Week 2

Case in Point Analysis

Bruce Roberts

SCI/362

May 29, 2012

Nicole Ackerson

Case in Point Analysis

Who can ever forget about hurricane Katrina? It sometimes seems like it just happened a few weeks ago. The entire world watched this mass and powerful storm rip the southeast apart causing severe flooding and chaos. In the aftermath you could see the thousands of people being pulled from the top of their homes and out of trees due to the flooding that was left behind. Many people were told that the storm could be a bad one but we hear that all the time and in many cases it is not as bad as predicted. Katrina was different and was as bad as they come. The path of the storm was supposed to turn away, but did not, and struck the gulf coast with fury catching many Americans off guard. The first thing I thought about after it was all over was how could this change America?

Unintended Consequences

Raven, Berg, and Hassenzahl (2010), saw a number of flaws that mankind could have done better in the city of New Orleans. When the city was first being built the levees and canals should have been better to reduce flooding. This was not done, therefore the coastal wetlands were weak and the delta building process failed (Raven, Berg & Hassenzahl, 2010). Had this been done in the first place, a lot of the water would have had a natural barrier to provide protection. Another consequence is the changes in the carbon cycle and the difference in CO2 levels which cause the polar ice caps to melt and in return the ocean rises. The ocean currents shift and the hurricane’s power and frequency become stronger. In addition, the city of New Orleans doesn’t have any bedrock and this pulls away the natural resource and makes the city sit below sea level. Thanks to the disruption of the earth caused be humans, sea levels are rising and putting the city at risk of server flooding (Raven, Berg & Hassenzahl, 2010).

How Are Scientific Activities Effecting the Situation?

Geology...