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As a participant in the NOLA Anthropocene Campus, I have gained insights on how communities, stewards, and managers of ecosystems in New Orleans have rolled out forms of interspecies care vis-à-vis ongoing environmental changes, coastal erosion, climate catastrophes and their deeply present and current effects (i.e., the 2010 BP oil disaster). Whilst much analytical lens has been given to geospatial changes in the study of the Anthropocene, here, I focus on how relations to non-human beings, also threatened by the changing tides of NOLA’s waterscapes, can enrich our understanding of such global transformations.

After disasters like Katrina, urban floodwaters harbored many hidden perils in the form of microbes that cause disease. Pathogenic bacterial exposure occurred when wastewater treatment plants and underground sewage got flooded, thus affecting the microbial landscape of New Orleans and increasing the potential of public health risks throughout Southern Louisiana. But one need not wait for a disaster event like Katrina to face these perils. Quotidian activities like decades of human waste and sewage pollution have contaminated public beaches now filled with lurking microbes. Even street puddle waters, such as those found on Bourbon Street, contain unsanitary bacteria level from years of close human exploitation of horses and inadequate drainage in 100-year old thoroughfares. More recently, microbial ecologies have also changed in the Gulf of Mexico due to the harnessing of energy resources like petroleum. Lush habitats for countless species are more and more in danger sounding the bells of extinction for the imperiled southern wild.

Human-alteration has severely damaged the wetland marshes and swamps that would have protected New Orleans from drowning in the water surge that Hurricane Katrina brought from the Gulf of Mexico. The latter is something that lifelong residents (i.e., indigenous coastal groups) of the Mississippi River Mouth have been pointing to for a  long time. Over the past century, the river delta’s “natural” infrastructure has been altered by the leveeing of the Mississippi River. Consequently, much of the silt and sediments that would generally run south and deposit in the river mouth to refeed the delta get siphoned off earlier upstream by various irrigation systems.

While some actors see it as a futile effort, there have been many proposals to restore the Mississippi River Delta. For instance, the aerial planting of mangrove seeds has even been recommended to help protect the struggling marshes and Louisiana’s coastal region. Tierra Resources, a wetland’s restoration company, proposed that bombing Lousiana’s coast with mangrove seeds could save it. Mangrove root systems are especially useful in providing structures to trap sediments and provide habitats for countless species. Additionally, mangroves have been touted as highly efficient species in carbon sequestration, thus taking carbon dioxide out of the biosphere.

Species diffusion into new environments has been of great concern for the different lifeways these soggy localities sustain, whether human or non-human. Many so-called “invasive species” have been identified throughout the river delta by researchers at the Center for Bioenvironmental Research hosted by Tulane and Xavier University. Such species have disrupted local ecological relations and practices and have had profound economic effects. Some plants have even entirely blocked waterways in the swamps and estuaries where salt and freshwater mix. 

Louisiana’s humid subtropical climate, and the diverse ecosystems therein, also warrant attention in that they can incubate some of the world’s deadliest parasites and other microbes. Of particular concern would be some of today's Neglected Tropical Diseases (i.e., Chagas, Cysticercosis, Dengue fever, Leishmaniasis, Schistosomiasis, Trachoma, Toxocariasis, and West Nile virus) often perceived as only affecting tropical regions of Latin America and revealing the enduring legacies of colonial health disparities.

How and when are seemingly quotidian events and upsets understood as not isolated but rather as produced in conjunction with other anthropocenics worldwide? What roles will interspecies relations and forms of care play as we cope with further anthropocenic agitation?

NOLA’s oldest tree, McDonogh Oak in City Park, 800 years old: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK9YoGpng_c&t=0s

Other trees in New Orleans: https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/new-orleans-louisiana/trees

This study was written by Kota Katanoda et al and recently published in 2016. The article is published by JJCO (Japanese journal of Clinical Oncology.) This journal publishes many works involving cancer studies and epidemiological studies analyzing the distribution of cancers. This journal focuses on oncology and the medical aspects of causes and effects based off radiation exposure, surgeries mainly focused on effects seen on Asian countries and citizens. The journal focuses on all types of cancers and publishes meta-analyses, as well as systematic reviews of risks that patients face post or pre surgery in terms of cancer, as well as possible reactions to disasters or radiation exposure. This journal has numerous publications as well as has ties to the Oxford Journals, it is regarded as a dependable and noteworthy journal for clinical oncology by peers. It is edited by Tadao Kakizoe and was established in 1971.

The argument is supported through the use of other work by professionals in this field and on this topic, which corroborate the author's own findings and provide material support for his arguments. Secondly, case studies along with statistics and data are provided along with stories of patients and their experiences in Ankara. Along with interviews and statistics, an in depth background is also provided by the author in which he analyzes the meaning of narrative and explains its connection with culture. 

American Red Cross is comprised of volunteers. According to their website, 90% of all their humanitarian work is done by volunteers. People of all backgrounds and abilities volunteer and respond to emergencies- from ordinary people to veterans to doctors. These volunteers help overseas, locally through blood drives, fundraising and in areas of crisis. 

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act is a law requiring that anyone coming into the emergency department will be stabilized and treated no matter what their insurance situation is. In terms of women's health, it is important to note that this means for active labors, medical treatment is necessary and required, no matter the health insurance of the patient. The purpose of this law to prevent certain patients from being turned away in an emergency situation or refused medical treatments if they are unable to pay, putting their health at risk.

I would say the average community member is the main intended audience of this documentary, due to the fact that those in the general public can see themselves as being in the same situation. Most of those in the public aren't medically educated and the responses seen in Libera is the same that many of those would have in other general populations of other countries and locations. Due to the lack of scientific research and statistical analysis in the documentary, I would say that this documentary was meant to appeal to the general average person and not scientists, scholars or experts on the topic of disease containment. 

I further researched some of the articles and works cited throughout the paper to read up more on the backgrounds of the papers. I also looked at statistics on violence and healthcare service delivery as well as stories and past instances of attacks and other forms of violence on workers in the health field and humanitarian sectors. 

The author discusses and analyzes the 9/11 collapse and compares it to other historical disasters in terms of causes as well as the influences of the clashing of power as well as attributions of responsibility. The author goes thorough numerous different historical events in which the underlying forms of politics, power and public/society influences are discussed. Finally, the last event discussed is the World Trade Center. The author discusses the fireproofing material surrounding the beams in the towers, how exit strategies failed, and the remarkable fact that the towers withstood being struck by large jets. He noted, that the buildings might have continued to stand if it weren't for the fires that we couldn't put out and the 2000F temperature reached. Then he brings up the point about how this same situation can affect other sky scrapers in NY. The politics as well as memorial funding is also discussed toward the end of this paper as well. 

Participants complete a 30 minute in person or telephone interview. They offer information about their mental health and physical health (the questions they are asked can be found here: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/911health/downloads/pdf/wtc/wtc-questionnair….) Information is also gathered about where they were during the attacks, as well as their level of exposure to rubble and smoke etc. After this initial interview, there are waves 2-4 of interviews. These consisted of follow up questions as well as more in depth questions about hospitalization, health conditions, and symptoms.