Monday, December 19, 2005
The Gulf Restoration Network's Focus in a Post-Katrina World
By Cynthia Sarthou Executive Director Gulf Restoration Network
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf Coast is facing is one of the most significant crises our nation has ever seen. The environmental damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita is unparalleled in scope: there are massive oil spills, million gallons of sewage, and catastrophic destruction of wetlands. Furthermore, the crisis is not restricted to the environment, it includes humanitarian, civic, and economic concerns.
Throughout our history the GRN has worked on many issues that have now been thrust into the spotlight: Coastal wetlands protection and restoration; the prioritization and effectiveness of Army Corps of Engineers projects, such as the New Orleans levees; and the most fundamental of issues - clean and healthful waters.
Although we know that each mile of coastal marsh diminishes a foot of storm-surge from hurricanes such as Katrina, coastal Louisiana continues to lose a football field’s worth of wetlands every hour, and coastal development in each of the Gulf states consumes even more wetland buffers, jeopardizing the nation’s oil infrastructure, Gulf seafood production, and, most visibly, our coastal cities. The GRN has worked to halt coastal wetland development, and we strongly advocate the development of the most effective restoration plan possible, in order to reverse our coastal wetlands loss. It is even more critical that we continue this work to ensure that additional coastal communities are not lost
The failure of New Orleans’ levee system was not a failure of engineering, but a failure of prioritization. Political leaders and the Army Corps of Engineers were aware that Louisiana’s levees could handle a category three storm at most, yet Corps resources were diverted to non-critical projects, such as , parking lots in Kentucky, and economically questionable locks-expansion projects. In the past, the GRN has worked to compel the Corps to prioritize its projects, and will continue to advocate for sensible prioritization of the Corps’ work, thereby mitigating threats to coastal communities, such as New Orleans.
Clean water is essential for the health and well-being of the people and the environment of the Gulf region. The effects of Hurricane Katrina on the availability of clean water in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama have clearly illustrated this point. Unfortunately, even after the current crisis is resolved, throughout the entire Gulf region we will continue to encounter many waters which are too polluted for fishing and swimming. The GRN is committed to working with coastal communities to ensure that water is “drinkable, fishable and swimmable - the essential promises of the Clean Water Act.
Although the GRN’s mission has not changed, many of the issues at the heart of our mission now capture the nation’s attention and provide new challenges and opportunities. For example, the current crisis has made it almost inevitable that we will see every kind of legislative foolishness proposed in the name of accelerating the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast, improving the nation's energy security, or the achievement of other, equally worthy, objectives. Also predictable is the present move by members of Congress to obtain waivers of environmental laws critical to the protection of public health and safety. In short, members of Congress are using the Katrina recovery as a cover for ideas which could never stand on their own, and do not fulfill Congress’s primary obligation--to help Gulf coast residents get back on their feet. The GRN is monitoring recovery efforts, and will work with its members to ensure that recovery efforts are not hijacked. It is essential that recovery proceeds in a manner that protects and restores the health of both our communities and the Gulf’s environmental resources.
The best course of action, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, is to make sure that the Gulf Coast rebuilds sustainably, and to ensure that actions taken in the name of recovery do not merely sow the seeds for future disasters.
Join me in flooding Washington! Louisiana groups have launched an effort to generate 300,000 e-mails demanding category 5 protection for New Orleans and Southern Louisiana. That means effective levees and flood control projects as well as comprehensive coastal wetlands restoration to give Southern Louisiana a critical storm buffer. Please take a second to help spread the word!
http://healthygulf.org/
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf Coast is facing is one of the most significant crises our nation has ever seen. The environmental damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita is unparalleled in scope: there are massive oil spills, million gallons of sewage, and catastrophic destruction of wetlands. Furthermore, the crisis is not restricted to the environment, it includes humanitarian, civic, and economic concerns.
Throughout our history the GRN has worked on many issues that have now been thrust into the spotlight: Coastal wetlands protection and restoration; the prioritization and effectiveness of Army Corps of Engineers projects, such as the New Orleans levees; and the most fundamental of issues - clean and healthful waters.
Although we know that each mile of coastal marsh diminishes a foot of storm-surge from hurricanes such as Katrina, coastal Louisiana continues to lose a football field’s worth of wetlands every hour, and coastal development in each of the Gulf states consumes even more wetland buffers, jeopardizing the nation’s oil infrastructure, Gulf seafood production, and, most visibly, our coastal cities. The GRN has worked to halt coastal wetland development, and we strongly advocate the development of the most effective restoration plan possible, in order to reverse our coastal wetlands loss. It is even more critical that we continue this work to ensure that additional coastal communities are not lost
The failure of New Orleans’ levee system was not a failure of engineering, but a failure of prioritization. Political leaders and the Army Corps of Engineers were aware that Louisiana’s levees could handle a category three storm at most, yet Corps resources were diverted to non-critical projects, such as , parking lots in Kentucky, and economically questionable locks-expansion projects. In the past, the GRN has worked to compel the Corps to prioritize its projects, and will continue to advocate for sensible prioritization of the Corps’ work, thereby mitigating threats to coastal communities, such as New Orleans.
Clean water is essential for the health and well-being of the people and the environment of the Gulf region. The effects of Hurricane Katrina on the availability of clean water in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama have clearly illustrated this point. Unfortunately, even after the current crisis is resolved, throughout the entire Gulf region we will continue to encounter many waters which are too polluted for fishing and swimming. The GRN is committed to working with coastal communities to ensure that water is “drinkable, fishable and swimmable - the essential promises of the Clean Water Act.
Although the GRN’s mission has not changed, many of the issues at the heart of our mission now capture the nation’s attention and provide new challenges and opportunities. For example, the current crisis has made it almost inevitable that we will see every kind of legislative foolishness proposed in the name of accelerating the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast, improving the nation's energy security, or the achievement of other, equally worthy, objectives. Also predictable is the present move by members of Congress to obtain waivers of environmental laws critical to the protection of public health and safety. In short, members of Congress are using the Katrina recovery as a cover for ideas which could never stand on their own, and do not fulfill Congress’s primary obligation--to help Gulf coast residents get back on their feet. The GRN is monitoring recovery efforts, and will work with its members to ensure that recovery efforts are not hijacked. It is essential that recovery proceeds in a manner that protects and restores the health of both our communities and the Gulf’s environmental resources.
The best course of action, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, is to make sure that the Gulf Coast rebuilds sustainably, and to ensure that actions taken in the name of recovery do not merely sow the seeds for future disasters.
Join me in flooding Washington! Louisiana groups have launched an effort to generate 300,000 e-mails demanding category 5 protection for New Orleans and Southern Louisiana. That means effective levees and flood control projects as well as comprehensive coastal wetlands restoration to give Southern Louisiana a critical storm buffer. Please take a second to help spread the word!
http://healthygulf.org/
