Well, I'm not excusing the fact that planning and preparedness was not where it should be. We've known for 20 years about this hurricane, this possibility of this kind of hurricane.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
There could have been more planning in New Orleans, but you look at all the devastation that happened there - have we gotten to 3,000 deaths yet? For that magnitude of a disaster, that's not all that bad.
We are entering an era of heightened disaster, thanks to climate change. Being prepared for disaster will mean being prepared to sift truth from rumour, and being prepared to adjust our worldview.
If a hurricane came here, I would want any relief plan to be fiscally responsible.
And one of the things I want to say, Wolf, is we're 100 days from hurricane season, and we've got to start focusing on what we're going to do to make ourselves ready for the next hurricane.
Through meteorology, we know essentially how hurricanes form, even though we can't say where the next storm will arise.
We cannot stop natural disasters but we can arm ourselves with knowledge: so many lives wouldn't have to be lost if there was enough disaster preparedness.
Anyone who says they're not afraid at the time of a hurricane is either a fool or a liar, or a little bit of both.
Hurricane season brings a humbling reminder that, despite our technologies, most of nature remains unpredictable.
The preparations are what they are. We're here. The storm is coming. We are as best prepared as we can be as the eye of the storm approaches.
We're learning as we go. We're a lot smarter this time. We understand what it takes to mobilize away from the threat of a hurricane.