A separate round-up, on hurricane preparedness, is also available. To view leads from scientists and other experts in construction, public safety, disaster response and business, go to http://profnet.prnewswire.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicID =5828.
**1. JEFF JOHNSON, chairman and CEO of CANO PETROLEUM: "Worldwide demand and supply for crude oil is now nearly even at 85 million barrels a day, so the supply 'cushion' that we enjoyed in the past that kept prices low no longer exists. Refining capability to produce more gasoline is at full capacity because America has not built a new refinery since 1976. The U.S. already gets a quarter of its domestic oil production from offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Because Hurricane Katrina has shut down production there and the current refinery bottleneck, oil/gas prices are going to stay high for a long time."
**2. BERNARD L. WEINSTEIN, professor of applied economics and director of the Center for Economic Development and Research at the UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS: "Hurricane Katrina may delay oil production on off-shore drilling rigs, resulting in price hikes of both oil and natural gas. But the hurricane, which may result in millions of private insurance dollars going into the Gulf Coast region, may also stimulate the economy. New purchasing power will flow into the Gulf Coast region for settling damage claims and rebuilding. We see this every time we have a hailstorm in the Dallas-Fort Worth area."
**3. DR. KENNETH B. MEDLOCK III, research fellow in energy studies at RICE UNIVERSITY's Baker Institute for Public Policy: "The impact of Katrina will not be fully understood until after the storm clears the Gulf and complete damage assessments can be made. Short-term prices will probably go up as production drops temporarily. In the longer term, given the amount of producing infrastructure in the offshore East Louisiana area, if the storm causes considerable damage, it would put tremendous upward pressure on oil and natural gas prices for some time."
**4. A.F. ALHAJJI, assistant professor of economics at OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY: "The long-term impact on the oil and natural gas markets will not be only from damaged platforms, but also from several feet of mud that may cover ruptured pipelines. Even without any damage, evacuation, shutdown of production operations and tanker delays will bring prices to new records. A damage similar to that caused by of Ivan will push oil prices above $75. It took more than six months to restore production after hurricane Ivan. Crude oil prices increased by more than $10 within a month after the hurricane hit the Gulf. A major damage to the oil facilities in the Gulf will force the Bush administration to use the SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve)."
**5. DOUG VANGUNDY, entomologist at WELLMARK INTERNATIONAL: "Mosquitoes will likely flourish after Katrina, when rain and floodwaters create new breeding areas in blown over trees, clogged drains and debris. A female mosquito lays up to 300 eggs at once, which can mature in as little as four days. Consumers should be vigilant about protecting themselves. Clothing and insect repellants help prevent mosquito bites. Draining standing water prevents mosquitoes from breeding. In cases where it's undesirable or impossible to eliminate standing water, larviciding -- which kills mosquitoes in their formative stages -- is recommended."
**6. FREDERICK KRIMGOLD, director of the disaster risk reduction program at VIRGINIA TECH, has done work on wind damage following Hurricane Iniki in Hawaii in 1989 and Hurricane Andrew in Florida in 1992. He has worked on cyclone mitigation in Andhra Pradesh, India in 1997. This spring, he was lead investigator on a study of critical infrastructure interdependencies experienced in the four hurricanes that struck Florida in 2004: "Damage and economic impact are closely related. Regional economic impact from major natural disasters is similar for both earthquakes and hurricanes. I have worked on the problem of estimating indirect losses."
**7. MICHAEL CROY, director of business continuity solutions at FORSYTHE TECHNOLOGY: "The Katrina catastrophe is stressing business continuity and disaster recovery plans for all impacted businesses. The risks firms face are not just the obvious ones after a physical outage. For example, SLAs they may have with their customers could have far-reaching impacts not only on the individual business, but on the economy as well. Firms need to begin planning well in advance of an outage; those who haven't developed continuity and recovery plans are going to be in sad shape, facing loss of revenue and market share. The impact is not limited solely to business, but covers the employees and, therefore, local and national economies."
**8. JONATHAN BERNSTEIN, president of BERNSTEIN CRISIS MANAGEMENT LLC and editor of Crisis Manager, an international e-mail newsletter: "Hurricane Katrina, like all major natural disasters, is having, and will continue to have, wide-ranging negative impact on organizations nationwide -- those well outside the physical impact area. There will be disruption in planned commerce, reduced ability to communicate with customers or vendors in the affected area, travel restrictions, emotional distress on the part of individuals with friends and relatives in the impact area, etc. Wise CEOs will have planned for this contingency in advance and thus minimize damage."
**9. MIKE SULLIVAN, co-founder of VERICENTER, is a leading IT disaster recovery expert and can discuss how major corporations in the New Orleans area can protect their IT infrastructures from disastrous events: "To ensure business continuity, many major corporations are relying on third-party providers, like VeriCenter, to keep their IT systems humming by deploying dual-site redundancy through data center locations. Same goes if systems break down -" back-up systems deploy transparently."
**10. RAY DUFRESNE, vice president of consulting services for VFA, INC., which provides facilities with condition assessments services/software (disaster planning included) to manage two billion square feet of real estate, is available to speak to the economic impact of Hurricane Katrina on state and local facilities management budgets: "Evaluating hurricane damage can be a daunting task. One method, used by VFA user NOAA, is to conduct quick field evaluations to triage the most significant damage."
**11. ROBERT W. KLEIN, director of the risk management and insurance department at GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY: "Hurricane Katrina may be the most expensive hurricane ever to hit the United States, costing insurers as much as $25 billion."
**12. DR. ROBERT R. BUTTERWORTH, California-based psychologist at INTERNATIONAL TRAUMA ASSOCIATES, has treated victims of disasters and can discuss the psychological trauma that could impair productivity and general economic health in wide regions: "Adult stress symptoms include anxiety, depression, insomnia, irritability, impairment in concentration, loss of productivity, feelings of sadness and gloom, and the tendency to link the hurricane and floods to other traumatic events in their life. Those individuals who recover the quickest from the psychological effects of disasters are those who are able to verbalize their feelings with others."
**13. DR. DAVID SATTLER, professor of psychology at WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, has researched survivors' psychological responses to natural disasters since Hurricane Hugo in 1989: "Our research shows that disruption of people's daily routine is one of the most significant factors influencing mental health. The disorientation that people experience when their neighborhood or community has been severely damaged by a hurricane seems to have a stronger psychological impact than the loss of material possessions." Most recently, Sattler traveled to the site of the Dec. 26 tsunami to study post-traumatic growth and resiliency.
**14. PHYLLIS BRASCH LIBRACH, president and founder of SYDNEYSCLOSET.COM, a niche retailer that sells special occasion dresses in sizes 14 to 44 to plus- size teens and women around the world: "In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, businesses online could benefit as residents of the ravaged regions along the Gulf Coast find local retail stores shuttered for days or even weeks. Shoppers who can't come into stores will still be able to click -" as long as they can get access to the Internet. In the wake of the devastation, it will be more important than ever for people to celebrate once-in-a-lifetime events, such as a wedding, homecoming, quinceanrea, sweet sixteen or bar/bat mitzvah, as they face the emotional hurdles of rebuilding their lives."
**15. RICK HORROW, sports business analyst at CNN, NFL facilities consultant and CEO of HORROW SPORTS VENTURES, can discuss the role of community stadiums and arenas during natural disasters and the impact on future facilities/public infrastructure planning. Horrow can comment on how stadiums/arenas become emergency rallying points during natural disasters, e.g., Katrina, 2003, San Diego fires; stadium/arena planning, design, construction, evacuation planning, location and traffic flow; new technologies used in stadium/arena design that take into account disaster planning; and personal experiences, including weathering Hurricane Frances, which he experienced personally last year from his home in Jupiter Fla., and working with Palm Beach County on future disaster planning.
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