Katrina's Long-Term Effects: UM Expert Panel

WHAT:
Experts from several fields will survey the short- and long-term effects of Hurricane Katrina, including the impact on the environment, economy and race relations:

Environmental concerns include the long-term vulnerability of the Gulf region and other parts of the country, such as the Chesapeake Bay area, to rising sea levels, climate change and the loss of wetlands; also Katrina-related coastal erosion illustrated with before-and-after satellite images.
Economic concerns include estimates of the national economic impact of Katrina-related disruptions and damage, as well as the impact of extraordinary government spending to rebuild; impact on the Gulf region, its communities and residents.
Racial concerns: was race a factor in the government's response?
Social concerns include the long-term impact of large-scale population movements from the area, a demographic and sociological profile of the New Orleans and Gulf Coast population, as well as an analysis of lawlessness and the breakdown of authority in the hardest hit areas.

Presentations by panelists will last for about one hour and will be followed by 30 minutes of audience and media questions. The program is sponsored by the University of Maryland College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

WHO:
Panelists (in order of presentation):
Michael Kearney, University of Maryland geography professor and expert in coastal change and ecology, climate change and satellite imaging (environmental impact);
Jeffrey Werling, economist and director of INFORUM, a University of Maryland economic forecasting center (economic impact);
William Falk, University of Maryland professor and chair of sociology, an expert in the Southern U.S. who has researched the reverse migration of African Americans to the South and the importance of a sense of community there (social impact);
Sally Simpson, University of Maryland chair of criminology, whose expertise includes the relationship between race, class, gender and crime (lawlessness);
Linda Williams, University of Maryland professor of government and politics, an expert in race issues and discrimination (racial concerns).

WHEN:
Thursday, September 22 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Colony Ball Room, Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland, College Park

05134