New Orleans

My heart goes out to New Orleans.

I wish it was easier to donate money and get Google matching.

Marine scientist Ivor van Heerden of Louisiana State University, who has developed
flooding models for New Orleans, was among those issuing dire predictions as 
Katrina approached, warnings that turned out to be grimly accurate.

"We're talking about an incredible environmental disaster," said van Heerden before
the storm arrived. He predicted that floodwaters would overcome the levee system, 
fill the low-lying areas of the city and then remain trapped there well after the 
storm passed — creating a giant, stagnant pool contaminated with debris, sewage and 
other hazardous materials. 

I find this very easy to identify with. Perhaps it's easier for me to imagine reaching an alarming finding as a scientist, than to imagine scrambling to higher ground in my house while it fills with water up to my neck.

I imagine this scientist issuing his predictions and giving warnings, and seeing them get ignored by others with less scientific background. I imagine him watching as the nightmare unfolds, proving him correct in a terrible way.