Mississippi Still a Great Place to Live by Joe Fitzgerald

Shock and disbelief - that's what the world felt when the Katrina disaster unfolded in the Gulf Coast of United States. Generations of effort and sacrifices were destroyed in a wink of the eye. And so were destroyed the hopes and aspirations of the current generation caught up in this devastating hurricane.

As the true extent of the damage from Hurricane Katrina became more evident, news anchors and commentators began asking whether or not places like Mississippi could ever possibly recover. Still others began to wonder, as in the case with New Orleans, whether it was even wise to think about rebuilding in an area known to be prone to hurricanes.

Hats off to the indomitable will of citizens of the United States, particularly those living in the great state of Mississippi, they do not accept defeat so easily. No doubt, it will take many years, if not decades, to recover from the damage and destruction, but they will recover, and some forms of recovery will have to occur at a faster pace than others due to their importance to the health of Mississippi and that of the United States itself.

The state of Mississippi is clearly the gatekeeper for the mighty Mississippi river. This river is an economic necessity to the vitality of the United States and indeed to the state of Mississippi itself. The river is used as a transportation conduit that sends millions of tons of products up the river every year. Hurricane Katrina temporarily impaired the ability of people to use the Mississippi for transportation services and thus severely impaired the local and national economy.

Mississippi is also very important to the nation's energy production. It has several refineries in the state that are responsible for converting crude oil into gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products. Hurricane Katrina's destruction not only harmed the local Mississippi economy, but it also did some major damage to the nation as a whole.

In the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, energy prices shot up due to the severe disruption to refining capacity at the time when the nation was struggling to cope with the devastation. Almost 25 percent of the nation's petroleum comes from the Gulf Coast states and Mississippi is vital to that industry. In fact, 80% of Mississippi's total mineral production comes from petroleum and its products.

The destruction to the offshore fishing industry in Mississippi was also devastating to the state but it did not have anywhere near the impact as the loss of the refining facilities. Biloxi is a major hub for the shrimp industry and it was virtually wiped out by Katrina.

But no matter how terrible the destruction of Hurricane Katrina was, the state will not only survive, it will eventually thrive. The money being used to rebuild the Gulf Coast states like Mississippi that were damaged by the hurricane will ultimately create a stronger state with an even brighter economic future.

About the author: Wilma Larwill is the chief writer at At Mississippi, there's a wealth of knowledge on the website, plus while you're there sign up for the free newsletter. For more quality articles on Mississippi why not visit: http://www.atmississippi.com/articles
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