From Category 5 to Category Gone

This is the last day of the official Hurricane Season for the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico. Florida was devastated by hurricanes in 2004 and 2005, but predictions of more to come did not materialize for the last two years. While Mexico and Central America have been hit very hard by Dean and Felix, the Southeastern United States was hardly ruffled. One sign of growing complacency is that one in five insurance policies sold after Katrina are not being renewed. Emergency planners are worked up about public apathy and overconfidence, and the Miami Herald is warning its readers, "Don't get complacent." What about New Orleans? Mark Schleifstein is an environmental reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune.