I had a bad feeling about Wilma even before Katrina hit -- just one of those women's intuition things. I have a scrappy aunt named Wilma who is incredibly tough. And now I see that yesterday Wilma was the strongest hurricane on record. Knowing what we have gone through here with our Mississippi Gulf Coast communities shattered by Katrina---thousands of homes, businesses, churches, schools and jobs lost--I ache to think what faces Florida and perhaps a good portion of the eastern seaboard.
When will people get it? The Gulf of Mexico waters have increased in temperature because of global warming, and warm Gulf waters are what fuel hurricanes. The monster storms we are seeing today could be repeated a few times each year until we become a permanent disaster zone. What kind of security do we have in the Gulf region, what kind of security does the REST of the world have if superstorms become common and devastating? If climate change results in turning huge parts of the Earth into dust bowls?
I was at a global warming conference about a year ago, and as usual at these kinds of gatherings, we agonized: How do we get people's attention about how serious this is? It is imperative that we drastically cut consumption of fossil fuels creating greenhouse gases that are warming the Earth. But, instead, we have a president who urges other people to conserve energy while taking EIGHT jet trips for photo opportunities in the Katrina-trashed communities. We have an administration and Congress that has given hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies to oil companies to increase production in the hurricane-prone Gulf of Mexico, while these same oil companies have been pocketing huge windfall profits. The oil refineries are getting 99 cents for each gallon of gas sold.
A couple years ago we thought that the Micronesian Islands that were disappearing because of rising sea levels would be the poster children for global warming. Now it appears to me that the Gulf Coast may be equally at risk. The U.S. is producing more greenhouse gases per person, by far, than any other nation in the world. So now that it is coming back to bite us on the butt, is there any hope that the U.S. will start taking global warming seriously? Advice for George Bush: Stay in Washington after Hurricane Wilma, and buy a Prius.
I see that Sen. Charles Schumer, D.-N.Y., has proposed that the oil companies pay the cost of rebuilding after Katrina. Since these companies now have more money than all but the richest countries in the world, that seems a reasonable request. These companies have profited handsomely by selling the fuels that are causing global warming.
The country that uses the greatest share of the world's oil reserves shows little sign of reigning in its appetite for more and more energy consumption. I live in coastal Jackson County where Chevron is running advertisements this week on plans to build a huge Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) port in Pascagoula, a town which was hit hard by the storm surge from Katrina. These huge LNG ships (one ship has the energy equivalent of 60 Hiroshima bombs) and terminal would put our community, which already has one of the highest toxic release and cancer rates in the country, at even more at risk in order to deliver natural gas to other areas of the country.
Chevron's largest oil refinery in the U.S. is located here. It had $350 million in damages from Hurricane Katrina and Chevron just got permission to expand even though the Mississippi Gulf Coast gets an "F from the American Lung Association for air quality.
Isn't Katrina enough? Do we also have to take the risks from an LNG port so the U.S. can continue to burn energy like there is no tomorrow?
Becky Gillette is co-chair of the Mississippi Chapter.
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