Liberty home

Tragedies are great teachers but unfortunately, too many people draw the wrong lessons from them. Not too long ago, major tragedies were interpreted as some form of divine retribution for our sins. Now, geology (plate tectonics and volcanology), meteorology and other sciences offer hope for preventative and ameliorative actions.

A tragedy of the magnitude of the Indian Ocean tsunami brings out the best and the worst in the twenty-four-hour TV news cycle, the Internet and massive print coverage. There is now room for interviews with experts on every aspect of the issue -- its causes, likely short- and long-term consequences and the most effective means of delivering assistance. We will inevitably hear from the doomsday theologians of today, who will blame human action and modern life in general for the calamity or the magnitude of its impact. Had we only heeded the warnings of the environmental ideologues and other prophets of doom, tragedies of this magnitude could have been avoided, they will say.

It is true that environmental mismanagement can be a factor in a disaster, as when a flood is worsened by rampant deforestation in the watershed, as has occurred in China. China today is well aware of the problem and there are many programs discussing reforestation projects.

However, no amount of romantic ‘living in harmony with Nature’ would have provided protection to the victims of this tsunami. Contrary to popular opinion, science, technology and modern life in general, provide an enormous amount of protection from the worst hazards of nature, protection that we too often take for granted. For the better part of the past century, people in poor countries had roughly ten times the likelihood of dying in a natural disaster as those in developed countries such as the United States. In an extreme case, the ratio was 100: 1 as in Bangladesh in the third quarter of last century, with a mortality rate from natural disasters of 1:10,000 compared to one in a million in the United States.

The areas of South and Southeast Asia that were hardest hit -- Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu in India, Bangladesh, Burma, Sumatra in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia (as well as the East African coast) are incredibly beautiful areas, and it is understandable that tourists would flock to them for a `dream vacation.`

There was simply no reason not to develop them as tourist areas, nor is there any reason not to redevelop them for the same purpose, though prudence suggests the creation of a tsunami early warning system. Remember, this was a relatively unique event for the region ; the last strong tsunami there was over 170 years ago.

Some misanthropes will say it was hubris to live and vacation in the area. Most of us would not homestead at the base of an active volcano, but there are those with little or no choice. We have to live somewhere and occasionally have to travel to other places.

Economic development is the best defence against death and natural disasters. After every major tragedy, those societies that can afford it, institute major changes, from funding more research on prevention to improving building standards for protection against fire or collapse. We should continue to research and debate ways to minimize the impact of potentially harmful natural phenomenon, but tragedies like the tsunami should not inspire calls to be more `in harmony` with nature. And protective actions should not be taken at the expense of economic development.

Over the last thirty years, we have learned a lot about what to do and not do in post-disaster intervention. There are cases where relief aid may have actually made the situation worse rather than better. The media response to disaster for decades has been a call for food, clothing, and blankets, which were to be collected and sent to the effected region. The best way to have a positive impact, is to send money through reputable private voluntary organizations and not send food, clothing, or medicine directly overseas. Some commonly-encountered problems with aid efforts are:

Transportation problems. It is clear in the current crisis that what is holding back aid is not the lack of available commodities but the breakdown in the local transportation infrastructure. Local transportation bottlenecks occur more often than the public might realize.

Sending the right type of food. Sending culturally-appropriate food is important; who will sift out cans of pork and beans from shipments to Muslim countries?

Having the right tools on-site. Another practical point: shipping canned goods to refugees in Third World countries helps no one if people don’t have can openers and can’t read the directions on the cans. In most if not all of the impacted areas of the tsunami, people probably had can openers that are now lost in the rubble.

Getting usable medicine to victims. Many critical vaccines and antibiotics so desperately needed in disaster areas are temperature-sensitive. One of the biggest challenges for relief providers is to maintain what’s called the `cold chain` all the way to the field.

Correctly identifying disease. In the early 1990s, word somehow got to the donors that there was an outbreak of meningitis in a disaster area. Only after medicine was sent out was it learned that it was actually cholera. That two diseases so vastly different in so many obvious ways could be confused shows the breakdown in communication that can be created by the chaos of a disaster.

Needs shift quickly. Relief workers have to be alert to changing priorities and to act on them.

Clothing supplies can spread disease. Most countries are fearful of spreading disease, so shipments of relief clothes and blankets aren’t allowed unless they are properly cleaned and fumigated.

Some of the things we’ve learned from past efforts are

To release funds to local authorities and quickly dispatch needs assessment teams in order to prioritize the delivery of aid. Obviously, the more rapid the response, the better and more effective it is, as long as it is the right response.

Those who wish to help should give money and give it as quickly as possible. Many relief NGOs (non-governmental organizations) may already have ongoing projects in the area, staffed by locals and others who know the language and can be the best first responders if they have the funds to get what they need.

Give commodities only if requested by those on the scene who know the needs and have the mechanisms to have the commodities delivered and used. The one exception to the cash-is-best theory of disaster relief is when there is a call from those on the scene for a specific item such as blood.

When possible, make purchases of relief items in the disaster area itself. This provides cash inflow that will later help the economy to rebuild.

Children are particularly vulnerable to dehydration and death from diarrhoea diseases. In addition to provision of clean water, antibiotics are needed because diarrhoea is likely to be endemic to the region already and to spread rapidly before assistance can be rendered.

New technology can be of immeasurable help. We have all seen the importance of helicopters in delivering aid, and know about the use of sniffer dogs, robotics, and other specialized equipment to rescue people trapped in buildings collapsed by earthquakes.

Malaria and dengue fever are endemic to many of the areas hardest hit by the tsunami. The flooding water is likely to have cleaned out the mosquito larvae, creating a brief period of reduced disease and an opportunity to reduce it further. But with stagnant pools of water, the area will be quickly re-colonized by mosquitoes. These diseases will quickly return with a vengeance, as will other diseases, assaulting a physically and psychologically weakened population.

What is needed is the provision of the most effective weapon against the disease vectors, which in the case of the mosquito is DDT. Tragically, that won’t happen thanks to activists who got it banned a little over three decades ago by the US, followed by European countries and in effect, all donor organizations. In addition, water needs to be chlorinated even if it is not being drunk because, having been mixed with sewage, it will be harbouring an extraordinary array of diseases. Again, at least one of the activist groups opposes the use of chlorine, but in this case their opposition is unlikely to be a deterrent to its eventual use.

Clearly, one of the biggest problems that we face is not the destructive force of nature but the organized ideological opposition to the effective use of modern technology.

(Thomas R. DeGregori is a professor of economics at the University of Houston and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Council on Science and Health. Printed with the permission of ACSH. Read the complete article on Health Facts and Fears http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsID.485/news_detail.asp)