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Press Release - 06/01/2006
Women of the Storm Raise Hurricane Storm Warnings
First Day of Hurricane Season Used to
Illustrate Lack of Congressional Interest in Post-Katrina New Orleans
and Increased Threat Caused by Loss of America’s WETLAND
New Orleans, LA - On the first day of the Atlantic hurricane season,
Women of the Storm and America’s WETLAND: Campaign to Save Coastal
Louisiana launched Storm Warnings II, a series of events in New Orleans
to dramatize the increased danger caused by the continuing loss of
Louisiana’s coastal wetlands and illustrate which U.S. states have sent
Members of Congress to visit New Orleans post-Katrina and which have
not.
Featuring, scientists, jazz musicians and school kids joined by leaders
of business, government and the environment, Storm Warnings II kicked
off in Tad Gormley's Stadium in New Orleans' City Park, which was
flooded by hurricane Katrina.
“As hurricane season begins, Women of the Storm is renewing its call to
our nation’s leaders to travel to Louisiana and view firsthand the
destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” said Anne Milling,
Founder of Women of the Storm. “While we thank the Members of Congress
who have visited and gained an understanding of our plight, we remain
shocked that 400 U.S. Senators and Representatives have not found the
time to visit the site of the worst natural disaster ever to strike our
nation.”
To date, seven states have yet to send a single member of their
Congressional delegations to the devastated region, while 21 states
have not sent a senator and 19 states have not sent a member of the
House of Representatives.
“With another hurricane season upon us, the time for action is now,”
said Sidney Coffee, Chairwoman of Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority and Executive Assistant to the Governor for
Coastal Activities. “Storm Warning II will help to inform citizens and
government leaders across the nation of the danger faced by the
continued loss of our coastal wetlands and the fact that, without
urgent action, this national treasure will be lost along with the
benefits it provides to every citizen of America.”
On June 1 of last year, three months prior to Hurricane Katrina, the
America’s WETLAND Campaign held a dramatization in New Orleans’ famous
French Quarter, “flooding” a portion of the French Quarter by
draping it in blue to represent potential flooding caused by
hurricanes. The warning proved eerily prophetic three months later when
Hurricane Katrina struck, inundating many other parts of the city with
water.
“Women of the Storm” is a non-partisan non-political alliance of
Louisiana women whose families, businesses and lives were impacted by
the hurricanes. Their mission will be served by providing educational
tours, data and personal stories about families whose lives have been
impacted by the 2005 hurricane season. For more information, please
visit www.womenofthestorm.net.
Louisiana’s coast, an area known as America’s WETLAND, hosts the
nation’s strategic petroleum reserves and thousands of miles of
pipeline which provide 30 percent of the nation’s oil and gas.
The coastal wetlands, which are of world ecological significance,
protect critical natural resources, are disappearing at an alarming
rate, jeopardizing the nation’s economic and energy security.
America's WETLAND: Campaign to Save Coastal Louisiana, which is the
largest, most comprehensive public education campaign in the state's
history, was launched to raise public awareness of the impact of
Louisiana's wetland loss on the state, nation and world. The initiative
is supported by a growing coalition of world, national and state
conservation and environmental organizations and has drawn private
support from businesses that see wetlands protection as a key to
economic growth. To learn more about America’s WETLAND, please visit www.americaswetland.com.
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