last
updated 8th September 05
by 4ecotips.com
 Could
become a common feature of 21st Century
life
The overwhelming human and financial
impacts of Hurricane Katrina are powerful
evidence that political and economic
decisions made in the United States
and other countries have failed to
account for our dependence on a healthy
resource base, according to an assessment
released by the Worldwatch Institute.
Alteration of the Mississippi River
and the destruction of wetlands at
its mouth have left the area around
New Orleans abnormally vulnerable
to the forces of nature. According
to many scientists, the early results
of global warming - 90oF water temperatures
in the Gulf and rising sea levels
-may have exacerbated the destructive
power of Katrina.
"The catastrophe now unfolding
along the US Gulf Coast is a wake-up
call for decision makers around the
globe," says Worldwatch President
Christopher Flavin. "If the world
continues on its current course -
massively altering the natural world
and further increasing fossil fuel
consumption - future generations may
face a chain of disasters that make
Katrina-scale catastrophes a common
feature of life in the 21st century."
"The appalling images from New
Orleans demonstrate that the world's
richest country is not immune from
the need to respect natural systems
and to invest in their protection,"
continued Flavin. "This will
likely be the most expensive weather-related
disaster the world has ever faced."
Worldwatch Background Fact
Sheet
In 2004, weather-related disasters
caused $104 bn in economic losses,
almost twice the total in 2003. Hurricane
Katrina alone is expected to cause
more than $100 bn in economic losses,
according to Risk Management Solutions,
Inc.
An estimated1 2,000 weather-related
disasters since 1980 have caused 618,200
fatalities and cost a total of $1.3
trn. Average annual economic losses
from weather-related disasters rose
from $26 bn in the 1980s to $67 billion
in the last decade.
Average annual fatalities due to
weather-related disasters jumped from
22,000 in the 1980s to 33,000 in the
1990s.
Since the early 1900s, the average
global temperature has risen 0.6oC.
The rate of increase since 1976 is
triple that for the century as a whole.
In 2004, the concentration of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere was 377
parts per million, 16% higher than
in 1960.
Oil is responsible for 42% of all
emissions of carbon dioxide, the principal
human-caused greenhouse gas.
In 2004, approximately 30 million
people worldwide were environmental
refugees. The UN Development Programme
projects that number to climb to 50
million by 2010 and 150 million by
2050.
Since 2001, the Bush Administration
has frozen spending on the Corps of
Engineers, responsible for protecting
the country's coastlines and waterways,
at around $4.7 bn.
More than 20 oil rigs were reported
missing in the Gulf, and the region's
oil output was down nearly 95% after
Hurricane Katrina.
25% of US oil production comes from
the Gulf of Mexico and 60% of US oil
imports come through ports located
along the Gulf Coast. 10% of US refining
capacity is located in that region.
Fossil fuels provide over 90% of
world commercial energy use.
Over the past decade, the energy
produced from wind, solar, and, biofuels
has doubled. These new energy sources
are now growing at over 10 times the
rate of world oil production.
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