Michael Chertoff--You Suck!

As some of you may know, Hurricane Ike is heading straight for Texas. I live far enough inland where I am not worried, though it will probably be a tropical storm still when it hits hear this weekend.

I was just reading about problems with evacuating migrant workers if south Texas needs to be evacuated. The workers are convinced that the Border Patrol will be on the evacuation buses and that they'll be deported. So they are willing to risk the hurricane rather than give up their jobs, families, and homes.

Why don't the immigrants trust the Border Patrol?

Back in May, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the Border Patrol would do nothing to impede an evacuation in the event of a hurricane. But when Hurricane Dolly struck the Rio Grande Valley in late July, no mandatory evacuation was ordered, and as a result the Border Patrol kept its checkpoints open. Agents soon caught a van load of illegal immigrants.

Great job Chertoff! Way to prioritize kicking out hard-working Mexicans and Central Americans over making sure people don't die. But I guess such an lie is not surprising coming from the racist Republican Party.

Myanmar: Even More Incompetent Than Bush

It's sad to know that there is actually one government less competent than the Bush administration: Myanmar. The junta's unwillingness to allow foreign aid workers, leading to the temporary suspension of UN aid, is utterly immoral. Not that the government cares about their people at all. Truly disgusting.

Of course, people have known this about the Burmese government for a long time. Remember, this government faced a major rebellion less than a year ago. With a huge hurricane on top of it, the military are holding on with their fingernails here. But being more than happy to shoot all of their citizens and knowing that the UN is ultimately going to cave strengthens their case.

Forests, Nicaragua, and Hurricane Felix

This article from last week stresses the importance of environmental protection. I was certain that when Hurricane Felix was bearing down on Nicaragua as a category 5 hurricane, we would be looking at massive deaths, not so much from the hurricane itself, but from the mudslides that seemed would follow (particularly given how Hurricane Mitch turned out a few years ago). Although 65 people (as of now – see ourlatinamerica.blogspot.com) have died, the death toll is far less than what many (including myself feared).

Apparently, the reason for this relatively low number of deaths among the Miskitos and others in Nicaragua is simple: forests. The forests also apparently helped to slow down and reduce the hurricane’s strength by offering a natural “barrier” against which the hurricane was acting (the simple rule of physics about action/reaction). Not just that, either – thanks to the forests, the ground remained rooted, and as any elementary schoolchild can tell you, plants prevent erosion. That’s apparently exactly what happened this time in Nicaragua.

All of this just goes to show one more way in which protecting forests will save lives in the future. Erik is usually the one who points this out, but it can never be re-stated enough – we must work hard to protect the forests around the world. The benefits will go beyond the simple (though by no means trivial) issue of oxygen/carbon dioxide cycles and greenhouse effects. Forests (and other environmental “resources”) save more lives than we care to acknowledge, and the case of Hurricane Felix is just one more example of that.