Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans and the Gulf coast on August 29th, 2005, led to the death or disappearance of over 2,000 people, the displacement of over 800,000 people, and the total destruction of numerous communities in Mississippi and Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina flooded 108,731 households, created 22 million tons of waste, destroyed over 500,000 automobiles, caused 6 major oil spills, flooded 5 superfund sites, increased massive loss of coastal wetlands and displaced 350,000 children. Today, groups like the Common Ground Collective and the People’s Hurricane Relief Fund are organizing extensively with the community in sustaining long term support in rebuilding the communities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
2005 was the hottest year on record, and in 2005 we had a record number of Atlantic hurricanes. The science says that global warming causes hurricanes to be stronger and last longer; and Hurricane Katrina proved it as a Category 2 storm in Florida. After passing over the record-breaking temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico she became a Category 5 hurricane off the coast of New Orleans. As long as we keep burning fossil fuels and clearing forests we can expect to see worse hurricanes in the future.
It’s time for the auto industry and big oil companies to kick their lip service into gear, and start reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change!
Resources
The best resource on climate change is in a theater near you. For more information on hurricanes and global warming, the Jumpstart Ford campaign recommends “An Inconvenient Truth”.
And to learn about solutions to auto emissions, check out the upcoming movie “Who Killed the Electric Car”.
Read more on Ford and Climate Change
