Go Lean Commentary
As of this moment (August 28 – 29, 2015), there is a Tropical Storm – Erika – barreling through the Caribbean. So far, it has been deadly, with reports of fatalities in the islands of Dominica and Puerto Rico. See story/VIDEO here:
VIDEO 1: Tropical storm Erika nears US, destruction in its wake
Posted Friday Aug 28, 2015 from: http://www.today.com/video/tropical-storm-erika-nears-us-destruction-in-its-wake-514916419548
The effects of tropical storm Erika are already being felt in Puerto Rico, after the storm left four people dead and more missing on the Caribbean island of Dominica. Janet Shamlian reports and TODAY’s Al Roker takes us through the storm’s projected path.
This storm is not done yet, more damage to persons and property is expected – it is expected to elevate to hurricane status by Sunday.
Welcome to the Caribbean 2015 …
… the greatest address on the planet?!?!
Why would anyone campaign to assume the stewardship of this archipelago of islands?
This is the “siren song” of the book Go Lean … Caribbean. The publishers and underlying Foundation are petitioning for a leadership role in the economic, security and governing engines of the region. Why?
There is no insanity! This is an expression of love for the homeland. The 30 member-states of the Caribbean are home to 42 million people, and a Diaspora of 10 million; plus 80 million visitors annually.
This is the greatest address on the planet!
Plus, everywhere has natural disasters to contend with. This fact relates to rich countries and poor alike. For example, take the United States; they are the richest Single Market economy in the world and yet their coastal city of New Orleans Louisiana (NOLA) was devastated by Hurricane Katrina 10 years ago … to the day (August 29, 2005). Their riches did not spare their devastation, nor did the riches facilitate best-practices in terms of response, relief and rebuilding. New Orleans is marking the anniversary of Katrina’s devastation and the lessons learned from the aftermath. See story/VIDEO here:
VIDEO 2: Both Progress and Stumbling Blocks Linger a Decade After Katrina
Posted Friday, Aug 28, 2015 from: http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/both-progress-and-stumbling-blocks-linger-a-decade-after-katrina-515371587753
Ten years later, after Hurricane Katrina many of those who left have returned and while tourist sections of the city have been rebuilt, recovery in areas like the Lower Ninth ward is slow.
There is a lesson for the Caribbean in considering the history of ‘Katrina’: There is a parallel cause-and-effect to Tropical Storm Erika and all subsequent storms: Climate Change.
In the last few decades, major devastating storms have proliferated every year … somewhere … in the Northern Hemisphere. This commentary has detailed other cases; see sample here:
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4741 | Vanuatu and Tuvalu – Inadequate response to post-storm suffering |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2465 | Book Review: ‘This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate’ |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1817 | Caribbean grapples with intense new cycles of flooding & drought |
These commentaries, and the Go Lean book, all assert that Climate Change cannot be ignored. Even though there be deniers of any man-made causes, the reality of these storms challenge the realities of Caribbean life.
It is what it is!
The region has been warned: Prepare!
The book Go Lean … Caribbean delved into details of the Katrina lessons in application to the Caribbean. This is an excerpt from Page 184:
The Bottom Line on Hurricane Katrina
Katrina was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the US. At least 1,833 people died in the hurricane and subsequent floods; total property damage was estimated at $81 billion. The hurricane strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane over the warm Gulf water, but weakened before making its landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on the morning of Monday, August 29 in southeast Louisiana. It caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas, much of it due to the storm surge. The most significant number of deaths occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, which flooded as the levee system catastrophically failed, 53 different breaches, in the hours after the storm had moved inland. Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks.The economic effects of the storm were far-reaching. The Administration of President George W. Bush sought $105 billion for repairs and reconstruction in the region, which did not account for damage to the economy caused by interruption of the oil & natural gas supply, destruction of the GulfCoast’s highway infrastructure, and exports of commodities such as forestry and grain. Plus, hundreds of thousands of local residents were left unemployed, Before the hurricane, the region supported over one million non-farm jobs, with 600,000 of them in New Orleans. It is estimated that the total economic impact in Louisiana and Mississippi exceeded $150 billion, as Katrina redistributed over one million people from the central Gulf coast elsewhere across the United States, which became the largest Diaspora in the history of the US.
Within days of Katrina’s August 29, 2005 landfall, public debate arose about the local, state and federal governments’ role in the preparations for and response to the hurricane. Criticism was initially prompted by televised images of visibly shaken and frustrated political leaders, and of residents who remained stranded by flood waters without water, food or shelter. Deaths from thirst, exhaustion, and violence, days after the storm had passed, fueled the criticism, as did the dilemma of the evacuees at ill-prepared shelter facilities (i.e. the Super Dome, LouisArmstrongInternationalAirport). Some alleged that race, class, and other factors could have contributed to delays in response. President Bush later called the criticism, directed towards him, (particularly by Hip-Hop recording artist Kanye West), the worst moment in his presidency, being unjustly accused of racism.
The Super Dome in New Orleans – The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
This is the purpose of the Go Lean roadmap. It introduces the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) to prepare Caribbean society for the eventual devastation of these Climate-Change-induced weather systems, such as Katrina was for New Orleans, Louisiana. We do not have the luxury of “sticking our head in the sand” and pretending that these problems will simply go away – the conclusion of many observers of the Katrina Crisis on NOLA. This point is pronounced early in the book with this Declaration of Interdependence (Page 11), with this opening statement:
i. Whereas the earth’s climate has undeniably changed resulting in more severe tropical weather storms, it is necessary to prepare to insure the safety and security of life, property and systems of commerce in our geographical region. As nature recognizes no borders in the target of its destruction, we also must set aside border considerations in the preparation and response to these weather challenges.
The CU will implement optimized Emergency Management schemes to provide better stewardship for the region’s preparation and response to natural disasters; (in addition to hurricanes, there is the need to monitor earthquakes, volcanoes, floods and droughts in the regions). In addition, the CU will assume jurisdiction for the Caribbean Sea, the 1,063,000 square-mile international waters, as an Exclusive Economic Zone. These preparations and mitigations will allow for better cooperation, collaboration and equalization in the region. The CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:
- Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
- Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines, including the Emergency Management apparatus.
- Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.
The Go Lean book details the community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies necessary to impact the homeland in this age of Climate Change. Consider the list as follows:
| Profile – Who We Are: SFE Foundation | Page 8 |
| Economic Principles – People Choose because Resources are Limited | Page 21 |
| Economic Principles – All Choices Involve Costs | Page 21 |
| Economic Principles – People Respond to Incentives | Page 21 |
| Economic Principles – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices | Page 21 |
| Economic Principles – Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Job Multiplier | Page 22 |
| Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens | Page 23 |
| Community Ethos – Lean Operations | Page 24 |
| Community Ethos – Return on Investments (ROI) | Page 24 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future | Page 26 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing | Page 35 |
| Community Ethos – Impact the Greater Good | Page 37 |
| Anecdote – Pipeline Transport – Strategies, Tactics & Implementations | Page 43 |
| Strategy – Vision – Confederating 30 Member-states in a Union | Page 45 |
| Strategy – Agents of Change – Technology | Page 57 |
| Strategy – Agents of Change – Globalization | Page 57 |
| Strategy – Agents of Change – Climate Change | Page 57 |
| Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy | Page 64 |
| Tactical – Growing Economy – Quicker Recoveries; Less Economic Bubbles | Page 69 |
| Separation of Powers – Homeland Security Department – Emergency Management Agency | Page 76 |
| Separation of Powers – Interior Department – Exclusive Economic Zone | Page 82 |
| Assemble – Consolidating Disaster Preparation & Response | Page 96 |
| Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change – Homeland Security – Hurricane Insurance Fund | Page 101 |
| Implementation – Benefits from the Exclusive Economic Zone | Page 104 |
| Implementation – Ways to Develop a Pipeline Industry – To Mitigate Natural Disaster Effects | Page 107 |
| Implementation – Ways to Deliver | Page 109 |
| Planning – 10 Big Ideas – Integrated Homeland Security efforts | Page 127 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy – Quick Recovery from Natural Disasters | Page 151 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs | Page 152 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract – Infrastructure | Page 170 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Ways to Impact Public Works – Inter-State Pipelines | Page 175 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Foster Cooperatives | Page 176 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Natural Disasters – Hurricane Katrina Case Study | Page 184 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact Extractions – Inter-State Pipeline Strategy Alignment | Page 195 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Improve Emergency Management | Page 196 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology | Page 197 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Ways to Improve Monopolies – Foster Cooperatives for Better Recoveries | Page 202 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Improve Transportation – Pipeline Options | Page 205 |
It is time for change in the Caribbean! It is time to change our preparations and our responses to these natural disasters. The strategies, tactics and implementations proposed in the book Go Lean…Caribbean are conceivable, believable and achievable. We must do these! We must do better.
Everyone in the Caribbean are hereby urged to lean-in for this Go Lean roadmap. 🙂