Dozens Dead as Hurricane Katrina Slams into Gulf Coast: A Look at Extreme Weather,
Oil Development and Who Gets Hit the Hardest
Hurricane Katrina slammed into the
Gulf Coast with devastating force Monday morning leaving at least 55 people dead
and more than a million people in
three states without power. We speak with David Helvarg of the Blue Frontier
Campaign
about extreme weather and Damu Smith about who gets hit the hardest.
Environmental Pollution Along the Mississippi: From the Headwater to the
Delta
We speak with Robert Shimek of the Indigenous Environmental Network about
the toxic pollution of the Mississippi River with various industries using
it as a "sewer dump" to get rise of dioxins, PCBs and various heavy
metals.
Environmental Racism: How Minority Communities Are Exposed to "Toxic
Soup"
We speak with Damu Smith, founder of Black Voices for Peace and executive
director of the National Black Environmental Justice Network about environmental
racism. Smith says, "People, black and white and Latino, who live in these
[heavy industrial] areas are exposed to toxic soup of chemicals regularly
released into the air, into the soil, into the water."
Katrina Rescue Operations: Are National Guard and Equipment Stretched Thin
by Iraq War?
With search and rescue operations underway in multiple states and
many communities facing massive reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of hurricane
Katrina,
state governments are relying significantly on aid from the National Guard.
But with the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of Guard members
available at home has been slashed.
Juan Cole on U.S.-Saudi Relations
We play Part 2 of our discussion with Middle
East expert Juan Cole looking at U.S.-Saudi relations. Cole is a Professor
of History at the University of
Michigan and runs a widely-read blog called "Informed Comment."