With the decidedly negative (and disappointingly political) tone of the threads that have been started thus far on Hurricane Katrina, I think the focus really needs to get back to the task at hand, which is helping the recovery efforts. Sitting from behind a keyboard and arguing about who's at fault just seems like a tasteless exercise with all the misery on the ground in LA, MS, and AL. At least we have the option of logging on and making whatever remarks we want to make. We're not the ones who are cutoff from the rest of the world, trapped by flood waters, deprived of water or food, or sitting in a shelter with the clothes on our backs as our only worldly possessions.

For anyone who wants to help, the American Red Cross will accept donations as small as $5. Thus far they have sheltered 135,000 people and have dispatched emergency vehicles from all over the country, including the local chapter in the Bay Area. With the number of people displaced and homeless, the Red Cross efforts will obviously be needed for a long time. In addition to donating money, disasters also put strains on blood banks, so if you live close to Red Cross or other local blood donation center, that's another way to help.

Summary of Red Cross recovery efforts

http://www.redcross.org

Another problem that's only beginning to get reported is with pets who have been left behind. As a pet owner, I know how much a part of the family they can be, and thousands of familiies have been forced to leave their pets behind. Some pet owners already chose to euthanize their pets in makeshift gas chambers before getting transported to shelters where they cannot take their pets. The U.S. Humane Society has crews on the ground with search and rescue teams to recover stray pets. They're only now getting underway in New Orleans, and recovered 130 pets in Gulfport yesterday. They will also accept donations as small as $10 to assist their rescue efforts. Petfinder has posted a special Hurricane Katrina section on its site where owners can locate rescued dogs and cats.

AP article on the problem with abandoned pets

http://www.hsus.org