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True German view on Katrina???

azdroptop · 2005-08-30T23:53:37+00:00

This actually amazes me. I know it shouldn't, but it does. Do a lot of Germans actually think along these lines...? The ignorance in this article is truly stunning... Katrina Should be A Lesson To US on Global Warming Seems like everything is President Bush's fault. One day after Katrina hammered the Gulf Coast, German commentators are laying into the US for its stubborn attitude to global warming and Kyoto.[/b] [img]http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,511600,00.jpg[/img][right][img]http://www.spiegel.de/static/sys/lupe.gif[/img][/right] [right]AP[/right] Fun-loving New Orleans, now a disaster area. Hurricane Katrina is big news for German commentators, whatever their ilk. For some, the powerful storm which slammed the Gulf Coast on Monday, is a symbol of the sort of environmental terrors awaiting the world thanks to global warming and proof positive that America needs to quickly reverse its policy of playing down climate change. For the more conservative, it is simply another regrettable natural catastrophe. Regardless of how one views it, Katrina has not only devastated parts of Louisiana and Mississippi and killed dozens, it also has threatened the US and its trading partners with economic instability. The Gulf Coast states refine about 30 percent of America's oil supply and Katrina's damage is threatening to cause already-high oil costs to skyrocket. The fun-loving town of New Orleans, beloved for its moody, French-inspired bars, crooning jazz riffs and free-for-all Mardi Gras spirit, has transformed into a watery ghost town, with 80 percent of the city's 480,000 residents obeying the mayor's call to evacuate. The pictures tell it all: frantic racing through chest-deep water, flooded city streets and uprooted trees. The storm even ripped off a chunk of the roof of the New Orleans Superdome, where close to 10,000 people had run to for cover. HURRICANE KATRINA: A CITY UNDER WATER [center][img]http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,511624,00.jpg[/img][img]http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,511616,00.jpg[/img][img]http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,511610,00.jpg[/img] Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (15 Photos). [/center] The toughest commentary of the day comes from Germany's Environmental Minister, Jürgen Trittin, a Green Party member, who takes space in the Frankfurter Rundschau, a paper owned by the Social Democrats, to bash US President George W. Bush's environmental laxity. He begins by likening the photos and videos of the hurricane stricken areas to scenes from a Roland Emmerich sci-fi film and insists that global warming and climate change are making it ever more likely that storms and floods will plague America and Europe. "There is only one possible route of action," he writes. "Greenhouse gases have to be radically reduced and it has to happen worldwide. Until now, the US has kept its eyes shut to this emergency. (Americans) make up a mere 4 percent of the population, but are responsible for close to a quarter of emissions." He adds that the average American is responsible for double as much carbon dioxide as the average European. "The Bush government rejects international climate protection goals by insisting that imposing them would negatively impact the American economy. The American president is closing his eyes to the economic and human costs his land and the world economy are suffering under natural catastrophes like Katrina and because of neglected environmental policies." As such, Trittin also calls for a reworking of the Kyoto Protocol -- dubbing it the uncreative title of "Kyoto 2" -- and insisting that the US be included. The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung also delivers a punchy plea for more attention to global warming, saying politicians should pay more attention to Katrina's alarming images than to election polls and economic forecasts. "Hurricane Katrina has delivered terrible photos. Experts are already calling it the worst hurricane of all time. But this year's hurricane season has only just begun. Flooded villages, mud slides, sandbags....Scientists are quite calmly saying that we will see this kind of thing more often. After all, this is what they have been forecasting for years -- climate change, human-caused and irreversible. But a change of policy is not in the cards. Politics is trapped between voters and industry lobbyists. And of course, there is the killer argument: Protecting the environment impedes economic growth." This is not how it should be, the paper opines. Indeed, more "pictures from New Orleans should encourage us to follow science's advice on climate protection." NEWSLETTER " src="http://www.spiegel.de/static/sys/v6/doppelpfeil_re_000_17x7.gif" width=17 border=0> Sign up for Spiegel Online's daily newsletter and get the best of Der Spiegel's and Spiegel Online's international coverage in your In-Box everyday. [img]http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,484341,00.jpg[/img] The business daily Handelsblatt has a more pragmatic approach to viewing the catastrophe. Instead of harping on the cause of hurricanes and other disasters, it insists that the world should better help those in danger get protection. "People will argue about the causes of climate change for a long time to come," the paper writes. "But its effects are already reality. They are called Katrina, or the flood catastrophes in southern Germany, Romania, Switzerland and Austria.... It's not enough now to just call for measures against climate change. Such policies need decades to take effect. But now we must begin taking different kinds of measures, ones that better protect people affected by extreme weather incidents." The best way to begin, says the paper, is to identify areas of the globe most in danger. In Germany, that includes areas around the Elbe and Donau rivers, while in the Netherlands, much of the nation is under sea level. More needs to be done, says the paper, to prevent building in potentially dangerous areas and to create high water emergency policies. The world, too, needs to help nations like Bangladesh, which doesn't have the means to reduce the risks its people face alone. "All of this will cost time, a lot of money and the eradication of old habits. But only in this way can people be protected and the even-higher costs of post-catastrophe damages be reduced." The Financial Times Deutschland refrains from any commentary about the human costs of the hurricane and focuses on the economic impact it will have on oil supplies. "For the already-strained global energy market, Katrina is a small nightmare: The huge world-wide demand for oil has left producers and workers pushing their limits of capacity. If production platforms and refineries on the Gulf of Mexico have to shut down, the supply holes will not be easy to fill." Even if the current projects of the economic impact of Katrina are exaggerated, one thing is clear, the paper says. In the end, the storm will have proven "the vulnerability of the oil-dependent world economy." The Süddeutsche Zeitung uses its feature page as a defacto editorial by focusing on the hurricane as its theme of the day. Among its articles, it cites a study by US hurricane expert Kerry Emanuel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that shows a rising tendency for hurricanes that exactly reflects the curve of greenhouse gases. German scientists from the Max-Planck Institute hail the study as the first proof of a real link. "If this man-made warming continues, we will have to expect stronger storms in future" Emmanuel tells the paper. The conservative Die Welt, naturally, has an altogether different take on Katrina, insisting that despite the terrible images broadcast, we should not get hysterical about the environmental implications of the hurricane or start screaming for change. After all, it says, "hurricanes are a natural phenomenon. They occurred long before humans could be affected by them. Whether the frequency and intensity of these storms has truly increased in recent years has not yet been proven with statistics." Whether humans have aversely affected the Earth's climate or not, the paper says, one thing is clear "we have modern technology to thank that Katrina was not able to do more damage." Indeed, thanks to early warning systems, the people of New Orleans were evacuated before the storm hit. "One hundred years ago, a tropical storm as strong as Katarina would likely have caused many deaths, because it would have hit people unawares." Now, says the paper, we should be grateful technology allows us to save so many lives.

Started by azdroptop · 30 August 2005 · Last activity 5 September 2005 · 129 posts · 17,032 views

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Original section: Bike Cafe
Published: 30 August 2005
Last activity: 5 September 2005
Original author: azdroptop
Posts: 129
Discussion status: Public discussion
Total views: 17,032
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Topics: Commuting Training plans

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Original post
azdroptop
Archived post

30 August 2005, 23:53 UTC #1

This actually amazes me. I know it shouldn't, but it does. Do a lot of Germans actually think along these lines...? The ignorance in this article is truly stunning...

Katrina Should be A Lesson To US on Global Warming

[b]Seems like everything is President Bush's fault. One day after Katrina hammered the Gulf Coast, German commentators are laying into the US for its stubborn attitude to global warming and Kyoto.[/b]

[right][/right]
[right]AP[/right]
Fun-loving New Orleans, now a disaster area.

Hurricane Katrina is big news for German commentators, whatever their ilk. For some, the powerful storm which slammed the Gulf Coast on Monday, is a symbol of the sort of environmental terrors awaiting the world thanks to global warming and proof positive that America needs to quickly reverse its policy of playing down climate change. For the more conservative, it is simply another regrettable natural catastrophe.

Regardless of how one views it, Katrina has not only devastated parts of Louisiana and Mississippi and killed dozens, it also has threatened the US and its trading partners with economic instability. The Gulf Coast states refine about 30 percent of America's oil supply and Katrina's damage is threatening to cause already-high oil costs to skyrocket. The fun-loving town of New Orleans, beloved for its moody, French-inspired bars, crooning jazz riffs and free-for-all Mardi Gras spirit, has transformed into a watery ghost town, with 80 percent of the city's 480,000 residents obeying the mayor's call to evacuate. The pictures tell it all: frantic racing through chest-deep water, flooded city streets and uprooted trees. The storm even ripped off a chunk of the roof of the New Orleans Superdome, where close to 10,000 people had run to for cover.

HURRICANE KATRINA: A CITY UNDER WATER
[center]
Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (15 Photos).
[/center]

The toughest commentary of the day comes from Germany's Environmental Minister, Jürgen Trittin, a Green Party member, who takes space in the Frankfurter Rundschau, a paper owned by the Social Democrats, to bash US President George W. Bush's environmental laxity. He begins by likening the photos and videos of the hurricane stricken areas to scenes from a Roland Emmerich sci-fi film and insists that global warming and climate change are making it ever more likely that storms and floods will plague America and Europe. "There is only one possible route of action," he writes. "Greenhouse gases have to be radically reduced and it has to happen worldwide. Until now, the US has kept its eyes shut to this emergency. (Americans) make up a mere 4 percent of the population, but are responsible for close to a quarter of emissions." He adds that the average American is responsible for double as much carbon dioxide as the average European. "The Bush government rejects international climate protection goals by insisting that imposing them would negatively impact the American economy. The American president is closing his eyes to the economic and human costs his land and the world economy are suffering under natural catastrophes like Katrina and because of neglected environmental policies." As such, Trittin also calls for a reworking of the Kyoto Protocol -- dubbing it the uncreative title of "Kyoto 2" -- and insisting that the US be included.

The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung also delivers a punchy plea for more attention to global warming, saying politicians should pay more attention to Katrina's alarming images than to election polls and economic forecasts. "Hurricane Katrina has delivered terrible photos. Experts are already calling it the worst hurricane of all time. But this year's hurricane season has only just begun. Flooded villages, mud slides, sandbags....Scientists are quite calmly saying that we will see this kind of thing more often. After all, this is what they have been forecasting for years -- climate change, human-caused and irreversible. But a change of policy is not in the cards. Politics is trapped between voters and industry lobbyists. And of course, there is the killer argument: Protecting the environment impedes economic growth." This is not how it should be, the paper opines. Indeed, more "pictures from New Orleans should encourage us to follow science's advice on climate protection."

NEWSLETTER<IMG height=7 alt=">" src="http://www.spiegel.de/static/sys/v6/doppelpfeil_re_000_17x7.gif" width=17 border=0>
Sign up for Spiegel Online's daily newsletter and get the best of Der Spiegel's and Spiegel Online's international coverage in your In-Box everyday.

The business daily Handelsblatt has a more pragmatic approach to viewing the catastrophe. Instead of harping on the cause of hurricanes and other disasters, it insists that the world should better help those in danger get protection. "People will argue about the causes of climate change for a long time to come," the paper writes. "But its effects are already reality. They are called Katrina, or the flood catastrophes in southern Germany, Romania, Switzerland and Austria.... It's not enough now to just call for measures against climate change. Such policies need decades to take effect. But now we must begin taking different kinds of measures, ones that better protect people affected by extreme weather incidents." The best way to begin, says the paper, is to identify areas of the globe most in danger. In Germany, that includes areas around the Elbe and Donau rivers, while in the Netherlands, much of the nation is under sea level. More needs to be done, says the paper, to prevent building in potentially dangerous areas and to create high water emergency policies. The world, too, needs to help nations like Bangladesh, which doesn't have the means to reduce the risks its people face alone. "All of this will cost time, a lot of money and the eradication of old habits. But only in this way can people be protected and the even-higher costs of post-catastrophe damages be reduced."

The Financial Times Deutschland refrains from any commentary about the human costs of the hurricane and focuses on the economic impact it will have on oil supplies. "For the already-strained global energy market, Katrina is a small nightmare: The huge world-wide demand for oil has left producers and workers pushing their limits of capacity. If production platforms and refineries on the Gulf of Mexico have to shut down, the supply holes will not be easy to fill." Even if the current projects of the economic impact of Katrina are exaggerated, one thing is clear, the paper says. In the end, the storm will have proven "the vulnerability of the oil-dependent world economy."

The Süddeutsche Zeitung uses its feature page as a defacto editorial by focusing on the hurricane as its theme of the day. Among its articles, it cites a study by US hurricane expert Kerry Emanuel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that shows a rising tendency for hurricanes that exactly reflects the curve of greenhouse gases. German scientists from the Max-Planck Institute hail the study as the first proof of a real link. "If this man-made warming continues, we will have to expect stronger storms in future" Emmanuel tells the paper.

The conservative Die Welt, naturally, has an altogether different take on Katrina, insisting that despite the terrible images broadcast, we should not get hysterical about the environmental implications of the hurricane or start screaming for change. After all, it says, "hurricanes are a natural phenomenon. They occurred long before humans could be affected by them. Whether the frequency and intensity of these storms has truly increased in recent years has not yet been proven with statistics." Whether humans have aversely affected the Earth's climate or not, the paper says, one thing is clear "we have modern technology to thank that Katrina was not able to do more damage." Indeed, thanks to early warning systems, the people of New Orleans were evacuated before the storm hit. "One hundred years ago, a tropical storm as strong as Katarina would likely have caused many deaths, because it would have hit people unawares." Now, says the paper, we should be grateful technology allows us to save so many lives.

Report
JTE83
Archived post

31 August 2005, 01:14 UTC #2

I don't think America should be blamed for the Global Warming. We have emission standrads for cars and industry. I think it's other third world countries that are to blame - like those high pollution industries in Mexico, maybe China, and other countries. Just look at the pollution problems Mexico has.
America is a very clean country. And here in Chicago - if your car doesn't pass emission standards you can't drive it.
By the way, does Europe ever experience any hurricanes? I've never heard of any news ever saying that Europe has been hit by a hurricane.

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wheelist
Archived post

31 August 2005, 08:04 UTC #3

JTE83 said:
I don't think America should be blamed for the Global Warming. We have emission standrads for cars and industry. I think it's other third world countries that are to blame - like those high pollution industries in Mexico, maybe China, and other countries. Just look at the pollution problems Mexico has.

You sound just like Bush. 🙄

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Don Shipp
Archived post

31 August 2005, 08:11 UTC #4

JTE83 said:
I don't think America should be blamed for the Global Warming. We have emission standrads for cars and industry. I think it's other third world countries that are to blame - like those high pollution industries in Mexico, maybe China, and other countries. Just look at the pollution problems Mexico has.
America is a very clean country. And here in Chicago - if your car doesn't pass emission standards you can't drive it.
By the way, does Europe ever experience any hurricanes? I've never heard of any news ever saying that Europe has been hit by a hurricane.
In Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly happen.

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Don Shipp
Archived post

31 August 2005, 08:21 UTC #5

wheelist said:
You sound just like Bush. 🙄
Some parts of the world experience bad weather now, just as they always have. It is worse now only because there are more people and more industry in those areas than on previous occasions.
That extreme weather and climate change are caused by global warming which is caused by pollution is a theory, not a proven fact; and not everyone who with the theory is ignorant, blinkered or anti-Bush.

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ScottishDan
Archived post

31 August 2005, 08:44 UTC #6

JTE83 said:
I don't think America should be blamed for the Global Warming. We have emission standrads for cars and industry. I think it's other third world countries that are to blame - like those high pollution industries in Mexico, maybe China, and other countries. Just look at the pollution problems Mexico has.
America is a very clean country. And here in Chicago - if your car doesn't pass emission standards you can't drive it.
By the way, does Europe ever experience any hurricanes? I've never heard of any news ever saying that Europe has been hit by a hurricane.

Apparently, Americans aren't fat and stupid either :p

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wheelist
Archived post

31 August 2005, 09:10 UTC #7

Don Shipp said:
Some parts of the world experience bad weather now, just as they always have. It is worse now only because there are more people and more industry in those areas than on previous occasions.
That extreme weather and climate change are caused by global warming which is caused by pollution is a theory, not a proven fact; and not everyone who with the theory is ignorant, blinkered or anti-Bush.

You sound just like Blair. 😄

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Don Shipp
Archived post

31 August 2005, 11:28 UTC #8

ScottishDan said:
Apparently, Americans aren't fat and stupid either :p
All the Americans that I have met over the last few years have been slim, educated and intelligent. I am not claiming that the much larger number that I have not met are the same as these.

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geocycle
Archived post

31 August 2005, 14:45 UTC #9

Don Shipp said:
All the Americans that I have met over the last few years have been slim, educated and intelligent. I am not claiming that the much larger number that I have not met are the same as these.
It just shows whatever walk of life you are in, you don't frequently meet the 60% of Americans who are overweight or obese, the 75% who didn't graduate from college, or the 30% who can't locate the Pacific Ocean on a map.

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Don Shipp
Archived post

31 August 2005, 14:55 UTC #10

geocycle said:
It just shows whatever walk of life you are in, you don't frequently meet the 60% of Americans who are overweight or obese, the 75% who didn't graduate from college, or the 30% who can't locate the Pacific Ocean on a map.
I guess I would have to go to America to see those. So much nicer to stay here in England and meet the bright and beautiful ones.

Report
geocycle
Archived post

31 August 2005, 14:58 UTC #11

JTE83 said:
I don't think America should be blamed for the Global Warming. We have emission standrads for cars and industry. I think it's other third world countries that are to blame - like those high pollution industries in Mexico, maybe China, and other countries. Just look at the pollution problems Mexico has.
America is a very clean country. And here in Chicago - if your car doesn't pass emission standards you can't drive it.

Emission standards are designed to curb smog-causing CO, NOX, SOX, etc ... no restrictions exist on CO2 emissions in the US. CO2 being the "greenhouse gas".
The numbers are easy to look up - the US has polluted far more than China or Mexico. By per-capita, annual, historical or projected-future emissions, the U.S. is the world's most significant polluter.

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geocycle
Archived post

31 August 2005, 15:08 UTC #12

Don Shipp said:
I guess I would have to go to America to see those. So much nicer to stay here in England and meet the bright and beautiful ones.
Well those are just numbers ... nothing against Americans for being American.

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RowRunBike
Archived post

31 August 2005, 15:13 UTC #13

geocycle said:
It just shows whatever walk of life you are in, you don't frequently meet the 60% of Americans who are overweight or obese, the 75% who didn't graduate from college, or the 30% who can't locate the Pacific Ocean on a map.

These articles are not based on fact, they are based on blatant anti-Americanism. Here is a factual article:
[font=Arial]nytimes.com30cycle.html[/font]
[font=Arial]After the Tsunami hit scores of American based NGO's funded by millions of private US citizen's mobilized massive aid efforts. Most large American corporations quickly notified their employees that any donations would be tax deductible and set up a system of collecting donations. The US government in addition to providing financial support provided critical logistical support (helicopters etc).[/font]
[font=Arial][/font]
[font=Arial]I wonder how many will come to our aid.[/font]

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JohnO
Archived post

31 August 2005, 15:15 UTC #14

Don Shipp said:
In Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly happen.
How kind of you to let me come...

Report
shannons dad
Archived post

31 August 2005, 15:19 UTC #15

JTE83 said:
I don't think America should be blamed for the Global Warming. We have emission standrads for cars and industry. I think it's other third world countries that are to blame - like those high pollution industries in Mexico, maybe China, and other countries. Just look at the pollution problems Mexico has.
America is a very clean country. And here in Chicago - if your car doesn't pass emission standards you can't drive it.
By the way, does Europe ever experience any hurricanes? I've never heard of any news ever saying that Europe has been hit by a hurricane.

You mean those third world countries where, the cars guzzle more juice than a Titan dumper truck, the countries that send up endless rockets into space, only to come back no wiser, the countries that hold a bigger nuclear arsenal than anyone else, the countries that own and run pretty much every oil rig on the planet, or those countries that shoot the hell out of other poorer countries based 'on a hunch'? Yeah, I know what you mean. The U.S is completely different, isn't it?🙄

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wheelist
Archived post

31 August 2005, 15:22 UTC #16

RowRunBike said:
These articles are not based on fact, they are based on blatant anti-Americanism. Here is a factual article:
[font=Arial]nytimes.com30cycle.html[/font]

Hang on. Even your "factual" article says....
"Global warming may eventually intensify hurricanes somewhat, though different climate models disagree."
and.....
"In an article this month in the journal Nature, Kerry A. Emanuel, a hurricane expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote that global warming might have already had some effect. The total power dissipated by tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic and North Pacific increased 70 to 80 percent in the last 30 years, he wrote."
More anti-Americanism? From Americans?
These must be the fat, stupid ones already mentioned then. 😄

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jhuskey
Archived post

31 August 2005, 15:28 UTC #17

Massive hurricanes have hit the US long before global warming was ever considered.
Many meterologist have predicted and stated that we have been in a calm period for 40 or 50 years and now that period is over.
Those that can remember, can recall that people did not locate buildings in the direct path of tidal surge on the coast but rather futher inland.
The trend to build bigge and more on beach property has increased the risk of property damage and loss of life.
The only thing that has improved has been early warning.
Also consider that hurricanes are spawned from disturbances that come off the African coast, they form over the ocean and not over the US.

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ScottishDan
Archived post

31 August 2005, 15:31 UTC #18

wheelist said:
Hang on. Even your "factual" article says....
"Global warming may eventually intensify hurricanes somewhat, though different climate models disagree."
and.....
"In an article this month in the journal Nature, Kerry A. Emanuel, a hurricane expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote that global warming might have already had some effect. The total power dissipated by tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic and North Pacific increased 70 to 80 percent in the last 30 years, he wrote."
More anti-Americanism? From Americans?
These must be the fat, stupid ones already mentioned then. 😄

My brother has recently emigrated to the states and says that his relative intelligence has now rocketed by virtue of moving continent. Not only that, he often gets asked if he has an eating disorder (he weighs 11 stone and is 6ft)
AMERICANS: GET YOUR HEADS OUT YOUR ARSES!!!!
P.S Scotland invented tellys, phones, nice roads and everything else that makes your life comfortable. Consider this before flaming my nation 😄

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huhenio
Archived post

31 August 2005, 15:47 UTC #19

I am an equal oportunity hater.
I hate supid lazy people from all over the planet.
Fat has SOME correlation with lazyness and stupidity, but there are a lot of them working down the weight right now and they are my heroes.
I dont know where I would be now without my "skinny genes"
So no fat bashing ...
lazy and stupid bashing worldwide!!!!

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wheelist
Archived post

31 August 2005, 15:52 UTC #20

I'm finding this thread rather depressing.
Any criticism of excessive American energy usage or their lack of useful emissions-curbing policies is dismissed by some of the Americans in the thread as "blatant anti-Americanism", despite a plethora of statistics which prove that the US uses more oil and produces more CO2 than any other nation.
Here's what makes me sad.......
This is a cycling forum: I'd expected the most enlightened, environmentally-aware Americans to be amongst our ranks, not the blinkered, blame-dodging, excuse-making, SUV driving contingent.
Come on.
Tell your friends to put their cars away and ride their bikes. Tell them to turn their lights off. Tell them to get smaller refridgerators. Tell them to at least try to make a difference.
See, now that sounds more like blatant anti-Americanism. It isn't (I'd say the same to most English people, except for the fridge bit), but that won't stop some of you from being mortally offended.

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