November 22, 2012 - Say No to Excess, Yes to rebuilding

by Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

President Obama will continue in office for the next four years. A simple swearing in, instead of a lavish inaugural would be appropriate and a powerful statement which needs to be heard.

The present aftermath from Hurricane Sandy should not surprise any of us.We have seen the effects of hurricanes on population centers before. Even today, New Orleans has not been entirely rebuild, leaving over 30,000 people who formerly had homes are still waiting.

The tragedies now enveloping Americans in the communities on October 29^th, could have been avoided. This disaster is a direct result of our failure to make sure the infrastructure on which we depend politically, economically, and to keep us safe in the face of disaster, does the job we pay to have done for us by government. The source of the problem is not 'natural disaster' but one of design and priorities.

The tens of thousands, now homeless, having lost everything, remain mired in the evidence our system has failed. We need to see this and take action.

Instead of sending out suggestions on supplies to have on hand, the enormously expensive government agencies which were assigned to provide for disaster relief should have:

Stockpiled immediate resources to be made been available to put people back into their neighborhoods with temporary housing complete power, generated on site, sanitary and cooking facilities. Plans for such units, which could have been moved in either by road or helicopter, as needed, were ignored in favor of FEMA trailers and shelters.

We should be working on fast-tracked plans for rebuilding. We know it will be necessary to replace homes, schools and other buildings quickly, the correct approach would be to do it now by spending money to provide better stability and security in impacted areas proven to be vulnerable to disaster. We need pay for no studies to know where this one is.

Rebuilding should be carried out Deep Green, entirely off the grids. The needed materials and technologies exist. Let's use them. Homes, schools, and businesses could even now be going up. Construction and rehabitation could take place in as little as a month for the first structures.

This is the plan we should have had in place.

It is time to move forward. It is past time for Americans to join together to make this happen. Ask President Obama to cancel the party for corporate donors.