Wetlands Videos

Hurricane Katrina is often referred to as a natural disaster as if it was all nature's fault. Not man's. The reality of course is that federal, state and local governments ignored warnings from scientists for years, both that climate change would lead to increased storm activity, and that destruction of wetlands outside of New Orleans had hurt the city's natural defenses against a storm surge. Calls for fixing levees and infrastructure investments went unheeded while the doctrine of markets and profits held sway. Well, this week a federal district judge finally ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers was indeed responsible for part of the devastation in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward and parts of St. Bernard Parish. The failure of the Corps to recognize the hazards wetland destruction had created was "clearly negligent on the part of the Corps," said U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr.. "Furthermore, the Corps not only knew, but admitted by 1988" the threats to human life ... And yet it did not act in time to prevent the catastrophic disaster that ensued." In this decision alone the government could wind up paying $700,000 in damages -- doesn't sound like enough. More importantly, though, the ruling could open the gates to judgments that could reach into the billions. No judgment of course will bring back the Ninth Ward, which years after Katrina and Rita is still largely a ghost town. But this acknowledgment that the destruction didn't have to happen is important. Long neglect of federal infrastructure by governments more concerned with tax cuts than human safety... It's not a phenomenon limited to New Orleans. By way of reparations, how about not just $700,000 to the plaintiffs but a recommitment to federal infrastructure spending. You want national security? Stimulus? Jobs? That's it, and this is the time. The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GRITlaura on Twitter.com.

This is a recording of the complete 11/12/09 meeting of Northampton's Conservation Commission. This recording was made by Lachlan Ziegler. Learn more at www.northassoc.org. Here is the official agenda of the meeting: CONSERVATION COMMISSION in the Hearing Room 18, City Hall 210 Main Street, Northampton, MA for a public hearing: 5:00 PM Three County Fairgrounds for a Wetlands Order of Conditions for a complete redevelopment of the site, with five major new buildings created, with compensatory storage met by the demolition of most of the existing buildings.