Introduction:
New Orleans would certainly be classified as a taker
civilization. Theses statistics
highlight New Orleans production of natural resources, as well as the revenue
they create. Ishmael would certainly
look down upon new Orleans money makers considering they harvest 11% of us
petroleum, are second in production of the nations natural gas, and are second
in total energy consumption as pertains to industry use.
The destruction of swampland to get these resources
contributed to the damage caused from Katrina.
However, Ishmael would look to New Orleans immense port and trade system
as a solution.
More than 6,000 vessels move through New Orleans annually. This makes them the busiest waterway to the countries economic stability. Rather than continue to wreck the environment in search for oil and gases, New Orleans could focus on their plethora of trade options to provide revenue and goods. Furthermore, their rich culture and Mardi Gras celebration attracts tourist, opening up another option for revenue rather than destroying the environment.
On August 2005 New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina, an
estimated 1,500 people perished and thousands others were left wounded and
homeless.
Most of those who weren’t fortunate enough to evacuate
before the storm were directed to the cities domed football stadium, which was
pelted by Katrina and rendered useless.
Once again the victim were forced to move; this time to Houston’s
superdome.
The disaster caused 125 billion dollars in economic
impact.
New Orleans has had a history of Hurricane destruction
spanning back all the way to 1779. In
the last decade alone, New Orleans has been hit by over 5 notable hurricanes
some causing over billions of dollars in damage. However Katrina’s levels of devastation were
record high.
Since the Time of settlement in Louisiana, the threats of
floods and the solutions to them had been relevant. Levees (a dike or embankment) about 4ft high
were built on top of the natural one formed by the river, building a barrier
against river floods while at the same time raising their levels increasingly
higher.
Furthermore, the government got on board, passing the Swamp
Lands Acts, which allowed the state to sell federal land for money to construct
levees.
As more settlers came, more structures were built eventually
taking up the high ground near the river.
Thus the obvious direction was to expand into the swamps toward the
lake.
This meant large swamp areas had to be cleared and a
drainage system had to be implemented.
Steam driven water wheels were installed to lift water into the canals
used to get the water out. Subsequently
drainage lowered the water table and ground level which left the canals higher
above the city.
New electric pumps were put in that provided more efficient
drainage and levees were built to keep the water in the canals. Development of swamp areas continued which
eventually lead to more canals and pump systems. This created intertwining canals. One theses waterways, with their levees
intersect and meet, they create a funnel leading directly toward
civilization. This sets a disaster
scenario when hurricanes hit.
As industrialization grew, more and more canals were built
throughout Louisianans swamps to provide access for things such as Oil
platforms.
These canals allowed salt water to flow into the wetlands,
which killed trees and other vegetation while simultaneously corroding land
away.
Meanwhile, the oil and gas industry was expanding to
Louisianans wetlands, creating the need for oil platforms. Thus, more canals were built through the
wetlands for access. A canal named MR-GO
lead directly from the gulf of Mexico to the heart of new Orleans, with
provided a channel for oil tankers to come in.
However, this also provided a funnel for hurricane surges, which is
exactly what happened during Katrina.
Some engineers saw this and planed to build gates that could be closed
in a storm, but this was shut down because of the cost and some environmental
objections.
Even more troubling is that Katrina was far from
unpredictable, FEMA (Federal emergency management agency) simulated a category
3 hurricane, named Pam. The estimated
damage and citizen’s effected was almost exact to the destruction caused by
Katrina.
Hurricane Katrina destroyed thousands of homes during it
downpour on the city, subsequently causes thousands to relocate. The population is now 343,829
compared to 484,674 in 2000.
This issue creates more need for resources involved in constructing new
housing arrangements. Ishmael would most
likely suggest communal housing systems to implement the most effective use of
space and resources. However, relating
to the idea of Takers being captive to society the compels them to destroy the
environment, citizens have created an artificial standard of living through mother
cultures constant insistence on comfortability
and self gain. Therefore numerous
non-profits have stepped up to help these people, but at the cost of more
tarnish to the environment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Katrina_in_New_Orleans#Levee_failures
The idea behind levees seems innocent. There was a need to protect the people from
the clear threat of floods and storms.
But where did this idea stem from?
In order to rationally kill life around us, we must believe
that there is a superior cause for doing so.
Ishmael explains how the peacekeeping law keeps all organisms on an even
playing scale, taking only what they need to survive. Rather, in order to protect ourselves, we
destroyed swampland, placing the value or our lives over all others who inhabit
it.
However, the premise for building the canals changed once oil
and resources were involved. As
population grew, swamps were cleared for expansion. Canals built to access these swamps needed to
be filled with water, thus pumps were implemented. The pumps lowered the water table and ground
levels leavings the canals higher above the city. A perfect scenario for a disaster, should it
flood.
I find this expansion all to relatable to taker culture, as
soon as takers found a way to capitalize on the resources of the land, they
immediately began re-shaping the natural environment to compliment oil
drilling. The exact canals used to
access this oil were a very real part of the damage Katrina caused. The canals used to access the oil flooded
and spilled over the much lower land.
The breaches of the 17th street canal levee, the
London avenue canal, and the industrial canal, left approximately 80% of the
city flooded.
Ishmael would certainly find mother culture responsible for
advocating personal gain and expansion, thus leading to manipulation of the
environment.
Especially in the U.S., self gain, the ability to move up in
the world, and business is advocated.
Mother culture tells us to protect our fellow humans, to create (really
destroy) anything that keeps us safe from harm.
Yet in this circumstance, the exact thing built to keep us safe
destroyed the natural protection provided by the swamp and added to damage.
From just a protection standpoint, the levees built to keep
new Orleans safe, were hardly effective.
That left me to question alterative reasons as to why the
canals were built. The simple answer is
the resources in the swamp. The oil and
gas deposits beneath the surface fueled the expansion into more and more of the
swampland.
So were these levees built to protect humans, or to create
an easier system to access oil and gas?
QUESTION ONE:
What is the primary influence that causes taker culture to exponentially destroy nature? (In ishmael terms) What are ways we can stop this?
QUESTION TWO:
Is the protection and “self gain” of human life worth the
destruction is causes on the environment?
and,
How would Ishmael respond to those who say “yes”
How would Ishmael respond to those who say “No”
I think the misconception lies in the fine print. We focus on continuing the life of the
individual. Rather, we need to focus on
continuing the life of our species.
Individually we consume so much, in the name of living a “happier”
longer, and even healthier life. But
what’s really more important, taking as much as we can to only better one life,
or taking as little as we can to survive as a species?
Work Cited:
http://www.water.ncsu.edu/watershedss/info/wetlands/wetloss.html
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