Battleangel

Democracy Now! noted that it seems the federal government, backed by its party cohorts and staunch critics of environmental considerations like Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla), is trying to place the blame of excessive flooding in the wake of Katrina on environmentalists.

The Mississippi Clarion Ledger is reporting that it has obtained internal emails from the Justice Department that indicates the Bush administration may be seeking to blame the flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina on environmentalists. The Justice Department is seeking information from various U.S. attorneys offices on whether they have defended any cases involving environmental groups seeking to block the Army Corps of Engineers from working on the levees around New Orleans.

Wow. Now that was a little Orwellian of them. Nature approached the subject already two weeks ago when they noted that there had long been a conflict of interest between the Army Corps of Engineers and environmentalists. The former of course wanting to build levees and whatever they know best, but having little or no understanding of the world around them, and environmentalists who have long tried to get legislators to preserve or even expand wetlands in order to save a precious ecological niche and prevent flooding. Not to mention what a great carbon sink wetlands can be. Nature of course lamented that scientists are never listened to and noted this is the way it always goes.

Some people have a lot of nerve, not only by blatantly disregarding the scientific community for decades but then shifting the blame when they no longer can manage the situation. And more than that, this fits into the “war on science” in general. The attacks on stem cell research. The so called Data Quality Act which favors large corporate entities in their crusade against scientists. The recent defiling of the Endangered Species Act. It doesn’t really matter what you try to do in the US. If you’re not on the side of faith based organizations or corporate robberbarons, you are out of luck. Science always takes a back seat. Unless it can somehow device weapon systems that kill or maim people of course in which case it suddenly becomes a top priority.

Also published last week was a study linking global warming to an increase in hurricane intensity. Mainly through an increase in surface water temperatures, which clearly was a contributing factor to the intensity of this particular hurricane.