Annotated Bibliography

Coren M. 2006. Challenges ahead for a changing Earth. Cable News Network.

According to Michael Coren, the American public is becoming more concerned about global climate change and its effect on the environment. The effects of the warming of the Earth include the strengthening of many natural disasters that devastate people worldwide every year.

Curry J., Webster R., Holland G. 2006. Mixing politics and science in testing the hypothesis that greenhouse warming is causing a global increase in hurricane intensity. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 87.

According to the article, there is too much political and financial bias on both sides of the debate as to whether human activity is causing climate change and therefore an increase in storm intensity. Unfettered scientific analysis cannot be done unless the facts are looked at objectively, which is what the article purposes to do.

Elsner J. 2006. Evidence in support of the climate change-Atlantic hurricane hypothesis. Geophys.Res.Lett, 33.

The increase in tropical cyclones formation in the Atlantic during the summer seems to be directly related to the sea surface temperature. Recent test results indicate that the global mean near-surface air temperature causes the rise in sea surface temperature. As the world continues to warm, the storms that develop from these cyclones will become more numerous and destructive.

Forecast Verification. National Hurricane Center. 2006. Available at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/verification/. Accessed September 18, 2006.

This page goes into the logistics of hurricane forecasting. The National Hurricane Center created this page in response to many inquiries about how hurricanes are predicted. Here one can find information about error trends and performance measures.

Fu, Haoqiang. Development of Dynamic Travel Demand Models for Hurricane Evacuation. Diss. Louisiana State Univ., 2004. 26 Oct. 2006 <http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04092004-081738/unrestricted/Fu_dis.pdf>.

Haoqiang Fu analyzes in excruciating detail all the factors in ordering a hurricane evacuation and its possible errors and successes. He takes into account traffic, hour, hurricane intensity, and destination. The entire dissertation is quite overwhelming, but it is a valuable research tool when we need specific information.

Hurricane Features. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. 1998. Available at: http://www.comet.ucar.edu/nsflab/web/hurricane/index.htm. Accessed September 18, 2006.

Here one can find the general structure of a hurricane and the causes of its motion and intensification. The page also shows the criteria of a storm for it to be Category 1 through 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Intensity Scale.

Lack of concrete sank New Orleans - Levee Theories. 2005. Australian Concrete Construction, 18, 5.

Failure in engineering was found to be the cause of much of the flooding in New Orleans. The failure may have been caused by criminal action or by neglect. Some of the levee walls were erected on soft mud that was not nearly sturdy enough to hold the levee in place under the weight of the storm surge.

Landsea C. What may happen with tropical cyclone activity due to global warming? Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. 2005. Available at: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G3.html. Accessed September 21, 2006.

This page’s conclusion is that global warming will only cause marginal increases in hurricane frequency and intensity within the foreseeable future. Global warming by no means accounts for the huge rise in hurricane activity that occurred in 2005.

Lougheed T. 2006. Raising the Bar for Levees. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114, A44-A47.

Beginning with discussion of levees in general, this article draws comparisons between New Orleans and the Netherlands, both of which are located below sea level and face yearly threats from flooding. It explains the principles levees use to hold back water and the recurring problems facing them, such as soil erosion.

Manuel J. 2006. In Katrina’s Wake. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114, A32-A39.

After the obvious damage to the city became clear, another threat reared its head in the bedraggled New Orleans. The stagnant water filling the city became a massive “toxic gumbo.” Industrial chemicals were present in quantities 30 times above the safety limits of the EPA. Future hurricane response planning needs to include methods of promoting public health after the storm passes over the city.

McAdie C. Tropical Cyclone Climatology. National Hurricane Center. 2006. Available at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastprofile.shtml. Accessed September 18, 2006.

The National Hurricane Center’s page on cyclone climatology contains a tremendous amount of tables and other visuals depicting the Gulf activity during a typical hurricane season. It makes certain trends easy to see and understand.

McGuire W. 2006. Global risk from extreme geophysical events: Threat identification and assessment. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A-Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences, 364.

This article stresses the importance of preparedness for the rare natural catastrophes that bring a disproportionate amount of ruin to cities and natural environments. It uses the several examples of natural disasters such as the Toba eruption, the 2004 southern Asia tsunami, and most recently, hurricane Katrina.

Methane trapped in oil sediments in ocean could accelerate global warming – study. 2006. Greenwire.

There is methane in oil deposits on the seafloor. The methane is innocuous while it remains beneath the ocean, but recently Tessa Hill, assistant professor of geology at UC-Davis, documented seepage in the methane. The warming oceans are melting the material, allowing it to escape into the air. Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Its release could accelerate global warming.

Mitchell J., Lowe J., Wood R., Vellinga M. 2006. Extreme events due to human-induced climate change. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A-Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences, 364.

Evidence points to human activity as the cause for an increase of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, which warm the planet as a whole. This heating will bring the climate to its highest temperature period in 100,000 years. More critical even are the feedback loops that would result from the loss of ice sheets and release of currently trapped methane deposits into the air. Extreme weather events would certainly multiply as a result.

Morello L. 2006. NOAA censored hurricane scientist, Rep. Waxman says. Greenwire.

This article claims that CNBC intended to interview one Tom Knutson, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. NOAA’s public affairs officials denied the session based on Knutson’s position on global warming, namely that he saw a relation between the heating of the Earth and the intensity of hurricanes.

Motavalli J. 2005. Katrina Foreshadowed. The Environmental Magazine, 16.

This article addresses the relationship between hurricane strength and climate temperature. It draws comparisons as well. New Orleans is not unique in its situation. Holland is also below sea level, but it has spent the time and money to protect it from disastrous flooding. The loss of wetlands that could have shielded New Orleans during Katrina is mirrored in New York, where Jamaica Bay provides similar protection.

O’Neill A. “It’s a ‘new era’ of hurricanes.” Cable News Network. 2005. Available at: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/09/23/hurricane.cycle/index.html. Accessed September 18, 2006.

This article from CNN.com comments on the trend of larger and stronger hurricanes that became extremely clear during the hyperactive 2005 season. It stresses the importance of not simply blaming it on global warming, which no doubt is a contributing factor. The article ends on the note of further investigation. Conclusions should not be made on incomplete evidence.

Pardue J., Moe W., McInnis D., Thibodeaux L., Valsaraj K., Maciasz E, van Heerden I., Korevec N., Yuan Q. 2005. Chemical and microbiological parameters in New Orleans floodwater following Hurricane Katrina. Environmental Science & Technology, 39.

In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, people remaining in the city began to suffer from health problems related to exposure to toxins in the massive amounts of floodwater standing in the city. A study of the concentration of these contaminants indicated that the levels were not above those typical of post storm floods. The health problems arose instead from heightened human exposure to the substances and sheer amount of them. Any disaster relief plan will have to include aid for similar circumstances.

Slater D. 2005. Climate Control. Sierra, 90, 12.

Before Katrina ravaged New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin acknowledged that the city was extremely susceptible to the effects of global warming like sea level rise and stronger hurricanes being as low as it is in elevation. To contribute to the solution rather than the problem, the city was planning to limit urban sprawl and purchase hybrid buses for public transit.

Tibbets J. 2006. Louisiana’s Wetlands: A Lesson in Nature Appreciation. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114, A40-A43.

This article focuses on the importance of the wetlands as buffers against hurricane damage such as storm surge flooding. The plight of the coastal marshes is dire as 34 square miles of it disappears every year. With increasing threat from Gulf storms, restoring the wetlands is more important than ever.

Twombly R. 2006. NIEHS Responds to Katrina. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114, A28-A29.

This article explains the efforts the NIEHS put forth in the vein of disaster relief after hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. Their most important contribution was the long-term study of environmental health risks.