TALKING POINTS: Katrina One Year Anniversary

Discriminatory policies have made it difficult for Katrina Evacuees to have equal access to opportunity.

• Only 5.4% of the $3.7 billion in FEMA funds have been spent on contracts with Louisiana companies, taking many of the jobs and much of the economic boom associated with opportunity out of the hands of Katrina Survivors.

• Minority owned businesses experienced exceptional hardship, because they were being passed over for reconstruction work by FEMA until October of 2005, when Congress stepped in and questioned FEMA.. Minority owned businesses in the gulf coast region attributed $3.3 billion to the economy before Katrina hit.

Women in particular are experiencing hardship and a lack of opportunity. Many women’s organizations have become involved in advocating for Katrina survivors and evacuees. Do women have equal access to good paying jobs and health care? Why might women have been less able to leave New Orleans before the hurricanes hit?

• Prior to the hurricane, 25.9% of women in New Orleans lived in poverty
• Female-headed families with children under 18 account for more than half of all families in the gulf coast region, twice the national average
• A much larger percentage of female-headed families live below the poverty line than marriage headed households
• Of the 180,000 person civilian workforce lost after Katrina, 103,000 were women
• Even if women in the gulf coast region could find employment, there is little to no resources for childcare assistance

Women are often the caretakers of children and elderly. There was a large group of female headed householders in New Orleans. What are women’s organizations doing to help Katrina survivors and evacuees get the help they need? Why were women in particular experiencing poverty before Katrina and why are they still experiencing hardship now? How can public institutions be used to ensure equal access to opportunity for all?

"The Human Tragedy Inflicted on the Gulf Coast"

Workers who stayed in New Orleans or have returned, as well as migrant workers who have come to the gulf region to help rebuild, are experiencing discrimination and hardship.

• The federal government suspended the Davis Bacon Act for the post Katrin reconstruction, which assures a prevailing wage, until November 7, 2005. All contracts awarded at that time are not subject to prevailing wage, and any subcontracts, even if they are negotiated thereafter and executed at any time, will not be subject to the Davis Bacon Act
• Lawsuits have been filed against two large contractors for not paying migrant workers their earned wages
• There is a lack of efficient oversight and accountability of the contract work in the gulf coast states
• A survey of immigrant workers conducted by Tulane University and University of California, Berkeley, revealed that many workers are not being given the safety equipment or training they need to perform dangerous tasks like removing toxic substances and mold
• Some workers do not have hardhats, safety goggles or harnesses

The State of Opportunity for Workers Repairing the Gulf by Opportunity Agendaw

Affordable Housing was an issue before Katrina and Rita hit land, but now it is a crisis.

• 67% of the city’s extremely low-income households dealt with housing costs that exceeded 30% of the household heads’ incomes in 2000
• 56% of very-low-income households used more than half of their incomes to pay for housing
• Rental space is now scarce, yet the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a plan to demolish over 5,000 public housing units in New Orleans. Most of the public housing in New Orleans was occupied prior to Katrina by working women, their children, the elderly, and the disabled.
• On June 27, 2006, a lawsuit was filed against the Housing Authority of New Orleans and HUD on behalf of public housing residents to block the demolition of the 5,000 units and mandate HUD to quickly reopen this source of affordable housing.
• One question is: Will the United States remain as committed to human rights nationally as we are internationally, especially concerning internally displaced people?

Without access to living wage jobs, affordable housing and better opportunities, it will be impossible for Katrina survivors to rebuild their lives. Katrina survivors need basic public services to be reinstalled as soon as possible!

In New Orleans, ONLY:

• 18% of public schools have reopened.
• 21% of child-care centers have reopened.
• 17% of public buses are operational
• 60% of homes have electricity service.
  

Housing: Welcoming Katrina's Victims Back Home

A lack of opportunity for advancement in life has left many hopeless.

The mental state of Katrina survivors in New Orleans is exacerbated by the lack of opportunity for employment, medical care, insurance payments from the federal government, basic human services, basic public services and clear progress toward a rebuilt New Orleans.

• Depression is sweeping across the city, where many people have lost their homes and lack access to health care.
• Mortality rates have jumped 25% and the suicide rate has increased threefold in New Orleans.
• There is little to no access to mental healthcare currently in the City of New Orleans.

Is New Orleans Having a Mental Health Breakdown?

Many people in New Orleans initially had a sense of hope for rebuilding their city, but this feeling has dwindled to despair over time as opportunities for employment and health services have not manifested.

How can we create a more inclusive and just society with equal access to opportunity for all?

TALKING POINTS: Industrialized Meat Production

What are CAFOs? Confined or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations abbreviated as CAFOs are larger, specialized meat production operations. CAFOs produce meat en masse through confinement animals in a concentrated, crowded environment and have been thus known to have poor health consequences for the animals, humans who consume their products and the environment. CAFOs have been known to produce (and not effectively dispose of) up to 500 million tons of animal waste per year. However, they do have a high capacity for meat product output, but at what cost?

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/07/07/muckraker/index_np.html

Would a shift to smaller scale meat production effect food security? There are concerns that downsizing meat production would have a detrimental effect on food supplies in the United States. However, putting food production in corporate control instead of at a small scale farm level could make food production profit driven at the cost of human health and animal treatment. Meat quality could take a back seat to meat production capacity. Are CAFO’s properly regulated by governmental oversight, or are they allowed to pollute and provide lower quality meat because of the volume of meat they produce?

http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/faculty/jikerd/papers/Kellogg-Taho-CAFOs.htm

How does industrialized meat production effect the environment? There have been many examples of poor environmental quality associated with industrialized meat production. Manure waste from factory farms is often not monitored and regulated, even though the Clean Water Act considers CAFOs a point source for pollution. One example is that in 1995, 25 million gallons of hog waste spilled from an 8-acre lagoon into a river in the United States, killing 10 million fish.

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/1495

http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=3372

How are CAFOs different in their treatment of animals? Animals raised in CAFOs are confined, fed unhealthy feed and shot up with antibiotics. The high antibiotic use compensates for the unsanitary conditions that the animals must endure in CAFOs. Some smaller family farms have joined cooperatives to maintain their economic viability while also providing a healthier and more humane lifestyle for their livestock, which translates into the quality of the meat they produce. Is it appropriate to sacrifice compassionate treatment of animals for faster meat production?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/interviews/pollan.html

Are antibiotics losing their efficiency/effectiveness because of cheap meat?U.S. are fed to livestock to promote growth and compensate for the unsanitary conditions associated with industrial meat production. By volume, livestock in the U.S. consume eight times more antibiotics than humans do. Is there a link between eating meat that is heavily laden with antibiotics and a decrease in antibiotic effectiveness in humans? Approximately 70 percent of all antibiotics in the

http://www.keepantibioticsworking.com/new/resources_library.cfm?refID=37751

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/07/01_pollan.shtml

Is it necessary for farmers to change to CAFO-style production to survive economically in the future? Some claim that CAFOs are economically more efficient and the future of farming in America. Others believe the cost of CAFOs to human health, meat quality and animal treatment are not worth the potential profit. The cost of waste disposal, the potential for animal diseases to spread and the pollution that is associated with large scale operations are concerns that should be considered by large scale CAFO operators. Is it more efficient to have CAFOs in lieu of family farm cooperatives? How have smaller scale farms collaborated to become more efficient and open up their products to a wider market? How has their product’s quality and their farm’s commitment to sustainable farming practices increased their marketability?

http://www.patchworkfamilyfarms.org/ogs.html

http://www.newseasonsmarket.com/

Is there a consumer led demand for naturally raised “organic” meat? It may be too expensive for many meat eaters to afford naturally raised pork or grass-fed beef. However, there has been an increased consumer demand for accountability concerning where food is from and how it is produced. Will an increased consumer demand require large scale operators to change their production procedures? How would this effect the price of meat? What’s out on the market now as an alternative to CAFOs and industrialized meat production?

http://www.applegatefarms.com

http://www.betterpork.com/edenfarms/edenfarms/index.htm

http://www.goodnatured.net/

TALKING POINTS: Global Warming

Is human society accelerating global warming? There is a discernible human impact on global warming through deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. Greenhouse gases are emitted into the atmosphere by industry and our everyday lives. It seems difficult for science to discern the exact amount of global warming acceleration attributable to human societies, but there is evidence that the modern human lifestyle is contributing to global warming and climate change. What is the scientific evidence and how do climate models hold up for predicting the future of climate change?

What are the potential changes to our ecosystems? Wildlife habitat and biological diversity are in some ways already being affected by global climate change. Fish populations could be seriously impacted by major flooding or water termperature changes, both in the ocean and in feshwater. The duck population and other water fowl populations could be adversely affected by drought and lack of wetlands. Arctic ecosystems are in danger of disappearing through glacier melt, leaving species like the polar bear faced with the possibility of extinction.
Links: National Geographic, Natural Resources Defense Council, World Sea Fishing News

How will climate change affect the environment? Scientists, through climate models and other mechanisms, have predicted every outcome from increased flooding to increased wildfires, and more rain to drought. Several scientists have studied the impact of climate change on the severity of weather; namely hurricanes and tropical storms. Sea level rise could potentially flood out several areas of the United States. Scientists who have studied the El Nino ocscillations fear that future storm systems will become more intense over time with the current level of global warming. Snowpack and frozen lands in the Western United States could melt, threatening municipal water supplies and irrigation of agricultural lands during the hottest summer months.
Links: Global Warming and Wildfires, PEW Center on Global Climate Change

Are carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pollutants? Should they be regulated in industry like other emissions? Government regulation of industry and auto emissions has cut down on air pollution. If greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide were regulted, the two main causes of human acceleration of global warming would be greatly curbed: auto and industrial emissions. What would the effect on the US auto indutry be if carbon dioxide were regulated? How would industries like oil extraction and energy production deal with carbon dioxide regulations?
Links: Christian Science Monitor on regulating CO2

How can we change our lifestyles to reduce the impacts of global warming? Global warming is happening, but scientists, industry and environmentalists are still arguing over what the potential impacts are. One thing is agreed: the data show a link between human-created emissions and accelerated global warming. How can we change our lives to reduce our impact on global warming? Some believe that nuclear energy is the solution, while others believe we need to turn to renewable and alternative energy sources. How can state-level policy decisions help reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Can we begin to change our energy and industrial infrastructure now, or are we too heavily vested in our current oil-dependent paradigm?
Links: Union of Concerned Scientists, Harvard Business School, TerraPass, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies