Rita, another catastrophe?

As the headlines talk about the escalation of the hurricane Rita from scale 4 to scale 5 , just 3 days before her predicted landfall on the southern US coast line and the pictures of one of our worst nightmares still lingering in our memories, the faith of the populations that may be affected by this and similar disasters looks very dim.

Should we be alarmed about the effects of global climate change in our daily life, on our geo-political system in the years to come? Many studies suggest so, among the latest, a study by the Australian Medical Association on "Climate change health Impacts".

A climate change associated increase in the frequency or severity of extreme weather events (such as droughts, storms, floods and heatwaves) could incrementally and cumulatively harm infrastructure, agriculture and population health, both directly and indirectly. The damage from storms and flooding is likely to be magnified by sea surges in association with the higher sea levels that are inevitable as the oceans warm. Coastal populations, particularly those living on coral atolls (Barnett and Adger 2003) appear particularly vulnerable. This is not only because of rising sea levels and salinated water lenses, but also because of ecological damage to coral (from warmer seas, agricultural runoff, increased dissolved CO2, and loss of biodiversity). This will harm the regulating ecosystem service which coral currently provides against storm surges, although the vulnerability of coral atolls to increased levels of dissolved CO2 has recently been questioned (Kench et al. 2005).

It does not take much imagination to estimate the devastating results:

For most poor people in developing countries, migration (both internal and international) can be the only feasible way to escape poverty, even though migration is never risk free.
Explicit recognition that climate change may substantially increase the size of displaced populations (Myers 1997) and unravel development (Simms et al. 2004) is surprisingly recent, given the multitude of plausible pathways which link all but the most benign climate change scenarios to an exacerbation of regional poverty, to possible increased restrictions upon freedom, and to increased migration pressure.

For the time being, let’s pray that Rita creates less possible damage and that no one would be left behind.

Rome is full of life, and for me it is always a colourful flow of sentiments.
Rome, a vivid life

When It rains ...

Yesterday, as i was blocked in the traffic due to the heavy rain, I managed to take this photo. Hey this is not New Orleans, it is a flooded street in Rome, in the EUR area.

So how vulnreable we are in case of a natural disaster?

I come back to this in later posts.

A triubte to those suffered by Katrina

Hurricane victims wait for transportation outside the Louisiana Superdome. (AP)

As if we are experiencing a nightmare that has come true, the tales of mayhem and violence, the panic, explosions, widespread danger of disease and a beautiful town that suddenly has changed to ghost town with scores of dead bodies floating in the street.

I would like to offer my sympathy to all those who suffered by the hurricane in U.S. It is hard to imagine the extent of pain and damage that is inflicted on people and it is hard to find any light news in coverage surrounding the tragedy.

But I can�t stop asking myself : What happens next? What if another hurricane hit the coast, in a month or two. There are talks of some minimum 80 days period for draining the town, lets not talk about the time needed for the reconstruction of the basic urban infrastructures and with this pace of relief operations there is the risk of another tragedy.

A street parallel 

A street parallel - 1

I first saw her last year, in short stops in between those long wandering piligrimage, in the cold and desolated streets, when the night changed the colors, where you could meet the night dwellers, in a long desolated street, there she was in the bus stop, by a street lamp.

A street parallel to the main road, great beautifull villas around, A good neighborhood, only in daytime maybe.

She was unique, her amazing beauty and splendor which
distinguished her from others, her style of clothing,
her majesty when she walked and her perfect and formal italian.

You could always converse to her, and enjoy her company and forget the time and space you were in.

A year or more has passed, from those cold nights of winter.

A friend of her told me that she is back home, that
she is happy and will never come back.

She will never come back to this filth, to this cruel
town, again.

May the warmth of her mother land giveth her
happiness and may the Good Lord, protect her , as He
has always done.