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Why is the rate of incarceration in Louisiana so high? How do we critique the way prisons are part of infrastructural solutions to anthropocenic instabilities? As Angela Davis writes, “prisons do not disappear social problems, they disappear human beings. Homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mental illness, and illiteracy are only a few of the problems that disappear from public view when the human beings contending with them are relegated to cages.” One way of imagining and building a vision of an anti-carceral future is practiced in the Solitary Gardens project here in New Orleans: 

The Solitary Gardens are constructed from the byproducts of sugarcane, cotton, tobacco and indigo- the largest chattel slave crops- which we grow on-site, exposing the illusion that slavery was abolished in the United States. The Solitary Gardens utilize the tools of prison abolition, permaculture, contemplative practices, and transformative justice to facilitate exchanges between persons subjected to solitary confinement and volunteer proxies on the “outside.” The beds are “gardened” by prisoners, known as Solitary Gardeners, through written exchanges, growing calendars and design templates. As the garden beds mature, the prison architecture is overpowered by plant life, proving that nature—like hope, love, and imagination—will ultimately triumph over the harm humans impose on ourselves and on the planet.

"Nature" here is constructed in a very particularistic way: as a redemptive force to harness in opposition to the wider oppressive system the architecture of a solitary confinement cell is a part of. It takes a lot of intellectual and political work to construct a counter-hegemonic nature, in other words. Gardeners in this setting strive toward a cultivation of relations antithetical to the isolationist, anti-collective sociality prisons (and in general, a society in which prisons are a permanent feature of crisis resolution) foster.

My interest in NOLA anthropocenics pivots on water, and particularly the ways in which capitalist regimes of value and waste specify, appropriate, and/or externalize forms of water. My research is concerned with water crises more generally, and geographically situated in Flint, Michigan. I thought I could best illustrate these interests with a sampling of photographs from a summer visit to NOLA back in 2017. At the time, four major confederate monuments around the city had just been taken down. For supplemental reading, I'm including an essay from political theorist Adolph Reed Jr. (who grew up in NOLA) that meditates on the long anti-racist struggle that led to this possibility, and flags the wider set of interventions that are urgently required to abolish the landscape of white supremacy. 

Flooded street after heavy rains due to failures of city pumping infrastructure.

A headline from the same week in the local press.

Some statues are gone but other monuments remain (this one is annotated).

A Starbucks in Lakeview remembering Katrina--the line signifies the height of the water at the time.

Reading:

Adolph Reed Jr., “Monumental Rubbish” https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/06/25/monumental-rubbish-statues-torn-down-what-next-new-orleans

P.S. In case the photos don't show up in the post I'm attaching them in a PDF document as well! 

The IAEA’s approach is to be a friend of the countries and nuclear partners of those countries which hold IAEA membership. One of the IAEA’s missions is to promote nuclear power while on the other hand its other mission is to promote safety and check adherence to the nuclear treaties, agreements, and standards.

Interviews, data analysis, outside studies and research are all used to formulate the arguments in this article.

1) “When tuberculosis treatment fails. A social behavioral account of patient adherence.” By Sumartojo E. Describes the demographic and cultural factors in monitoring and improving adherence to TB regiments.

2) “Racial differences in the use of drug therapy for HIV disease in an urban community.” By Moore RD, Stanton D, Gopalan R, Chaisson RE. Blacks were found to be less likely to receive therapy than whites even when gender, social status, age, and place of residence had no effect on variation in treatment. In emergency response, a similar issue is possible.

3) “Women's voices rise as Rwanda reinvents itself” by Lacey M. This article helps in understanding the long term effects emergencies leave on a country, namely the Rwanda Genocide of 1994. 

This policy applies to all persons residing (regardless of legal status) in the U.S. and any of its territories as well as the District of Columbia who require medical screening examinations as outlined in the act or treatment for an emergency medical condition. 

1) Culling animals to control disease outbreak. World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) (http://www.oie.int/doc/ged/D2704.PDF)

2) Main bio-threats to US national security. Department of Homeland Security (DHS): (https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/prep_biological_fact_sheet.pdf)

3) Main bio-threats to developing countries. The National Academies Press: (https://www.nap.edu/read/12596/chapter/5#48)

 “From the first moments to the last, however, their efforts were plagued by failures of communication, command and control.” This main point is supported in several ways. The police helicopters said that the collapse of the towers was “imminent” a full 20 minutes before the south tower fell and an hour and 29 minutes before the north tower. Most firefighters in the north tower did not even know that the south tower had fallen. Most fighter fighters did not recall ever hearing the dispatch to evacuate the north tower despite multiple broadcasts. The chain of command and orderly response also failed. First responders ignored and disobeyed orders to wait to respond until called upon. Some self-dispatched taking taxis, driving themselves, and hoping on other departments’ rigs. “Discipline Broke Down In Eagerness to Help”. The police commissioner, Bernard B. Kerik, did not even know that there were any serious communication issues between the agencies. Assistant Chief Joseph Callan ordered an evacuation of the north tower at 9:32 am, almost a full hour before it fell, but few ever received this command. These failures resulted in the needless loss of life and a response that could have been far better.

Hailey-Means was incarcerated at Rikers and provides an inside view of the deteriorating conditions of the facility.

Freddie McGrier talked about the extreme heat the cells faced in the warm season and the dangers to his life that he faced because of his heart condition. Johnny Perez echoed Freddie’s input. Susi Vassallo, who is professor at NY University Medical School, deemed the heat conditions a serious threat to the health of the inmates.

Omar Smith, also incarcerated at Rikers, has developed asthma during his sentence which is likely due to the poisonous gases released by the decomposing landfill under the prison.

Michael Bloomberg was Mayor of NYC during the Sandy super-storm and while he announced a plan for the evacuation of the surrounding islands there was not one for Rikers.

The New York Times is also referenced in the article for their reports on the prison’s poor welfare.  

There are four different levels to the Disaster Resilience Leadership certification. Level 1 is Strengthening Existing Leadership Capacity. Level 2 is Building Organizational Efficacy. Level 3 is Creating Future DRL Leaders. Level 4 is Global DRL Network.  It is a 6 day workshop.