Hasta La Gadget!

In the days following Hurricane Sandy, politicians, activists and civilians alike jumped into action on recovery efforts. Local governments brainstormed ways to fix failing infrastructure, while people across the nation discussed the need for an epistemological shift on a federal level.

Now, a mere two weeks after one of the most destructive U.S. storms ever hit the East Coast, that momentum is fading. In the above video from Democracy Now, Naomi Klein, the award-winning author of “The Shock Doctrine,” discusses how we should not, and cannot, let go of this opportunity. “Here we have a crisis that was supposed to be a wake up call about climate change. And it was, for a little while,” she explains. “Yet when we think about reconstruction, we are talking about how to hold back the next storm, not how to prevent the storms from continuing to escalate.”

Klein cites increasing transit fare as proof that government is not really taking environmental issues seriously enough. “What should be happening in response to [Sandy]… is saying not only do you not want fare increases, but public transit in a moment like this should be free,” she insists. “We should be developing policy that encourages the maximum number of people not to use cars.”

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