Local Kids Rebuilding NOLA

Our evening service last night was devoted to reports from four mission trips our church sponsored this summer, to Costa Rica, Germany, Montana, and New Orleans. The latter trip sent a group of teens to work on The Baptist Crossroads Project, a partnership with Habitat For Humanity that undertook the building of 40 homes in 40 days to replace some destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. (According to Habitat-NOLA.org, the scope of the project has now been expanded ten-fold!)

The report was given by our youth ministers and two of the teens who went on the trip, and it was accompanied by photos taken during the project. The work was hot, hard, and -- according to the workers -- extremely satisfying. The photos showed a very orderly row of colorful homes, elevated on concrete piers: the rebirth of a neighborhood.

Why do I mention this? Well, I think it's worth pointing out that not all teens spent their summer at the mall, but I also wanted report that if you were watching Fox & Friends this morning around 7:00 a.m., during the "Good News" segment, you saw video of the same row of houses we saw on the screens last night at church, as the network ran a brief report on Saturday's dedication of the first group of homes to be completed.

It was a great coincidence, hearing first from those whose hands helped shape those homes, and then seeing it affirmed via the international media.

Technorati tags: Baptist Crossroads | Habitat for Humanity

Significant GOM Production Still Shut-in

The situation isn't getting a lot of press but the Minerals Management Service reports that almost 27% of oil production and almost 19% of natural gas production from the Gulf of Mexico is still shut-in due to damage inflicted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That's more than 400,000 barrels of oil per day and almost 2 billion cubic feet of gas per day that's not making it to US refiners or into the nation's gas distribution system.

Fortunately, it's been a mild winter and natural gas prices actually closed at a four-month low yesterday, although both crude and natural gas are up today.

The MMS issues twice-weekly status reports on the shut-in production in the GOM, if you're interested in tracking the industry's progress in getting things back online.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Scoping Out Katrina Victims

ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has had some really cool episodes and even though it sometimes seems like an hour-long commercial for Sears, I don't mind because I believe real people are getting real help.

I just learned via the Slidell (LA) Hurricane Damage Blog that the show's producers have solicited story ideas from that town for a potential episode. It sounds like they're planning several episodes focusing on different areas that were hit by the hurricanes (Katrina and Rita).

Interestingly, these special episodes will not involve rebuilding of any homes, but rather will spotlight different community-wide projects.

I do hope they'll reconsider and pick at least one home to rebuild. My nomination? Our blogging pal Daniel Morris over at From Behind the Wall of Sleep. Last we heard, he and his family were in line for a FEMA trailer, but I don't know if that actually came to pass.

Church Helping Church

Our church building is constructed in a kind of rectangle shape with a large open area in the middle. Last year, the membership approved a project to enclose that open area -- to put a glass roof over it -- and convert the space into an atrium that can be used for a combination of things, including an indoor playground area, a coffee shop, a general meeting/gathering area, etc. The cost for doing this work is expected to be around $2 million, and a capital commitment program was kicked off to raise the money (we further decided not to proceed until sufficient commitments were in hand to do the project). Fund raising rocked along and by Labor Day we were at about 60% of our goal.

Then Hurricane Katrina hit.

It took a while for the full extent of the damage along the Gulf Coast to sink in, and even as a number of our members headed that direction to help with relief efforts, our missions committee and staff were evaluating how we might provide a different kind of assistance. That opportunity came in the form of a sister Baptist church located in Mississippi. The church sustained $500,000 in damages from the wind and flooding, and only $83,000 was covered by insurance. Almost every member of that congregation either lost their home or suffered extensive damage to it, so it would be a burden-upon-burden for them to rebuild both home and church.

Our congregation has stepped up and assumed the responsibility for payment of the remaining $417,000 for repairs, using several sources of funds. One primary source is the diversion of up to 10% of commitments made to our own building program, described above. Everyone making a commitment to that program has been offered the option of approving a "tithe" of that pledge or gift to be sent to the church in Mississippi...and I suspect that the response will be almost unanimously favorable.

This action will likely mean a delay in getting our own work done, but it's a live model of Jesus' reminder that it's more blessed to give than to receive. On the other hand, God's mysterious ways being what they are, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find that the funds that our church members send to the Gulf Coast are replenished in an amazing fashion.

I'm sure stories like this are being repeated around the country, but possibly not getting much publicity. I'm sharing this in the hope that it might be an encouragement for others to give in a sacrificial manner to help rebuild the Gulf Coast. I'm pretty sure they'd do the same for us, if the shoe was on the other foot.

Coats to the Coast?

I never think about the Gulf Coast states getting winter weather. Daniel Morris reminds us that they do...and none of the residents displaced by Katrina have coats. Would you have packed your winter coats in a Labor Day evacuation?

Daniel should know. He no longer has a coat. Or a home to hang it in. It's a good reminder that now's not the time to stop helping.

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

Another way to provide Katrina relief

My pal Larry Stephey has been working as a consultant for Habitat for Humanity in Georgia for the past five months and he's seen how that organization is positioned to help hurricane victims in a unique and particularly effective way. He's now participating in HFH's "Friends Asking Friends" program by setting up a website where one can make a donation on behalf of those who lost their homes to Katrina.

I like this idea; I've always like the HFH approach, for that matter. This is a great model for helping people by enlisting them to help themselves. The accumulation of "sweat equity" by participating in the construction of your own home has just got to be empowering and encouraging, even as it's challenging. I've made a contribution via Larry's site, and I hope you'll consider doing the same thing.

In fact, it struck me as being one way I can do something tangible in honor of a fellow blogger who lost his home to Katrina: Daniel Morris over at From Behind the Wall of Sleep. But even if you don't know someone directly impacted by Katrina, this is a worthwhile cause.

Technorati tags: "Hurricane Katrina Relief

Sacrifice Made...

Looks like my wife and her friend will be sticking close to Midland this weekend, after all. Even though they didn't get a hit from the intranet posting I mentioned previously, MLB called the booking agent for the B&B in Fredericksburg just to see if they were having to turn people away. She said that the agent she spoke with said that there was a couple from Houston at that very moment trying to find a place to stay. She offered up her reservation, and they waived the cancellation fee and will refund the deposit.

As I told her, this is probably a good weekend for folks to stick close to home and by family. I don't think either of them are too disappointed, all things considered.

Making the ultimate sacrifice for Rita evacuees

Note: Not that you care, but the category title has been updated to "Hurricanes Katrina & Rita" but the new title won't show up until I rebuild the database.

MLB's employer, headquartered in Houston, has posted a notice on the company intranet asking employees in other locations to indicate whether they'd be willing to open their homes to co-workers displaced by Rita. According to that notice, there are now virtually no vacant hotel rooms in the state of Texas.

MLB didn't figure anyone would be willing to travel all the way to Midland, but she has offered an alternative...and quite a generous one at that. She and a friend were planning a shopping trip to Fredericksburg this weekend, and they've booked a very nice two bedroom B&B in that Hill Country town. After consulting with her friend, they've decided to offer that reservation to any Houston co-worker who needs it.

If you understand how much those two like to shop, then you'll understand how great a sacrifice this is. OTOH, you may also understand why, from my perspective, the saying that every cloud has a silver lining seems to be especially relevant right now.

Keep your fingers crossed. (I'm not saying for what; I know who reads this blog!)

A Tribute to Texas

If I'd written this, I'd be accused of being a prideful chauvinist. But coming from a guy from Illinois, it has a certain objectivity that's hard to dispute.

Especially with respect to Molly Ivins. ;-)

Oilfield Jobs for Katrina Evacuees

The Permian Basin Petroleum Association is working with the American Red Cross to establish a job bank for those who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The first job postings are now available via the PBPA's website.

Most of the jobs require some related oilfield experience, but some are entry level. There are some truck driving jobs that require only general experience and a CDL. Some of the listed jobs are located in east Texas and even in Louisiana.

If you're a blogger and would like to help publicize this new resource, please feel free to post about and link to the PBPA page linked above.

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts | Katrina Jobs | Oilfield Jobs

A Katrina evacuee speaks out

I'm really too busy to blog today, but I took a quick break and popped over to From Behind the Wall of Sleep to see how Daniel Morris is doing in the days following his confirmation that he lost his home when Katrina hit Slidell, LA. He's got two great posts that you need to read.

In fact, there are lots of people in places like Washington, D.C. and New York City who need to read them.

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina

What a disaster looks like

Daniel Morris over at From Behind the Wall of Sleep has posted some absolutely heartbreaking photos of his home in Slidell, LA. He's thinking that bulldozing it to the ground and starting from scratch is the only reasonable approach, and after seeing these photos, I can't help but agree.

I know that we've seen plenty of pictures of death and destruction over the past week, but this is somehow different. It's more personal.

Next up for him: dealing with the insurance company. Keep praying, folks...keep praying. And then let's think about some ways to help, 'k?

Fort Stockton won't get evacuees after all

Last week I reported that Fort Stockton had submitted a proposal to accept a contingent of hurricane evacuees, with plans to house them in a couple of vacant elementary schools. I've just learned that no evacuees will be sent to Fort Stockton after all, apparently due to the lack of available single family dwellings.

That makes sense; the elementary school idea was workable on a short-term emergency basis, but didn't seem practical as a long-term solution.

The supplies that were donated in anticipation of the arrival of evacuees has been loaded on a truck and sent to another west Texas location which is hosting citizens displaced by the hurricane and flooding.

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

Houston Hats: White or Black?

Interesting post over at RAWbservations, where the Houston-based former-Houstonian-now-based-in-Idaho blogger takes on the perception by a certain big city daily that the Bayou City is just being greedy in hosting "the largest relief effort in American history."

I have to say that I've been quite proud of the reaction of the city of Houston -- and the entire state of Texas, for that matter. It's hard to see how evacuees are being exploited by being given food, water, shelter, medical care and jobs. As a true Southerner once put it, "don't throw me in that briar patch!

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

Slow Response? It's all relative.

It's now been a full week since the full impact of Katrina was first perceived. Seven days...168 hours, give or take. Let's assess where we now find ourselves:

• The broken levees in NOLA have been repaired and floodwaters are now be pumped out of the city.


• Practically every willing evacuee (and many unwisely unwilling) has been taken out of the city to safer, drier ground.


• Those evacuees have been staged, processed and distributed to havens across the country, havens established in many cases by nothing more complicated than citizens in a community getting together and deciding to offer their resources to help.


• Millions of meals have been served, millions of pounds (if not tons) of supplies have been collected and delivered, millions of dollars collected to pay for it all, and more.


• The federal government has created new programs to insure individual losses, and ensure individual jobs and homes.

It's been pointed out that Katrina's devastation affected 90,000 square miles, an area roughly the size of Kansas. The number of people devastated is more than a million. The cleanup and reconstruction will extend for years, if not decades. Given a challenge of this magnitude, I'm just wondering how much more effective and how much quicker the response should have been?

The Bible tells us that God created the universe and all it contains in seven days (including the debriefing and paperwork). Despite our protestations to the contrary, we're not God, but we've done a pretty darn good job in the past seven days, all things considered.

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

Katrina Relief: Flexibility is the name of the game

Just received another report from Robin Hoke, whose husband has spent the past week as part of the Permian Basin Unit of the Texas Baptist Men's disaster relief team, preparing and serving meals to hurricane victims in Louisiana. Gary and his co-servants are on their way home now, as fresh volunteers step up to take their places. The following report demonstrates how disaster relief cannot be scripted in advance, except in very broad strokes.

Actually, the people aren’t very hungry. They are just sitting around all day, and are depressed. Some of the food is going to waste. So tomorrow they will not fix quite as much.

At some point, the relief work shifts from meeting purely physical needs to dealing with emotional, psychological and spiritual challenges. Keep praying, and get involved when and where you can.

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

West Texas Town to Host Hundreds of Katrina Refugees

Thanks to my crack team of remote reporters (aka as "Mom"), I've just learned that my hometown of Fort Stockton will soon be getting 300-500 people who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. According to the report, these folks will be housed in a couple of elementary schools which are no longer in use, and at First Baptist Church of Fort Stockton, which has a large Family Life Center.

An email is circulating throughout the community advising folks of the types of donations that would be most helpful. The list includes bottled water, snack foods, personal hygiene items, sunscreen, cleaning supplies, plastic tableware and cups, and small items for children such as crayons, coloring books and stuffed toys. If you happen to be heading down to Fort Stockton, those items may be dropped off at the church (located at 400 N. Texas St.).

I'm not sure how this interesting turn of events has come to pass, but I can't help smiling a bit at the culture shock those Gulf Coast folks are bound to feel when they alight some 800 or 900 miles from home, smack dab in the middle of God's Country (and by that I mean, of course, the desert). One thing's for sure, they'll find some very friendly and caring people helping them...and they'll certainly come to appreciate some good Tex-Mex cuisine!

Stay tuned...

Update: Here's a little more background on how this came to pass. The Emergency Management department of Fort Stockton is apparently designated as a first-responder contact for things like this. An intial contact was made by HUD asking if there were any vacant houses in the town that could be used for families displaced by the hurricane. Fort Stockton is in the middle of a well-publicized (in our area, at least) economic boom and there just aren't any empty houses. A subsequent contact was then made by the American Red Cross and the school housing plan was developed.

The school district's food services group will provide the meals for the visitors, who will be housed in the two empty elementary schools (one of which is located across the alley from my parents' house). The church will be used as a staging area for when the visitors arrive.

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

Report from Katrina's "Front Line"

The Disaster Relief arm of the Southern Baptist's North American Mission Board is providing some of the essential on-the-ground support for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Working in conjunction with the American Red Cross, Baptists are serving tens of thousands of hot meals per day along with other types of support to meet physical needs.

The Texas Baptist Men is part of this effort. Operating under the auspices of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, seven teams from all over the state have traveled to the Southeast to help with relief efforts. One of those teams is comprised of people right here in the Permian Basin; that team has set up camp in Hammond, Louisiana. A couple of team members -- Gary Hoke and Miles Dory -- are also members of my home church. Gary has traveled around the world with this team; he and his son served in Sri Lanka following the tsunami. Gary also happens to be a co-worker of MLB.

Following is the first report from the group since arriving in Hammond. Gary's wife, Robin, has graciously granted me permission to publish this report. I hope you'll be moved, challenged and encouraged by how this disaster is being met head-on by people of faith.

Update: Almost immediately after posting this, Robin sent another report bringing us up-to-date.

If you're in our area and are interested in becoming a part of the Texas Baptist Men (despite the name, it's open to women), two disaster relief training sessions are scheduled at First Baptist Church in Midland, one on September 8 and another on the 29th (same training, just repeated), 6:00-9:00 p.m. in room D101-103. I'm sure they'd welcome your help.

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts | Texas Baptist Men | Baptist Disaster Relief

How about a little good news?

No, I didn't just save a bunch of money on my car insurance, but I did see something on TV that raised my spirits.

I've never been a big fan of Geraldo Rivera, but I'll give him credit for coming up with some unique and interesting slants on the stories he covers. One of those occurred a couple of hours ago on the Fox News Channel as he reported on the progress of efforts to move people from the Superdome to more hospitable environs.

Geraldo had the camera pan over to a group of people -- I'd estimate they numbered a couple of dozen or so -- sitting calmly in folding chairs in the shade of the Superdome. He identified them as a group of Vietnamese who had come to the 'Dome to ride out the storm. He had observed that during the chaotic scrambling to be the first on the buses to take people away from conditions that had become unliveable by most standards, these folks continued to sit quietly. He spoke with them and they told him that they were content to wait until all the others who were so desperate to leave were able to do so. They didn't want to "get in the way."

OK. Wow. So it can be done. One can make a choice to not let circumstances get the best of one.

I don't want to make too much of this, but it does seem that a couple of conclusions could be logically drawn. First, it's not outside the realm of possibility that some of the Vietnamese had been through worse things than this. I don't mean to minimize the tragedy of the situation, especially since I'm living 800 miles away from the reality, but it does seem to bring a new perspective.

Second, I believe that Geraldo identified the group as being shrimpers, or working in the fishing industry. (My memory's a little vague here, but, anyway...) What do you want to bet that those folks had been working -- and working hard -- from the time they hit American shores, however long ago that was, with little or no governmental assistance? My point? Simply that there's a culture of entitlement that forms when generations of people come to view the government as having the ultimate responsibility for their day-to-day care and feeding. And when government fails to meet expectations -- which, really, is inevitable -- those with that culture have no clue about how to take care of themselves. The Vietnamese families in this story apparently decided that their culture would be one of self-empowerment and self-control. That's a great lesson to take away...and a tale of caution.

I hope we see some follow-up stories on this band of Vietnamese.

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

Calling all RVs

Scott Chaffin, that lovable curmudgeon aka The Fat Guy has come up with a splendid idea for doing his part in helping those displaced by Katrina. In his words:

So, if you're a hayseed (and we use that term with the utmost respect and affection) with a trailer or RV parked in your backyard or front drive and you wouldn't mind loaning it out for a bit, please contact Scott and ya'll can work out the details. These are the kinds of grassroots ideas that make me proud to be a Texan.

And, as always, if you're a blogger please consider posting this request in order to spread the word. Gracias.

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

Kanye West - A Racist Embarrassment

We couldn't believe our eyes and ears tonight when we heard a semi-coherent Kanye West rant on about how the media was showing African-Americans in New Orleans in the worst possible light, that the army was now being sent in with permission to "shoot us" and, last but certainly not least -- and this is a direct quote -- "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

I thought Mike Myers, who was standing next to West, presumably to share a spot for an appeal for donations during NBC's "A Concert for Hurricane Relief", was going to bolt for the exit to avoid being associated with this idiot. NBC cut away immediately after the Bush slam (whatever happened to the x-second delay...or did NBC just chalk that one up to "freedom of speech"?).

I gotta tell you, if you're going to go on national TV and make an appeal for assistance for "your people," it's probably not a winning strategy to immediately alienate over half of the potential donating population. But I guess West's racist hatred won out over his caring for "his people."

Here's a link to the video clip, courtesy of r3mix.com, in case you want to confirm this for yourself. (Update: Credit where credit's due: the video comes from Tomorrow's Fool.)

And, yeah...I'm closing the comments on this post, too. There's no room for discussion about this one, as far as I'm concerned.

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts | Kayne West

Fellow Blogger Loses Home

I checked his blog just before lunch and there was no update, but now, via Jen, I see that Daniel Morris over at From Behind the Wall of Sleep has posted some news about his family's status. There's good news -- they're all safe -- and bad. As far as he knows, his home is a total loss, thanks to the reported 20' of water that engulfed it as Katrina rammed through Slidell (LA).

Dan's looking for a job now; here's his résumé (on which the contact information needs updating; just use his email). If you need a really smart Industrial Engineer (with Naval crypto experience), he's your guy.

Katrina: Missing People Photoblog

My pal Jeff, who blogs over at ArchaeoTexture but also wears an MSM hat as online news editor for our local NBC-TV affiliate has alerted me to the existence of MissingKatrina.com.

This is a new website where people can upload photos and names of missing family and friends, along with the concerned party's phone number and/or email address, in hopes that someone will recognize them and put them in touch.

NBC affiliates across the country are asking help in spreading the word about this resource. If you're a blogger, please consider pitching in with a post and a link. It's a great idea and a potentially valuable resource, but only if folks find out about it.

Note: Comments are off for this post to avoid a repeat of what we experienced with earlier Katrina-related posts. Thanks for your understanding.

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts | MissingKatrina

United Way: Another local hurricane relief fund option

United Way of Midland is currently accepting monetary donations for the Hurricane Victims’ Relief Fund. They are accepting contributions via cash, checks and credit cards.

Make your checks payable to United Way of Midland and write in the memo “For Hurricane Victims’ Relief Fund.” Mail to United Way of Midland, PO Box 10070, Midland, TX 79702. You can call 685-7700 if you need additional information.

Technorati tag: Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

Not our finest hour?

Update: At the risk of entering into the dread Self-Referential Cross-Linking Blog Pingback Death Spiral, I must point you to Jim's observations over at Serotoninrain. As usual, he sums up things much more eloquently than I ever could.

Michael Spencer has some sobering...OK, depressing observations about how we are acting and reacting in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

I intentionally used the term "we." If this bothers you, or you don't understand why, then I'd respectfully suggest that you've confirmed the accuracy of Michael's observations.

Via Jen at Lintefiniel Musing.

PBPA Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund

The oil and gas industry has quickly rallied to provided significant financial support for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. I identified the following announcements with just a few minutes of browsing (all contributions are going to the American Red Cross unless otherwise indicated):

• ChevronTexaco - $5 million ($3MM to ARC, and $2MM to local relief and service organizations in affected areas)
• Shell - $2 million plus matching of employee contributions up to $1MM
• ExxonMobil - $2 million
• OXY - $1 million plus matching of employee contributions
• BP - $1 million plus matching of employee contributions
• Duke Energy - $100,000 plus matching of employee contributions up to $100K
• Halliburton - Matching of employee contributions (no cap)

I'm sure that similar announcements from other major companies (including service companies) will be forthcoming.

In the meantime, the Permian Basin Petroleum Association has just announced the creation of a new relief fund and is asking smaller operators and producers throughout the Permian Basin to make contributions. The goal is to quickly raise $100,000; the fund balance is already at $20,000 after less than 24 hours. The funds will be forwarded to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

If you know an independent oil and gas operator or producer, please pass this information along to them and urge them to participate. Many of them may already have plans for making similar contributions and that's great. This fund is just another way to help make an impact. And, if it's not obvious, anyone can make a contribution to the fund. You don't have to be in the bidness!

Technorati tags: PBPA | Katrina Relief Fund

Hurricane Donation Guidelines

If you'd like to make a financial contribution to one of the many wonderful organizations who are mobilizing aid to the Gulf Coast, here's something to consider. Take whatever you contributed to the Asian tsunami relief efforts...and double it.

I'm not implying that our fellow Americans are twice as valuable as those in other countries, but it does seem to me that family takes care of family, and we ought to be at least twice as generous in that respect. Anyway, that's what we intend to do.

(And, actually, it will be triple the amount, since MLB's employer, Occidental Petroleum, announced today that not only will it contribute $1MM to the Red Cross, but it will also match all employee contributions dollar-for-dollar. Good on them, and the many other corporations who are doing similar things.)

Hurricane blogging predicament

A couple of recent events have reminded me that while bloggers have a role to play in relaying information in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there's also an implicit responsibility to do some self-editing and, perhaps, refrain completely from reporting certain things.

For example, my post last night about the Slidell Hurricane Damage Blog was intended to direct folks to a potentially valuable source of information about their families and property in that town. Within minutes after that post went up, the Gazette was getting scores of hits via Technorati from people searching for "Slidell" or "Katrina Slidell" or some variation. Then, people started leaving comments on the post asking for information about their families. Obviously, I don't have access to that information, and I finally had to update the post to ask people not to leave such comments, but instead to visit the Slidell blog.

This made me wonder if I'd even done the right thing in posting that information, because I don't know if the Slidell blog is really proving to be effective. I hope it is, but I just don't know. And I hate to think that I might have raised false hopes in people who are desperate for any news whatsoever.

Then there's this. Deb Thompson over at Write Lightning emailed me this morning that a New Orleans TV station is broadcasting via streaming video. The picture quality is not great, but the audio is fine. This is probably the best source for up-to-date information by folks on the ground because they're not just recycling the same shots and stories like the networks seem to be doing.

However, as I was about to publish this post, the video feed suddenly stopped and it occurred to me that, again, I might not be doing anyone any favors by publishing the URL for the feed. If a bunch of gawkers (like me) end up bringing the station's server to its knees so that the folks who really have a vested interest in the information can't get it, then I've done more harm than good. Given that scenario, I've elected to exclude the identity of the TV station and the URL. (If you have family in New Orleans and want the information, leave a comment along with your email address and I'll send it to you.) It's not as though you can't find that feed yourself, but you might want to ask yourself if your need to know is as great as that of a few hundred thousand others.

Maybe I'm overthinking this issue, but I'd rather be on the safe side of things. In fact, unless I've run across something that really adds to the dialog and reporting related to the hurricane (which won't be much, I'm sure), I'm going to discontinue the related Technorati tags. I don't need the hits that badly.

Could your timing be any worse?

I'm sure that the food section of the newspaper is the last place one might think would need some editorial discretion, and yet that seems to be precisely what is lacking in this morning's edition of the MRT

The five-column main story in our local newspaper is an AP story headlined "Diners line up to get into 100-year-old New Orleans bistro." It goes into great detail about Galatoire's restaurant, a Bourbon Street culinary landmark. I looked for context that would somehow make this story appropriate in light of Katrina's devastation of New Orleans, but found none. This was a simple case of poor timing.

In fact, I hope that the story was simply overlooked in the press of other things. I hope no one looked at it and made a conscious decision that, well, "New Orleans is in the news everywhere else, so this is a logical tie-in."

And, of course, I hope that Galatoire's will once again -- and soon -- be the legitimate subject of a story praising its cuisine and spotlighting the crowds that line up to partake of it.

US to tap SPR

CBS MarketWatch is reporting that the administration has decided to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the wake of continued oil and gas production curtailment due to Hurricane Katrina. Details will be announced in a press conference later today.

Technorati tags: SPR | Hurricane Katrina

Learning from Katrina

The rescue and recovery efforts are still being mobilized in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but it's not too early to consider how this disaster should shape future decisions about preparing for the next round. WorldChanging has a provocative post with the premise that foresight means more than imagining the worst and preparing for it.

WorldChanging takes a matter-of-fact approach to the subject of climate change. There's not a lot of hackneyed political finger-pointing and arm-waving about global warming. Instead, they offer a matter-of-fact argument that the evidence for climate change -- regardless of origin -- is compelling and the implications are significant enough that we (being the human race) really ought to start figuring out how to deal with it in practical terms.

Katrina was (yet another) wake-up call about the reality that "good enough" often isn't when it comes to a showdown with Mother Nature. And reliance on past actuarial tables for predicting how long we can slide by before another Katrina shows up may just be a sucker's bet that leaves us as broken as the casinos now lining the Gulf Coast.

Note: I'm in no way suggesting that the damage from Katrina could have been or should have been anticipated and prepared for. This is a matter of looking forward, plain and simple.

Technorati tags: Katrina | Climate Change | Climate Foresight

The Blogosphere at work: Katrina Reports

Another note: I'm closing comments on this post, so that well-meaning but desperate folks won't waste their time leaving requests for information here. The blog linked just below is the BEST place for those requests.

Note: If you are seeking information about family, friends or property in Slidell, please visit the blog linked below. I do not have access to any such information. I've brought the Slidell Hurricane Damage Blog to your attention in the hope that it will provide you with some answers, or at least a good place to leave questions.

The Slidell (LA) Hurricane Damage Blog is a great example of the value of the blogosphere. It's been created by Brian Oberkirch to help disseminate information about the status of that town following a pretty direct hit by Katrina. Since many residents evacuated ahead of the storm, and not everyone can easily get back in, this blog is one way those folks can quickly get specific reports about their specific neighborhoods.

I'm sure there are many such blogs now in operation, but I picked this one because Slidell is where Daniel Morris calls home, and he and his family are on my mind.

Technorati tags: Slidell, LA | Katrina

Hurricane Katrina's Impact on the Oil and Gas Industry

Here's the latest on how Katrina has impacted the US Gulf of Mexico's oil and gas producers and refiners (all statistics via John S. Herold, Inc.):

• Eight refineries with about 2 million barrels of day of capacity were shut in prior to the storm. This represents 12% of the nation's total refining capacity.


• The refinery shutdowns took about 1 million barrels per day (42 million gallons) of gasoline out of the market.


• It's estimated that just under 1.4 million barrels per day of crude oil production was shut-in in the Gulf of Mexico, out of a total of 1.5 million BPD.


• It's estimated that 8.3 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas production was shut-in in the Gulf of Mexico, out of a total of 10 billion CFPD.


• The closing of the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) takes 11% of the country's daily import of foreign crude oil off the market.

Herold goes on to note that while there are options for replacing any shortfalls in crude oil (increased imports; release from the SPR), the replacement of lost natural gas production is much more worrisome. Also, it's too early to assess the possible damage to shallow gas pipelines. If there's significant damage to those lines, resumption of natural gas production could be delayed even if the production platforms came back online quickly.

Herold does report that the Sabine Pipeline which serves the crucial Henry Hub (which is the centralized point for natural gas futures trading in the U. S.) and was shut down in advance of the storm, apparently had no significant damage.

Technorati tags: Katrina | Oil & Gas Industry | Energy Prices

Kat's Impact Hits Home

I went out this afternoon to run a few errands. As I pulled onto Midkiff to head to the post office, I contemplated whether I should top off the Durango in light of reports that Hurricane Katrina's disruption of GOM production and Gulf Coast refining would drive gasoline prices higher. I had just about decided that it wasn't worth the time to save a potential few cents per gallon when I glanced over at the Kent Quik Texaco station and saw "$2.67" on the sign, then looked at the Chevron station right across the street which still read "$2.47." Since I was already in the right lane, I whipped in and put $30 in the tank; twenty cents a gallon is nothing to sneeze at.

A soccer mom was filling up her Suburban at the pump next to me and I said something about getting while the getting was good. She said that when she took the kids to school this morning the Texaco station was still at $2.47. When she noticed the higher price, and the lower price at the Chevron station, she too decided to fill up. Unlike me, however, she put an even <cough> $100 in that gas tank!

This is starting to get ugly.

Hurricane showcases audio technology

One very trivial, peripheral observation from the ongoing TV coverage of Hurricane Katrina: the current generation of microphone windscreens is amazingly competent.

I just watched one of the clichéd reporter-leaning-into-the-wind reports on Fox News and while the guy was clocking wind gusts of around 50 mph (he was in Florida, well to the east of the hurricane) and was standing in the knee deep white-capping storm surge, his voice was coming through with almost studio quality.

The apparent simplicity of a microphone windscreen obscures the complexity of providing an acoustically pure input of the desired frequencies (primarily the reporter's voice) while blocking the wall of noise generated by high winds and waves. I have no idea how it's done, but I'm impressed.

Kat Watch

The nonstop coverage of Hurricane Katrina is mesmerizing in the same awful way that the scene of a multi-car accident in the other lane of the interstate draws your eye as you travel past it. It doesn't affect you directly, but you wonder if anyone you know was involved, and you hope that it wasn't really as bad as it looks.

In this case, Katrina has already affected a friend, albeit one I know only via his blog. Daniel Morris over at From Behind the Wall of Sleep has packed up and headed for high ground, but his final post is both sad and encouraging, even in its brevity:

Expect to lose the house. That makes it real, doesn't it?

You probably also know someone who's life and/or property is in harm's way. This is as good a time as any to take a minute or two and pray for them, if you haven't already done so.

Kat Watch

The nonstop coverage of Hurricane Katrina is mesmerizing in the same awful way that the scene of a multi-car accident in the other lane of the interstate draws your eye as you travel past it. It doesn't affect you directly, but you wonder if anyone you know was involved, and you hope that it wasn't really as bad as it looks.

In this case, Katrina has already affected a friend, albeit one I know only via his blog. Daniel Morris over at From Behind the Wall of Sleep has packed up and headed for high ground, but his final post is both sad and encouraging, even in its brevity:

Expect to lose the house. That makes it real, doesn't it?

You probably also know someone who's life and/or property is in harm's way. This is as good a time as any to take a minute or two and pray for them, if you haven't already done so.