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Another summer, another series of weather catastrophes worldwide. Monster rains kill hundreds in India, a gigantic area of Siberian permafrost melts, northern Europe floods while southern Europe experiences its worst drought ever recorded.

And now Katrina, which could well turn out to be the greatest environmental disaster in the history of the United States, and a terrifying warning of worse to come. As I write this, the governor of Louisiana is saying that the situation is “worse than our worst fears” and 80 percent of New Orleans is under water.
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Everywhere you go these days you overhear conversations taking place on cell phones and see people wearing headphones moving to music only they can hear. All this is leading to old ears on young bodies. Audio expert Robert Novak says, “We’re starting to see hearing loss in young adults that we expect to diagnose in middle-aged adults. This loss is often self-induced and may be related to young people’s exposure to amplified sound and use of personal listening systems, such as cell phones and portable music devices. The damage can be temporary or permanent.” The cause: damaged ear hairs.
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Eating oat bran lowers the body’s cholesterol levels. Eating dairy foods strengthens bones. Are there foods that can help psychological disorders? We know that certain foods, like chocolate, raise serotonin levels. Serotonin is the “happiness chemical” that is raised by drugs like Prozac. Sociopaths, who seem to have no conscience, are known to have low serotonin levels. Should we make sure they get enough chocolate?
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A massive break in the 17th Street levee is flooding the city of New Orleans. Jefferson and Plaquemine Parishes are under martial law. Nobody is being allowed into the city.The 200ft wide break is expected to continue flooding untilthe water level in the city reaches that of LakePonchatrain. Huge sandbags are being airlifted to the cityin an effort to stem the break.

Had Army Corps of Engineers budgets not been cut for thisarea, and forward planning been done beginning a year agowhen it became clear that hurricanes were becoming moresevere, this catastrophe might have been averted. Thesandbags needed should have been available in the area, nothundreds of miles away.
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