There is so much going on all the time and yet nothing of real importance in my life. I feel so awful for those folks in New Orleans, Gulfport, Mobile, etc. What a terrible act of nature. I wonder if there is a place locally that I can donate goods for those without anything? We have so much - dishes, clothes, shoes, etc that I'd like to donate. Simple, basic things that we have too much of anyway. I also just don't understand the looting. I'd turn a blind eye to the food, water, diapers, etc. looting. Those things will be a loss to stores anyway. But electronics? Jewelry? You have to wonder just what the looters think they'll be able to do with the stuff. Perhaps sell the gold and jewels for money on the black market, but give me a break. Your needs should be more basic than that. I'm not even touching the gun thefts. I mean, with all the alligators, I'd be scared, too (I know, that's not why they stole the weapons, but it's a legitimate thought, right?). It's also sad to note that those doing the looting are obviously those with the least means to get by - and are those who aren't caucasian. Pretty telling demographic, there. Of course, if you've ever been to New Orleans, it's pretty apparant that that economics and race are related.
I'm not one that waxes poetic about NO. I've been there once and thought it incredibly gothic, romantic, fascinating, beautiful, ugly, scary, depressing, and humid beyond belief. A wonderful place to visit. I wonder just what it will become now? Who will move back? Other random questions come to me, too. What happened to the animals @ the zoos? I keep thinking of all those 'gators and tapirs at the Audubon Zoo. What happened to the Aquarium of the Americas? Didn't they have piranhas? Did those tanks break? I hope the snake at the voodoo museum didn't get loose. It was huge. Well, the one I saw is probably dead by now. I can't begin to imagine just what people who actually call NO home feel. I don't think I'd be able to sleep out of sheer worry. And all that history - how much is salvageable? (update: NPS efforts)
And isn't it about time that we used alternative fuel? If we're going to spend $3 (or nearly $6 in GA) a gallon for gas, maybe there are other sources out there that will only cost $3 a gallon as well. I know, all that R&D isn't cheap. Still.
Meanwhile, in other natural disaster news, although not nearly as catastrophic to human life as Hurricane Katrina, I find it interesting that news on the Central Alaska forest fires doesn't seem to rate as national news. The smoke from the fires was so bad, airplane trips were quite curtailed around the state. In fact, when we went to Nome, it amazed me that our plane had loads of standby passengers waiting (each plane between Anchorage/Nome/Kotzebue or Anchorage/Fairbanks/Barrow is a Boeing 737-200C with about half of the upper deck split configured for cargo and passengers). Turns out that our flight was the first flight to be able to get to and from Nome in a day and a half, thanks to the smoke. The five previous flights had all been cancelled. As you may or may not know, Alaskan towns rely on airplanes for basic supplies, since there are no interstates connecting the regions. If it doesn't come by boat, it has to come by air.
From the Associated Press
2005 Wildfire Season One for Record Books
Aug 29, 2005
Fire officials say the 2005 Alaska wildfire season likely will move into the top three for most acres burned. Officials say the mark should be reached by sometime late this week. The Alaska Interagency Coordination Center says this summer's slow burn has consumed about 3.8 million acres and climbing. Officials say the record number of acres burned in 2004 was about 6.7 million acres. The other top Alaska wildfire seasons were in 1957, when five million acres burned and 1969 when 4.2 million acres were consumed. This year's fire season picked up rapidly in the last month, spurred by a high-pressure ridge that settled over the Interior for two weeks.
Officials say the high pressure brought an increase in lightning strikes, warmer temperatures, drier air and winds from the north and east. The system spurred more than 100 fires to burn more than two million acres and choked the Interior with smoke.
Now back to New Orleans. Yikes.
Sweetie's grandfather fell and broke his hip - ouch. Each day, the doctors say they will operate, they won't operate, they will operate. They can't decide. How frustrating! We'll probably be making a trip to see him soon, especially since we have a lovely piece of engraved baleen for him from Point Hope.
Oh, I will probably blog about this later, too, but one of the things I keep giggling about from our Alaska trip just begs to be shared. I know, I'm spoiled because local news here is actually pretty damn professional compared to, say, Honolulu, but I can't help laughing at the "Sunny Muslims" mentioned by a newscaster on an Anchorage station. When she said that, sweetie and I looked at each other and said "sunny?!" How does she know if they have sunny dispositions in Iraq? Seriously, don't local news anchors watch the national newscasts?! Sheesh.
( 07:08 FH | news. )