OBVIOUSLY THERE
ARE ANY NUMBER OF THREATS FOR THOSE AFFECTED BY THE FLOODING,
PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL IN HOUSTON AND SURROUNDING AREAS, BUT THE
WATER HOLD THREATS OF ITS OWN, NOT JUST FROM THE AMOUNT OF IT
BUT WHAT IS IN IT.
THERE ARE THINGS YOU MIGHT KNOW ALREADY --
THOSE SORTS OF PROBLEMS AREN'T GOING TO SIMPLY GO AWAY ONCE THE
RAIN GOES AWAY.
THERE WILL BE STANDING WATER IN AREAS WHERE IT
IS NORMALLY THEREFORE LITERALLY MONTHS GOING FORWARD, MOLDS WILL
GROW FOUR YEARS GOING FORWARD.
THAT'S A REAL THREAT AND IT'S
BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY, BUT THERE ARE SOME NEW THREATS PARTICULAR
TO THIS AREA AND THIS STORM, IT HAS TO DO WITH TOXIC CHEMICALS
AND OTHER SORTS OF THINGS THAT AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE
WATER NOW BEING FLOODED INTO IT --
THOSE ARE SOME TOXINS THAT I WON'T TRY TO PRONOUNCE BUT THAT
WILL THEORETICALLY BE LEACHED OR DUMPED INTO THE WATER AND
TRANSPORTED THROUGH THE WATER, THROUGH WHAT BECOME TOXIC RIVERS
DOWN THE MAIN STREETS OF HOUSTON, AND ONCE THE WATER
FINALLY GOES AWAY, THOSE CHEMICALS, THOSE TOXINS, CAN
THEN SETTLE IN AREAS WHERE YOU MIGHT NOT EXPECT THEM.
YOU ARE
LOOKING POSSIBLY AT BALL FIELDS AND PARKS, PLACES WHERE KIDS
CONGREGATE, IN STORES, IN PEOPLE'S HOMES, THAT'S A PROBLEM
THAT WILL NEED TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY IN THE MONTHS AND
YEARS AFTER THIS STORM.
NOW --
BUT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MANY SITES, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT
AREAS THAT DIDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE MUCH OF A WARNING BEFORE
THE STORM HIT, SO I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN VERY
SERIOUSLY, THE THREAT THAT OF VARIETY OF DIFFERENT
CONTAMINANTS AND TOXINS COULD EVEN NOW BE BEING TRANSPORTED
AROUND HOUSTON AND OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS AND SOON LOUISIANA.
MORE BAD NEWS.
JUST IN JULY WE HAD THE FIRST CASE OF ZIKA VIRUS
IN THE HOUSTON AREA.
NOW WITH MOSQUITO BORNE ILLNESSES THAT
COULD BE RAMPANT IN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS, THE THREAT OF THE
ZIKA VIRUS IS GREATLY MULTIPLIED IN THE HOUSTON AREA.
FURTHERMORE
LEGIONNAIRES' DISEASE, VERY DANGEROUS, THAT YOU CAN GET FROM
INHALATION OF AIRBORNE MOISTURE DROPLETS.
YOU DON'T EVEN NEED TO
DRINK THE TAP WATER, IT'S AIRBORNE, THAT'S POTENTIALLY
DEADLY.
THERE'S A GREAT IRONY HERE, WHICH IS THAT THE MORE
WATER YOU HAVE, THE LESS USABLE WATER YOU HAVE.
THE AREAS WHERE
THEY GET THE TAP WATER, THE CLEAN WATER, GET FLOODED BY THE
DIRTY WATER, THEN YOU CAN'T USE THE TAP WATER.
ON TOP OF ALL THE
HUMAN DAMAGE THAT'S ALREADY BEEN DONE, 30 PEOPLE KILLED AT LEAST
SO FAR, 30,000 OR MORE DISPLACED, WELL, YOU NOW HAVE A
SITUATION WHERE ALL THE LOCAL RESIDENTS, NOT JUST IN THE
AFFECTED AREAS BUT THE ONES THAT DRINK THAT WATER FROM THE TAP,
HAVE TO BOIL ALL THE WATER AND THEN USE IT FOR -- OR JUST GET
DRINKING WATER THAT IS BOTTLED -- IT IS A NIGHTMARE.
THINK
ABOUT HOW YOU TAKE SHOWERS, HOW YOUR KIDS BRUSH THEIR TEETH,
ALL THE WAYS THESE PEOPLE WILL BE AFFECTED, AND THEN THE MOLD
SETS IN WHERE THE FLOOD HAS HIT, THAT CAN LAST FOR YEARS AND
YEARS AND HAVE MORE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES.
THIS IS A TOTAL
NIGHTMARE FOR HOUSTON.
IT'S BEEN GREAT TO SEE PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY
OBVIOUSLY SENDING BOTH MONEY BUT ALSO THINGS THAT PEOPLE NEED
THAT ARE STILL STUCK THERE, PEOPLE IN TEMPORARY HOUSING
OUTSIDE OF IT, I SAW EARLIER TODAY SHAUN KING WAS HELPING TO
ORGANIZE THAT BY SPREADING A LIST OF THINGS THAT WERE NEEDED,
THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT NORMALLY THINK OF, AND THAT'S GREAT BUT
PEOPLE NEED TO BUCKLE UP FOR THE LONG HAUL BECAUSE MANY OF THOSE
PEOPLE WHO LEFT AREN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO GO HOME IN THE END,
EVEN ONCE THE WATER GOES AWAY THEIR APARTMENTS WILL BE
UNINHABITABLE, MANY PEOPLE FIND THEY HAVE LOST THEIR JOBS
BECAUSE BUSINESSES WILL HAVE BEEN DESTROYED, PEOPLE WILL NEED
HELP IN THE NEAR AND MEDIUM TERM, NOT JUST NEXT WEEK.
ONE MORE TIME, THIS IS NOT ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE THAT MIGHT
HAPPEN LATER.
THIS IS CLIMATE CHANGE.
IT JUST HAPPENED.
IT HIT
HOUSTON, AND IT HIT IT REALLY HARD.
IT'S HITTING LOUISIANA
TODAY.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE SCIENTISTS PREDICTED.
WHETHER
YOU WANT TO LOOK AT A POPULAR MOVIE LIKE AN INCONVENIENT
TRUTH, JUST GOOGLE IT, GO ONLINE, FIND ANY SCIENTISTS NOT
FUNDED BY THE AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE, AND THEY WILL TELL
YOU -- AND DON'T LOOK AT WHAT THEY ARE SAYING TODAY, LOOK AT
WHAT THEY SAID A YEAR AGO, 10 YEARS AGO, 20 YEARS AGO.
IN
FACT, LOOK AT WHAT THE EXXON MOBIL SCIENTISTS SAID IN 1979,
1982, THAT'S A STORY WE COVERED LAST WEEK.
TURNS OUT, THIS IS
SOME GREAT INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING, THEY FOUND THE
INTERNAL DOCUMENTS, THE EXXON SCIENTISTS SAY IT'S GOING TO BE
CATASTROPHIC, AND EXXON BURIED ALL THAT RESEARCH.
WHY?
BECAUSE
IN THE SHORT TERM THEY WANTED TO MAKE THE MONEY AND PUT THE COST
ON YOU.
AMERICA, THESE ARE THE COSTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, THESE
ARE THE CHICKENS COMING HOME TO ROOST.