Paul,

Your Grandpa sounds like a wonderful man. I imagine that he too would be overwhelmed and even frustrated by the levels of bureaucracy and particularly the federal government’s grant strategy (get the locals to do what you want by footing some or the entire bill). “All politics are local and most times federal too” might be the old “all politics are local.” That being said, it sounds like your grandfather would have found a way.

Bennet’s axiom “People are discouraged, encourage them,” should be a homeland security and preparedness mantra. The obvious –helping people seems within our grasp, but eludes us all too often. Homeland security and preparedness are a Pandora box of sorts (privacy intrusions, challenges to rights & privileges, economic costs, and others things that are not so nice). But, we need to remind ourselves that the original Pandora Box also offered hope.

Today, I heard a Coast Guard Commander refer to Deepwater Horizon as the Coast Guard’s Afghanistan.

The “long spill,” Deepwater Horizon, like the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq require fortitude, patience, understanding, and hope. Somebody said “hope is not a plan.” Just the same I will keep on hoping and praying for the best whilst I prepare for the worst.

The emotional toll to Gulf residents, government workers, and cleanup volunteers warrants consideration and is bound to be high. The days ahead present three overarching challenges: stopping the spill, extracting the maximum amount of oil feasible, and mitigating the damage. The current forecast of 23+ storms with a 50% chance of a significant storm make that challenge all the more challenging –or might clean most of the mess up -mother nature is most resilient.

I have come to know some of the people of NOLA and have found them to be concerned but going about their business best they can. They talk a lot of football. LSU and the Saints are dear to their hearts. Last year’s super bowl celebration has continued with the team’s preseason visit to Louisiana communities weary of oil: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127561660

If I remain in NOLA past September, I will likely attend a game. For the record I am a Jets fan. Football players and fans are resilient.

My new colleagues in NOLA poke fun at my New York accent. In turn, I enjoy their nawlins’ colloquialisms. They seem to appreciate my reviews of their restaurants and haunts. So far Acme Oyster House, Tujajues, and Café du Monde top the list. Nothing like football and food to bind people.

I have found that Katrina has left the people of NOLA with doubts in the efficacy of the federal government and particularly FEMA. NOLA’s celebrated relationship with the Coast Guard seems uneasy at best. I am told too little is being done too slowly. That phenomena might be a study in a relationship earned in one disaster (Katrina) only to be lost in another (DWH). Social capital is easier lost than earned.

The USCG is most resilient. It is and always has been a multi-mission organization. Today that mission is clear: ensure and facilitate the RP’s (responsible party) response –in this case BP. That mission will not make the Coast Guard popular.

From my view BP is doing all that it can and is most instances more than that. The American people need to know that without the media hype. BP too is resilient. I imagine someone or some people high in the organization deliberated as to their course of action –cut and run or invest in their enterprise. BP chose the latter. I can’t and won’t speak to BP’s alleged wrongdoing because I don’t know if they were negligent or had a catastrophic industrial accident. I know that matter is being investigated and await the final analysis.

Recovery requires everyone to look past their factions, fights, frustrations, and everything else.

I’m rooting for the people of the Gulf and the United States of America.

Here’s a conundrum: In almost every aspect of my life I experience a wide web of wonderful relationships. I am certain that my own ability to “bounce back” from personal and professional problems depends a great deal on these relationships. Most of those in my network also seem to benefit from a similar resilient web.

Yet at a distance I hear and see credible reports that my own experience, and these second-hand experiences, are not typical and that separation, alienation, and such abounds.

What is an empiricist to conclude when the direct data and the meta-data are in such conflict?

Regarding your other suggestion, I am actually working on a project that would do exactly what you have recommended… and include a bunch of other similar resources as well. Absolutely agree.

I happened to read it for the first time recently, and found it very compelling. I too am interested in how his findings relate to the emergency management field and to the new interest in “resilience.” Given the exhaustive research he has documented, I am not optimistic that decades of downtrends can be reversed anytime soon.

A big task, no doubt.

My first choice would be to clearly identify for all those with and without health insurance what the current health system can do and cannot do! This would also include the analysis of the current capabilities of the PUBLIC HEALTH sector.

One example of resilience in this area is the so-called “Free Clinics” and geographically distributed “EMERGENCY CARE” centers. They should be on all GIS maps produced for a community and their exact capabilities provided for public disclosure and assessment.

Seems to me there is — and will be — a fight over the public and private strategies, government funding, and much more related to mitigation of the ongoing Gulf crisis. There will be yet another fight over recovery operations. There is a perpetual fight over zoning regulations in earthquake, hurricane, and wildfire zones. We are in the middle of an important disagreement over how best to confront violent extremism, foreign and domestic.

Debate is good. We will be more resilient — and potentially wise — the more feedback we can generate on the nature of the problem and its possible solutions. Deliberation is fundamental to the process I am advocating.

But precisely because our understanding is limited, there comes a point when arguing over what is right and wrong becomes counter-productive. There comes a time — especially when under imminent threat — for the “community” (large or small) to come together and engage in positive joint action to protect, prevent, mitigate, respond, recover… In a robust, resilient, real community argument can be put aside for action, even while alternative judgments are heard and considered. I am trying, not very well, to distinguish between fighting and deliberating. The deliberation must continue. But deliberation supports collaboration.

From my perspective in many American communities our fundamental risk is the inability to come-together-and-engage-in-positive-joint-action. The origin of this risk is 1) insufficient investment by both public and (especially) private sectors in the capacity and 2) a stubborn insistence by too many players on their particular analysis and solution and an unwillingness to participate, collaborate, or really deliberate with others. I also perceive number 2 is mostly a symptom of number 1.

So… potentially demonstrating a prideful insistence of my own, I am suggesting that as we mitigate, respond to, and recover from the situation in the Gulf we need to consciously cultivate resilient habits and broad relationships or, whatever else we do, we are just increasing our vulnerability to the next disaster.

The 1% chance flood [sometimes erroneously referred to as the 100-year flood] can occur much more often than once every 100 years since it is in reality the 1% annual reoccurrence flood. The failure of the MSM and even academics to be thoughtful about natural processes and the egos and hubris of humanity have not bypassed the US. Just as Dr. Robert Oppenheimer feared the Promethean aspects of the atomic bomb technology needs fuller evaluation to ensure that it is not the two edged sword discussed in the “Axemakers Gift”!

Hey we spent the last 100 years exploiting oil resources largely not for heating but for transportation usage. Was that decision evaluated at any time by anyone before the BP Spill? Some would say yes but I would argue not really except in the vaguest sense! Now the real costs of that choice are coming home to roost.
Perhaps there is an element is seeking knowledge and making sure that “disclosure” of the real choices is also a governance and resilience mission. Fake science is often used in the US to destroy lives–example–the use of fake numbers to prevent smokers from understanding the risks prior to and even after the Surgeon General’s 1964 report.

The free market can be deadly if there is no real level playing field. Many would profit from ignorance and innocence.

Can we (the US) do better? I hope so or its lights out Charlie Brown for the oldest and richest democracy on earth.

We have missed the cycle for prevention in the Gulf so how about now discussing mitigation efforts and government funding for that?