Hurley's World

I know I am a little late in publishing this, but I am asking everyone who can help to please do so. The devastation caused by Katrina is unfathomable to most of us who did not witness it firsthand. As the media is fond of saying, we are looking at a situation where over 1 million Americans will be refugees in their own country for weeks if not months. While it's hard to see past the images available online and on the TV, the impact is going to be far reaching and widespread.

In addition, during the time period that these people are unable to return home, they will most likely be living in shelters constructed and run by government agencies and nonprofits such as the Red Cross. Those nonprofits will likely be pulling trained volunteers from other areas of the country to run these shelters and to tend to the needs of the refugees. I saw on at least one news report that some of these organizations are asking people across the nation to volunteer in their own communities to free up the trained volunteers who are desperately needed in the affected areas.

Likewise, the Red Cross is asking people across the US to give blood. This plea went out not only because blood donations are necessary to deal with the injuries caused by the hurricane but also because the hurricane interrupted normal blood donations for a wide expanse of the US.

In addition, that area is one of the major, if not the major, location for refining oil drilled here in the US (which makes up 25% of our national supply) but is also a major port of entry for oil coming here from other countries. While I know that Labor Day is upon us and many of us will be traveling, I ask that we all try to conserve as much energy as possible.

Finally, if you can give monetarily, please do so. More information on donations can be found here.