Col. Terry Ebbert, left, director of Homeland Security for the City of New Orleans, discusses disaster planning at the opening session of the Katrina series. John "Spud" McConnell, center, moderated the panel and R. King Milling spoke about Louisiana wetlands.

About 200 members of the community turned out Sunday (Feb. 12) on a chilly evening to discuss the weather--specifically, conditions on Aug. 28, the day before Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the area.

In the first of a seven-week series of discussions offered by the Tulane University Provost's Office, a panel of six discussed the pre-storm environment.

Moderator John "Spud" McConnell, WWL-AM radio personality, who stayed at the radio station through the storm, said many people have asked him what the experience was like. "It shrieked," McConnell said. "Like every hooker on Bourbon Street got stiffed at the same time." Then, McConnell turned serious: "I'm tired of being screwed and I'm not going to be screwed anymore," he said. "I want my tax dollars spent on good levees, I want my coastal wetlands back, and I want our fair share of offshore oil revenues."

That set the tone for the other speakers, including R. King Milling, chair of the Governor's Advisory Commission on Coastal Restoration and Conservation, who spoke about Louisiana wetlands, barrier islands and the condition of the coastline prior to Katrina. Milling said the ecosystem in coastal Louisiana, twice the size of the Everglades, is unlike any other elsewhere in the United States.

Milling said that the wetlands must be protected or "we will lose an additional 500 to 700 square miles in the next 50 years." His commission has been sounding the alarm with the federal government for five years, he said, warning that the infrastructure supporting the city of New Orleans as well as many communities in coastal Louisiana depend upon the wetlands for survival.

"If what happened to Louisiana had happened to any state along the Northeastern coast, it would have been fixed a long time ago," Milling said to applause from the crowd.

Col. Terry Ebbert, director of Homeland Security for the City of New Orleans, presented the city's disaster plans. When McConnell asked Ebbert if he witnessed malfeasance, Ebbert responded that disaster plans at every level of government--local, state and federal--were overwhelmed by the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina and what ensued.

"We moved 1.2 million people out of New Orleans in 48 hours," Ebbert remarked. "I think that's one of the success stories that isn't being told. Houston should be so lucky. We have a great many special needs people, not just the medically needy, but the elderly, the poor. We need to do better."

Now, Ebbert is focusing on improving the city's disaster plan and hopes to involve the U.S. Department of Defense to a greater degree. Ebbert worries that, in the aftermath of Katrina, the city is vulnerable.

"Even a minor storm could be a major disaster now," Ebbert said. "We have 60,000 people living in trailers, and they will need to be evacuated ahead of storms with even 60- to 70-mph winds. We're looking at approximately four times this coming year needing to move, house and feed 60,000 people."

Following Hurricane Katrina, Ebbert said he and city officials expected a federal response within 48 hours, but the aid only began on the fifth day after the storm.

"For the first time in my life, I was ashamed to be an American," Ebbert said.

Other panelists were Dan Milham, chief meteorologist at WDSU-TV; Gregory Breerwood, deputy district engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Douglas Brinkley, director of the Theodore Roosevelt Center for American Civilization at Tulane, who read two dramatic passages from his upcoming book, The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The book will be published by William Morrow on May 1.

In all, 21 different programs will be offered through "Perspectives on Katrina: An Interdisciplinary Series at Tulane University." The programs, facilitated by University College, to be held over a seven-week period, are free and open to the public.

On Tuesday (Feb. 14) at noon, Tulane Law School professor Stephen Griffin will discuss "Katrina and the Constitution: How Our Fundamental Political System Contributed to the Crisis." On Thursday (Feb. 16) at 4 p.m., Dennis Kehoe, chair of the classics department, will talk about "Rebuilding New Orleans: Habitat for Humanity's Operation Home Delivery." Kehoe is a board member for the New Orleans-area Habitat for Humanity.

Other upcoming topics include: "Information Sources and Decision-Making During Hurricane Evacuation," "Disaster Management: Comparing Responses to Katrina and the 2005 Tsunami," "NIMBY (not in my backyard) and New Orleans: Where Will Things Go?" and "Prejudice and Stereotyping Through the Lens of Katrina."

For the series topics and schedule, go to: http://www2.tulane.edu/katrina/perspectives.cfm.