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[MUSIC REVIEW] Avalon Quartet in Close Encounters at Mahaiwe
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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Review by Seth Rogovoy
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Review by Seth Rogovoy
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[FILM REVIEW] Bill Cunningham New York
Review by Seth Rogovoy
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Are there some places that are simply uninhabitable?
9.1.08
While sitting back and watching with great sympathy the horrors once again being inflicted upon the residents of greater New Orleans from the relative beauty and safety of the untouched Berkshires, one wonders if there comes a time in history, or geological history, when a place -- say, greater New Orleans -- is no longer fit for human habitation?
With all due respect to the great history and legacy of this remarkable city -- one of the great American seaports and melting pots, probably second only to New York in its fusion of cultures (members of my own extended family immigrated to the U.S. from Eastern Europe through New Orleans as well as Ellis Island) -- and all it has stood for the past few hundred years, is it feasible to expect to encourage the population of this great city to return and rebuild every few years after Mother Nature's wrath turns it all into a sad joke?
When does a change in the geology of a place -- manmade or otherwise -- render that place unfit for human habitation? How many times, at what cost to human life, the emotional trauma, and the economic costs of the rebuild-destroy-rebuild cycle, should we be willing to allow people to return to an area that is seemingly no longer safe, and to set themselves up for serial bailouts (no pun intended) that we as a nation cannot afford, to say nothing of the people of New Orleans themselves or their insurance companies?
Perhaps before Gustav has even hit it is impolitic or politically incorrect to be asking such questions. Or perhaps not -- perhaps this is the most important time to be asking such questions, and to begin the process of determining just how much aid we will give to the next rebuilding effort.
Of course the two million refugees need our help -- but are we helping them by sending them back to a city surely to be hit again in the next two or three years? Or wouldn't our dollars and those of the federal government better be spent on relocating these people out of the path of some of nature's most destructive storms, to some place where they can settle and live relatively safe, productive lives, not in fear of having to be evacuated every time the forecast calls for a rainy thunderstorm?
9/1/2008
Hi Seth,
Just quickly before the power goes out here in Baton Rouge. You're certainly right that cities in high-risk locations raise existential questions about whether or not "we" should keep rebuilding there. We'll save the question of who the "we" is in this case for another time. In any case, it's partly a question of population density. Given sane, Green flood control technologies (wetlands restoration as well as proper levies), New Orleans certainly can support its current diminished population, because as this week has shown, they can be evacuated quickly and safely. But the hundreds of thousands in the surrounding suburbs, many without proper drainage or flood control, are another story.
What we object to in Louisiana is being singled out as crazy for being where we are. The first big hurricane of the 21st century to hit the south shore of Long Island will change the terms of the debate, I'm pretty sure. And the looming water crisis out west makes it clear that Phoenix, for instance, should have a fraction of its current population, and probably Los Angeles too. We'll shelve the issue of metro California's seismic feasibility for now. And then there's overbuilt, overexposed Florida...
So those are my observations as I sit on the shoulder of this large, dangerous storm. It's not going to stay a Louisiana problem for very long. Humanity has expanded outside its comfort zone, which is what humanity always does.
When I was 15 I remember one hurricane's remnant making its way up the Hudson Valley into the Berkshires, putting our power out for a week. So where is anyone safe? This said, putting one of the world's great cities in a bowl between a big lake and a big river was probably not what they mean when they talk about location,location, location.
Regards,
Jeff Perry (Eph 82)
P.S. Wish I could hear you cover Springsteen. Come down this way with your band sometime. I guarantee we'll always have live music!
From IP address: 72.219.10.29
9/1/2008
Jeff: Thanks for your well-considered thoughts and perspective from the eye of the storm.
I certainly agree, having grown up there, that we should add Long Island to places not fit for human habitation -- in this case as much for the idiocy bred by suburban life as for any geological imperatives.
As for the Boss show, some of might wind up on YouTube in the next day or two. I'll let you know.
Thanks,
Seth
From IP address: 72.70.232.176
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