In the dimly lit lobby of an overcrowded hotel the angry and dejected Mayor of New Orleans, Rick Nagin, was asked what he believed underpinned the slow and inadequate response of the American government to the country’s most devastating natural disaster.

Pausing only to survey the shuffling columns of starving and dehydrated refugees moving past him, "This is about Class" Nagin told the television interviewer.
The numbers killed by Hurricane Katrina exceed the victims of the 9/11 attacks – an eerie fulfilment of the claim made by the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor David King that "Global warming is a bigger threat than international terrorism". Terrorist atrocities indiscriminately maim and slaughter, as do natural disasters, however the chances of surviving natural disasters are increasingly determined by wealth and class.
As the levees collapsed and the destructive waters flooded into the city, it was the wealthiest that stood the best chance of escaping the carnage. The poorest, many with no transport of their own were condemned to remain amongst the ruins as the waters destroyed their homes, divided their families and irreparably changed their lives.
The scenario which then unfolded gave Western television audiences an effective glimpse into Hell and with this an understanding of how natural disasters can affect modern industrial society.
Tales of child rape and murder, the implementation of Martial Law, President Bush calling for the Police to display "zero tolerance" towards looters (the vast majority of who were searching for food and water), local Police Officers resigning and in some cases committing suicide, army helicopters dumping food parcels away from crowds of people and allowing the strongest and the fittest to commandeer the supplies (showing no care for those most in need).
Hurricane Katrina could have happened at anytime, irrespective of global warming. However it is true that global warming is making and will continue to make extreme weather events like Katrina more frequent. With this in mind there can be no mistake, global warming is as mush a social issue as an environmental one – perhaps even more so.
Already it is the developing world that suffers because of many of the choices and actions of the developed world, and we can now see that these inequalities will be replicated within the societies of the developed world in the event of calamitous changes to the environment brought about by global warming. Here too, the poorest will pay the price for the actions of the richest - it is clear that those who consume the most resources stand a better chance of escaping the effects of their actions.
This is understood by the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. This is why efforts to wipe out the debt of the developing world are coupled with efforts to halt global warming. If global warming is not addressed, inequalities between and within the developed and developing world will continue to grow and the horrors of New Orleans could be replicated on a global scale. Great civilisations can and do fall – it is one of history’s recurring themes and we must heed its warning. Professor King is right, global warming, not international terrorism, is the biggest threat to us all.

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		Global Warming is the Biggest Threat of All

		warns Jamie Reed, MP
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