While human error is always a factor to be considered, this tragedy might also be viewed from the perspective of outdated and inadequate infrastructure. Commuter and freight trains should not run on the same track, double tracking should exist, and signaling must be modernized.
I’m starting to feel really depressed about the state of this country. Not only are we in debt to the world, but we are no longer a shining example as concerns… well, about anything. Our infrastructure is outdated (rail, road, public works, etc..) our cities are ghost towns and many indicia point to declining standards of living for the vast majority of our population. In New Orleans, where I’ve now lived for about a month, this is especially noticeable.
The majority of the roads in the city are seriously damaged, some traffic signals are non-functioning, and others are downright misleading. Public school buildings are extremely outdated, public transportation is a joke, and access to public health programs is extremely limited. Having lived in two developing nations, I feel almost right at home; this saddens me.
A law school buddy of mine said late last night that New Orleans may just be the first great lost city in the United States. Look at the damage to Galveston and Houston TX caused by hurricane Ike. If that storm had hit us, this city would surely have been flooded again as it was in Katrina; were this to happen once again, I fear that the exodus of residents, especially from lesser privileged areas, would render this city even more of a ghost town than it already at times appears.
And it saddens me to see the familiar petty concerns of human relations consume us while the real threat slowly laps against our battered bulwarks.
They wanted to de-populate New Orleans, specifically the poorer, lower lying areas. Notice how the poor usually live in flood plains, behind outdated flood walls.
An accident or accidentally on purpose, and they are all washed into Lake Ponchetrane (spelling)
We are a third world country. It’s just taking some of us in the upper middle class a while to realize it.
I fear that even if Obama/Biden win, they will have such problems on their hands, and a currency so devalued, that we will see tragedy continue to unfold like the two of us have not seen in our lives, WD.
Maybe we are on this planet, in this country, to learn a lesson on some sort of cosmic level.
Otherwise, we are simply suffering at the mercy of lunatic billionaires for no reason at all.
I can tell you that a drive up and down the Boston Post Road in parts of New Haven county, Connecticut, upon close inspection, will reveal a gigantic number of store-fronts suddenly empty.
The economy is far worse off than they are admitting — and a $700 Billion bailout of phony deflated dollars won’t help the situation.
See you at the soup kitchen.
David Cappiello