Hurricane Katrina offers important examples for study. I will review two:
(1) Levee Protection(2) Hazard Mitigation Funds. Both examples clearly show how public policy impacts populations differently.The Army corps of Engineers has been held largely responsible for the devastation from Katrina that
occurred in New Orleans. For that reason, much attention has been given to their responses. Billions of dollars
were spent over the last two years to repair the New Orleans levees with the expectation that they would be
brought up to the pre-Katrina level of Category 3 hurricane protection. The recent report of work progress,
however, showed something very different for the “majority” racial minority of the city of New Orleans. After
two years, the only populations with significantly increased protection after billions of dollars had been spent
were white and affluent. A more thorough investigation showed that existing policy only allowed the corps to
work on projects already on line before Katrina. As it turns out, the on-line projects were all slated for the more
white and affluent community. The larger, more vulnerable African American communities, two years after
Katrina were in the same vulnerable state as before Katrina.More recently, the citizens of New Orleans have uncovered another initiative that completely excludes
them. The federal government/FEMA has a Hazardous Mitigation Fund that provides millions of dollars to
mitigate flooding in communities. Site selections are based on participation in the National Flood Protection
Program. Most homeowners in the city of New Orleans have flood insurance through the National Flood
Insurance Program. In fact, the City of New Orleans has a higher than the national average participation rate.
The second part of the equation for a neighborhood to receive hazardous mitigation funds determines
policy decisions that result in the exclusion of neighborhoods by race and is discriminatory. The number of claims
submitted by neighborhoods for flooding is included in the analysis. Uptown neighborhoods where there were
large concentrations of white homeowners before Katrina tended to flood every time there was a very hard rain.
New Orleans East and the lower ninth ward, are much more vulnerable to hurricanes, but with few exceptions,
never flooded when it rained before Katrina. Consequently, FEMA Hazardous Mitigation Funds that were
intended to help the populations most vulnerable to hurricanes will not receive any of the hazardous mitigation
monies. Once again, this benefits the more affluent and white populations. What is being experienced in New
Orleans is a “policy surge” more powerful than the storm surge that could facilitate a permanent and systematic
depopulation and displacement of New Orleans African American Communities.
Sociological research is needed to investigate the impacts of climate change on populations with emphasis
on race and class. Research is needed to develop policy and evaluate policy for discriminating factors that
negatively impact vulnerable populations.
The environmental justice research paradigm that places race and equity at the center of the analysis
should be adopted for climate change using the impacts of Katrina as a model. Research is needed in the
following areas: the right to return and internally displaced residents, replacement of public housing, reduced foot
prints on the rebuilding of certain communities, access to health care, fresh food/supermarkets, insurance issues,
contractor fraud, mortgage loans, and redlining.
A partial fix could be the setting of policies similar to the Environmental Justice Executive Order
or a Climate Justice Executive Order. What if there were guidelines for Climate Policy similar to National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) guidelines. Let’s Talk!!!