulf States begin the massive task of reconstruction after Hurricane Katrina, the nation is actively engaged in a dialogue concerning the lessons learned from this catastrophe, and the best options moving forward. Many are asking whether the aid package and policies proposed by President Bush are the right approach to rebuilding and restoring the region. While the hurricane shines a much needed spotlight on a number of societal issues, it is crucial that programs initiated in the storm¡¦s aftermath have the desired effect¡Xnot just regionally, but on a national scale. The devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina has raised other, more general public policy issues about emergency management, environmental policy, poverty, and unemployment. The discussion of both the immediate response and of the broader public policy issues may affect elections and legislation enacted at various levels of government. Environment
Others have noted the growing evidence that the increase in recent years in the frequency of such mega-hurricanes as Katrina is a result of global warming. A checklist of environmental policy failures must also include the administration¡¦s head-in-the-sand approach to global warming. The Bush administration has aggressively undermined international efforts to forcefully address such potentially catastrophic changes in the world¡¦s climate as a result of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States and other industrialized nations. It is impossible to say whether even a responsible approach to climate change would have dampened Katrina¡¦s fury. But the fact remains that scientists believe global warming will make future hurricanes more severe. The president¡¦s policy of blocking meaningful efforts to reduce global warming emissions no doubt means that future storms will do greater damage than they would otherwise.
Besides contributing to global warming, our reliance on fossil fuels also invites