Letter to President about Hurricane Katrina
It’s go geology. It’s kind of a role play essay in a sense. We’re writing a letter to the president about hurricane katrina. I have the instructions. For the purpose of this assignment, assume that you are a geologist and the Science Advisor to the President of the United States. It is August 30, 2005 and Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Louisiana yesterday and the President just asked you for a position paper on New Orleans and the surrounding area and what the long term response of the Government of the United States should be to this disaster. As the Science Advisor to the President, it is your job to provide the best obtainable science based recommendations to the President. That does not include “it feels good” advice or “it is the right thing to do” recommendations, unless one or both are the same as the best scientific recommendations. He has other advisors that provide the other types of recommendations. It is your job, along with the other advisors, to make sure the President is fully informed on an issue before he makes any decisions pertaining to that issue. It is the Presidents job to consider the recommendations from all of his advisors and then make his decision as to the policies that will be implemented. He may make a “feel good” policy even if it is not scientifically sound, but that is his decision, not yours. Instructions: You need to write a double-spaced, 12-point font, position paper outlining your recommendations to the President and the rationale for each recommendation. The paper should be no more than 4 pages long, excluding illustrations. Upload your document in this assignment. All illustrations need a caption. All references must be cited. Misspellings and grammar errors will result in deductions – 10 points per misspelling and 5 points per grammar error. Some of the options you may consider before making your recommendation(s) are: Do nothing. Do not spend any money for reconstruction. Help people relocate. Make everyone whole (give them enough money to rebuild). This list is not all inclusive. You may develop other options. NOTE: You will not be graded on the actual recommendation you make, but on the SCIENTIFIC justification you make for them. Recommended Sources: (The data sources listed below are not all inclusive. They are just places to start looking. Some of them contain information you may need to make scientifically sound recommendations.) New Orleans was once above sea level, but stormwater drainage has caused it to sink — with deadly consequences: http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2015/02/shifting_doorframes_cracking_d.ht ml Saving New Orleans, a Sinking City [This interview gives some insights to the types of things you need to think about.]: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4837031 Hurricane Katrina Facts: Damage and Economic Effects: http://useconomy.about.com/od/grossdomesticproduct/f/katrina_damage.htm Dixon, T.H., Amelung, F., Ferretti A., Novali, F., Rocca, F., Dokka, R., Sellall, G., Kim, S.-W., Wdowinski, S., and Whitman, D. (2006). Subsidence and flooding in New Orleans. Nature, 441, 587-588. [This may be in the Science Reading Room or the CVCC Library. This reference style is similar to that required for most scientific papers.] Burdeau, C. (2006, April 3). Geologic faults cause structures in New Orleans to sink, study says. Washington Post. Wikipedia’s Hurricane Katrina site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina
