As the new home of OSPIRG's environmental work, Environment Oregon can be contacted regarding this news release.
As
residents of the Gulf Coast clean up in the hurricane aftermath and
rebuild their lives, it is important that Americans continue to support
their efforts. And, as surely as our government lost little time
pursuing terrorists after September 11th, we owe it to our nation, and
to the hurricane victims, to consider what steps we can take to prevent
the repeat of such a national tragedy. In recent days, there has been
earnest talk about whether flood plans were fully funded or levees
engineered to withstand such a storm. And while such matters are worthy
of further consideration, there are other issues and available
solutions receiving little attention in the daily deliberations. There
are sure to be more extreme storm events in our lifetimes. But by
burning less fossil fuel, preserving more wetlands, using less toxic
chemicals, and curbing sprawl, our nation might set itself on a path to
prevent the worst aspects of Katrina from revisiting us.
Cutting our dependence on fossil fuels: America’s
over-reliance on fossil fuels was a problem well before Katrina made
landfall -- threatening the nation’s economy, our environment and our
national security. The devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina on the
nation’s energy infrastructure points to the urgent need for improved
energy efficiency to shield consumers from the impact of higher energy
prices and for conserving oil and diversifying our energy supply with
clean, renewable sources of energy.
Mitigating Storm Intensities by Reducing Global Warming:
The unprecedented destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina should lead
to questions about whether human-induced global warming could lead to
more intense storms more often. The single greatest step that we, as a
nation, can take to address that challenge is to enact strict fuel
economy standards to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from cars and
light trucks (including SUVs). Second, we need meaningful policies to
ensure that any expansion of our energy resources comes from renewable
sources, like wind and solar, not more burning of fossil fuels.
Reducing Flood Surges by Preserving Wetlands: A
lot of the damage done was exacerbated by the stripping of natural
buffer zones that had surrounded the Gulf Coast, including New Orleans,
for centuries. Before billions of taxpayer dollars are spent to fortify
levees of the past, we should think carefully and creatively about how
to also ensure preservation – and restoration - of the storm buffers
that nature has already provided us. We also need to stop the rampant
destruction of the remaining wetlands. As it authorizes billions of
dollars in flood relief, Congress should also start to address flood
prevention by reinstating federal protection for all wetlands.
Minimize Toxic and Sewage Exposure:
There are several steps we can take to ensure that heavy storms do not
inundate our cities’ streets with a foul brew of toxic substances and
fecal bacteria. Safe and effective alternatives exist for many of the
chemicals we use, and already, a handful of states have acted to phase
out some of the worst ones. State and federal officials must renew
efforts to reduce the use and storage of toxic chemicals wherever
possible. And, it is time for our nation’s chemical producers and users
to take responsibility for toxic clean up; Congress should reinstate
the polluter-pay provision that put the “fund” in Superfund, so we can
clean up these hazardous sites before their essence winds up on our
city streets. As for sewage overflows, the root of the problem is that
our landscape’s ability to absorb stormwater has been lost as rampant
sprawl has replaced filtrating soils with impervious asphalt. We must
rein in developers’ penchant for strip malls and massive parking lots.
The
problems exposed by Hurricane Katrina are not new. But perhaps, in the
wake of the worst natural disaster in recent U.S. history,
decision-makers and the public will find the will to finally begin to
address them.
