Katrina's perturbation hits it stride
■"Reckoning Katrina's Wide Reach: Markets Around the World May Be Touched if Squeeze Is Put to Consumer in U.S.," by Michael R. Sesit, Wall Street Journal, 8 September 2005, p. C14.■"Exposed by Katrina, FEMA's flaws were years in making: Our view: Political appointments, loss of focus crippled disaster relief agency," editorial, USA Today, 8 September 2005, p. 12A.
■"Katrina's Silver Lining: A chance to take on the cycle of poverty," op-ed by David Brooks, New York Times, 8 September 2005, p. A29.
■"Football's Saints Ponder Whether To Relocate," by Stefan Fatsis, Wall Street Journal, 8 September 2005, p. B1.
Another fascinating graphic on how other countries need oil for economic growth far more than America does (people think we're wasteful, but in relative terms, the more advanced your economy, the more efficient it is-go figure!). The U.S. uses 1.75 thousands of barrels of oil consumed per day, per billion dollars of GDP (2004 dollars), but then there's Canada at 2.22, Argentina at 2.69. Korea at 3.35, China at 4.05, and Thailand at a whopping 5.56.
So if Katrina perturbs global energy markets, the effects will be felt far more overseas than in rather resilient America.
Still, no question it's a System Perturbation. New rule sets coming on FEMA and Northern Command and the Department of Homeland Security as a result of Katrina.
Pundits are already getting expansive on the new possibilities. David Brooks waxes philosophic in his op-ed about a "post-Katrina world" (if it's "post-" anything, we're probably talking a System Perturbation) in which we approach urban poverty differently ("This is the post-Katrina moment. Let's not blow it."). Nice. Good start. Keep it coming.
Then again, things are looking awfully bleak for New Orleans itself. Katrina may rob the city of the NFL Saints, and there are few things that would sting like that, few things that would send such a strong signal that New Orleans will never be the same. Oh yes, when the Saints go marchin' out . . .
And so the horizontal scenarios continue to unfold with significant speed …