Sept.9 - Okaloosa County School system announced that over 700 students from hurricane-ravaged areas of Mississippi and Louisiana have enrolled in Okaloosa schools in the first week of September, the highest of any county in the state of Florida. In response to the need of the large number of evacuees seeking shelter in Florida, Governor Jeb Bush waived state documentation requirements for enrollment in Florida public schools. Waivers by the state and local school boards will ensure that thousands of displaced children will continue to advance in their education.

Sept. 12 - Gulfarium begins installation of new tanks for the Turtle Stranding Network. Over the years, many different species of marine turtles have been rescued and rehabilitated at the Gulfarium. The ultimate goal of rehabilitation is eventual release of the turtle back into the wild. Many turtles have been successfully treated and released by Gulfarium’s hardworking and caring staff. The new tanks will enhance Gulfarium’s ability to care for these endangered marine animals.

Sept. 17 - Over 70 sailboats make the 100 mile trek around Santa Rosa Island in the 25th Annual ‘Round the Island Race. The race begins at Okaloosa Island on the bay. The race is open to all multihull sailboats 16' or more that can clear the 48' bridge heights along the route. Call Sandy Zevin, 850-244-0755 for more info.

September - Florida assists Katrina-ravaged areas of Mississippi and Louisiana… before the middle of September, Florida had already committed or given nearly $100 million of assistance to Katrina affected communities. Aid from state, county, and city agencies in Florida include:

Over 3700 responders , including Florida National Guard, state and local law enforcement officers, health care and emergency medical professionals, Florida emergency incident response professionals, as well as hundreds of individuals from dozens of other state and local agencies; and

5,500,000 gallons of water

4,000,000 pounds of ice

Nearly 1,000,000 cases of food

A 1000-person self-contained base camp

190 forklifts

76 generators

197 pallet jacks

143 light towers

27 pumps

500 satellite tracking systems

And much more

Sept. 8 - Louisiana officials announced that the commercial seafood industry in the Katrina-effected areas of the state was probably almost completely destroyed. The state produces more seafood than any other of the lower 48 states. The estimated losses to the state’s fisheries and related industries could come to well over $1 billion dollars in the coming months. Increasing pressure from fewer seafood processors, cheaper imports, and a lack of affordable labor had already reduced the number of commercial fisherman by 50% in recent years. Experts believe that, with hurricane Katrina’s added devastating impact, Louisiana’s commercial seafood industry may never fully recover.

Aug. 30 - Despite lacking any convincing evidence, newspapers and environmental extremists around the world claim that hurricane Katrina’s devastating impact on America’s Gulf Coast was caused by human-induced global warming. This view is supported by two simple facts: recently warmer sea-surface temperatures are certain to fuel stronger tropical cyclones, and there seems to be a trend in recent decades of more frequent and stronger storms. However, the recently discovered North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) provides a far better explanation for recent storm trends than does global warming. The NAO is a strongly dominant variable pattern of air circulation over the northern Atlantic Ocean. The NAO has been shown to exist since prehistoric times before human activities could have significantly effected global climate. The past 30 years have seen the NAO enter a so-called “positive phase” which is characterized by conditions which are more favorable to hurricane formation and strengthening. Since the length and frequency of NAO phases are highly variable, it is not known how much longer the current positive phase will last. The next negative phase of the NAO should bring relatively fewer and weaker hurricanes than in the current period.

Sept. 12 - Crude oil futures have dropped as much as $10 a barrel since peaking at over $70 the day after hurricane Katrina shut down Gulf of Mexico oil production and severely damaged or cut off electricity to oil platforms, pipelines, and refineries. The Gulf produces about one-quarter of the nation’s oil and natural gas. As of September 10, 120 Gulf oil and gas platforms were still shut down and about 60% of crude oil production was still blocked. Additionally, four major refineries, accounting for 5% of US gasoline production, will remain shut for weeks or even months. While this loss is only about 1% of global production, recent rapidly growing gas and oil demand in China and developing nations has put extreme pressure on the global oil market, causing gasoline shortages and higher prices at the pump.

Crude and gas prices are expected to drop moderately as Gulf of Mexico production ramps up in the coming months. 2004 also saw higher crude and gasoline prices worldwide due to damage to the Gulf oil industry infrastructure after hurricane Ivan hit the Florida Gulf Coast nearly a year ago.