Private Tests Find Formaldehyde Danger Widespread

If you live in the Gulf Coast, that is. This MSNBC article corroborates what lots of local activists and residents have suspected for a long time: that not only the travel trailers, but also the mobile homes (read: bigger, nicer) that have been provided by the government to Katrina victims are producing extremely high levels of formaldehyde--levels that are making the people living in them sick and sicker.

Just more proof that if the storm didn't kill you, FEMA just might.

Who Put the FUN Back in Fundraising?

WE did! My friends and I, that is. Last night, at a little spot called the Blind Pig here in Manhattan, my buddies and I hosted an event designed to raise a little money for the children of Renaissance Village, a FEMA constructed trailer park down outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I met a few of the kids who are living there (all victims of Hurricane Katrina) when I was down in the region this past summer, and never could get them out of my mind. Neither could Jess, and so, together with our friends Kerryann, Katie, Vanessa and Allison, we got together and made the decision to do something that might make these kids' lives a tiny bit better.

The plan was pretty simple, and it totally worked: convince our friends--all of whom get together all the time in bars and restaurants to have a little fun--to spend this past Tuesday evening partying w a purpose instead. And that's even what we called it: Party with Purpose. We got other friends to donate items to for silent auction, booked the bar (again through friends) and then sent out Evites and email invitations to our buddies in New York. And guess what? People turned up in droves and helped us raise about $5,500-- which we will now use to buy holiday gifts for the kids in the trailer park.

It's actually amazing to me how easy it was to put together, to get people to come out, and actually make a demonstrable (if small) difference in the lives of others. Working for a non-profit that is large-ish in size and therefore a complex system of yeses and nos, you can sometimes forget just how easy it can be to do something that has immediate impact. I'm so glad that I was reminded that it's something we all can do--maybe not alone, but with just a few friends by your side, change is possible. And, if you're lucky, really, really fun.

Morning Glory

So I had this idea last night, as I was trying to drift myself off to sleep, that I should start trying to post in the morning, well before the day has jerked off into the annoyingly usual busy-ness that has come to be the norm more recently. So here I am, dressed, loafers polished, and sitting down for just a moment to jot a few things down before I jump on the train and head for work.

Last weekend was spent in New Orleans--my first trip to the city since the storms. It's true that I visited Baton Rouge in August, but being in the Big Easy itself, I found, is a different thing altogether... Not that you'd know so much disaster was around you if you didn't inquire: the business district and the French Quarter have been pulled back together in large part and live there, on the surface, seems much the same as it ever has been. But for some reason (perhaps because the work I do from 9-5 is so closely linked to what's happening down there) I couldn't stop asking questions of the people I met who live there--and once you ask, there's no going back to the fantasy that all might be well. Because once you ask, they begin to talk, and the stories they tell are not uplifting. They are sad and long and utterly depressing and they make you realize that whatever you may be being fed about the "recovery"of the region, people's lives are still being impacted by the trauma this storm wrought.

It was completely surprising to me, how affected I was by the underlying tension, sadness, and frankly, the smelliness of the town (how had I never noticed before reek of rotting garbage, sewage around every corner downtown?). I'm still struggling a little bit with my discontent, and I'm interested to see how and if my experience of the place will change when we return down there in December after we deliver our gifts to the children of Renaissance Village (more on that later).

In the meanwhile, though, I should also say that the reason I went down there--the wedding of my friends Trina and Chris--was a smash success, and a beautiful reason to be drawn to the city. So nice to see something new and fresh and good spring up in the midst of so much decay.

A Little Good News for New Orleans

And I do mean a little: the city is poised to receive $11.2 million from 10 philanthropic organizations to help rebuild affordable and mixed housing units that were lost in the storms. Bill & Melinda Gates led the way (natch), with a whopping $3 million gift, and a number of other names you might recognize (Kellogg, Rockefeller, etc) are following suit at differing levels. It's not quite half of what the fund spearheading the effort thinks it'll need to make a dent (that's about $25 million), but let's hope this will inspire other individual and institutional funders to jump on board and do the same.

Remembering Katrina

If you followed my instructions a few weeks back and checked out the posting I was doing from down in Mississippi and Louisiana during our Media Justice trainings, you'll be happy to see that there is now video evidence of the work we did while we were there.

This video, created by Jacquie Soohen, gives a great peek into what the process of putting together a radio documentary really looks like. Plus, she's set it to some seriously dope tunes, which is never a bad thing.

HuffPo, AlterNet Pick Up Katrina Story

Luckily enough, this week both the Huffington Post and AlterNet ran a piece I wrote while down in the Gulf Coast. It's about one woman's struggle post Hurricane--in particular her struggle with FEMA to fix a massive leak in the trailer they gave her to live in.

I wish every one of you could meet Vicky Cintra and hear her tell her tale face to face... or meet any of the kids who live in the trailer parks of Renaissance Village... and then make judgments about who deserves what, and what it is incumbent upon the government to do. It's easy enough to cast apspersions on these folks when they're merely an abstraction (that's for you, Alternet commenter)--but it sure gets a lot harder to do that when they become real people, with real concerns, and wide open hearts.

Mississippi Burning

Seriously. This place is hot. And wet. And tho in some instances that might be a good combination, for my taste this environment is nowhere near hospitable. The physical environment, that is. The emotional, human component makes up for a lot, tho. That, and the unbelievable food.

Since I've spent just about every minute of the last 4 days thinking about the lasting devastation of Hurricane Katrina, I think I'll use this opportunity to think about something else. Like Hillary Clinton. I'm hoping that despite the fact that I'm Mississippi I'll still be able to watch the Logo/HRC debate tonight (god bless wi-fi). But because I was up to my neck in boiled shrimp at the Imperial Palace Casino buffet last night, I missed the AFL-CIO debate.

I haven't had a lot of time to dig around for feedback on what went on, but I do see on Feministing that there's a little bit of outrage brewing over the fact that Hillary referred to herself as a "girl" during the debate And it's funny: though under normal circumstances I might have the intellectual space to delve into the ins and outs of what that kind of slip of the tongue might mean--to the women's movement, to the political sphere, etc.--something about all the freakin' reality down here makes it a little bit harder to get riled about something which, in the grand scheme of things, is really so minor.

Nobody who was planing on voting for Hillary is not going to vote for her simply because she called herself a girl on one occasion; and frankly, it's probably a wise move for a woman who gets painted as "too hard" by the media to try to soften that image as she gets closer to having to woo voters who are not her natural constituents. It's all a game, right? And Hillary's as expert at playing it as anyone else (and so far, better than any other American woman). So why are we liberals so constantly surprised when she "fails" the various purity tests we put to her? She's out to win a general election, and sadly enough, in order to that she's going to have to sell her soul...again. Time to either get used to it--or find a way to back a different candidate to win the nomination.

This week

Just as a heads up to all my loyal readers: this week I'm traveling in the Gulf Coast for work, attending trainings the Ms. Foundation is supporting that will teach our grantees the art of radio documentary, and blogging about the process. So my guess is that my ability to post here will be limited. That said, if you want to keep up with what I'm up to, check out KatrinaRadioProject.blogspot.com. Should be some interesting info there.

Other than that, all I have to say is... It's freakin' HOT in Mississippi!!!!!

Worker Abuse in Post-Katrina Cleanup

Remarkable article from the Media Consortium's Brian Beutler (via AlterNet) on worker abuses in the Gulf Region in the wake of Katrina. Anyone who thinks the effects of the Hurricane are ancient history has another thing coming, and what this article makes clear is how yet another version of the Bush Administration's policy of neglect has helped workers (read: poor people) get screwed again--even as they try to help rebuild.

Drip, Drip, Drip Goes New Orleans

Luckily, this time New Orleans' water problem doesn't involve the kind falling from the sky. Instead, there's concern with the kind that comes out of your tap. I don't know why I never bothered to think about this before, but it turns out that NOLA has some pretty gnarly issues with "consumable" water. The city's drinking water comes straight out of the mighty, murky Mississippi--the great river that lots of the rest of the country uses as a dumping ground. Add to that the trauma of Katrina (broken pipes, backed up sewage, etc) and you've got a recipe for a less that tasty glass of H2O.

This first person dispatch on Grist from Wayne Curtis, who recently moved to the city, breaks it down pretty poetically. I'll give you the results of my own taste test in October, when I'm there for my friend Trina's wedding. Not that I tend to drink much water anyway when I'm down there... my MO is usually to stick with the portable alcoholic beverages (is there anything better than a margarita in a to-go cup??) to help wash down those powder-perfect beignets.

It's MARDI GRAS, y'all!!

Laissez les bons temps rouler, as they say down in the Bayou! I don't know how I almost forgot about this but very glad this article in the Times reminded me... May be necessary to see if I can pick myself up a King Cake on my way home; at least I had the subconscious sense to wear purple today. Do something to celebrate, Cajun-style, and remember all those folks down in New Orleans who are still waiting to get their lives back.

FEMA Trailers Poisoning Katrina's Homeless

I wish I could get you the full text of this article, but in order to read it online you have to be an actual subscriber to the print edition of The Nation (they need to rethink that model, for sure). But regardless, it's important for all of us to remember that the devastation of Hurricane Katrina is ongoing, and Amanda Spake's article in the 2/26/07 issue of the magazine highlights an issue nobody is talking enough about: the apparently dire health risks of living in FEMA trailers never designed for long-term use.

According to Spake's article,

"Along the Gulf Coast, in the towns and fishing villages from New Orleans to Mobile, survivors of Hurricane Katrina are suffering from a constellation of similar health problems. They wake up wheezing, coughing and gasping for breath. Their eyes burn; their heads ache; they feel tired, lethargic. Nosebleeds are common, as are sinus infections and asthma attacks. Children and seniors are most severely afflicted, but no one is immune."

What's to blame for these ailments? It turns out that most of the trailers that were constructed at breakneck speed to house those left homeless by Katrina were built with "composite wood, particle board and other materials that emit formaldehyde, a common but toxic chemical." Tests of currently occupied trailers have registered levels of formaldehyde well in excess of the EPA's recommended limit.

Given FEMA's initial response to the Hurricane, it should be no surprise that they are doing close to nothing to help the folks who are currently being poisoned by the homes they have no choice but to live in. I imagine that the only thing that will make any sort of difference is public pressure--and, as Spake suggests, pressure from the new Congress. So write your representative and remind him/her that killing people because they're poor is not ok. And if you subscribe to The Nation, write them a letter thanking them for uncovering yet another horrible truth about what it means to be poor in America.