1. Don't laugh at the effects of Global Warming.
2. Don't live in a coastal hurricane zone.
3. If you do live in a coastal hurricane zone, try not to live in a city built on a swamp below sea level.
*4. Don't think federal and state authorities have prepared for a natural disaster or have reacted to repeated warnings.
5. Don't expect help to come quickly after you lose everything.
6. Above all, don't be poor (or black, or both):
-- you won't be able to evacuate in time;
-- shelter arrangements will be minimal;
-- nobody will help you for days;
-- armed police and military will arrive before food and water.
7. Reconsider what the Iraqis have been going through since March 2003.
* Rescue workers have named the 80% of New Orleans that is underwater Lake George.
