Three months ago, on the night of May 4, a massive tornado leveled the small town of Greensburg, Kansas. "Leveled" is not too strong a word. Almost nothing was left standing and ten people were killed in this rural community of 1500.
Within days, a fascinating dream emerged from the rubble. From local leaders, to an architect in Wichita, to Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius, the dream took form: Greensburg could rebuild as a model for "green" construction, a visionary example of an ecologically friendly town. I diaried this on May 12, in "Green Dream for Post-Tornado Greensburg, Kansas."
Three months later, the update takes a strange twist. The Discovery Channel, partnering with Leonardo DiCaprio, has proposed a reality show called "Eco-Town", thirteen segments documenting how Greensburg goes "green".
McClatchy has the story, as of August 4, three months to the day after the tornado. (Link to the story is from the Kansas City Star.) My local rag waited nine days to run it, then put it on the front page this morning... go figure.
According to the article, the situation on the ground looks something like this:
About 90 percent of the debris has been hauled off. The water is drinkable and has been for weeks. Four businesses are up and running, and frames of new houses are cropping up. Permanent electricity across town is expected by the end of the year. The grocery store has confirmed it will rebuild. Nearly 300 people are living in FEMA trailers and 100 more in other parts of town.
Rebuilding "green" isn't something that everyone is excited about. Some residents are concerned about the expense and the red tape, and just want their old lives back again. The town's new mayor, though, is among those determined to look forward.
"There’s a percentage of people who would build the city back exactly the way it was," said new Mayor John Janssen, who inherited the office nearly three weeks after the tornado when Lonnie McCollum resigned. "I see absolutely no point in that.... The bright spot to me was we had a clean slate, we could do something great."
Then add to this mix the proposed new "Eco-Town" reality show. I gotta say, I have some very mixed feelings about the idea of making a reality show out of Greenburg's proposed eco-renaissance. On the one hand, there are the resources and publicity that the show could bring to bear. Heck, I doubt that my local paper would have given the McClatchy story a second glance without the reality-show angle. Mayor Janssen, for one, is thrilled:
Janssen’s almost giddy about the television show and the crew coming in. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is a partner in the project and could visit Greensburg during the process.
"Those people have connections we’ve never thought of, and they’re bringing them to our town," he said. "We know there are resources out there, but we’re so busy fighting the daily fight we don’t have time to go get them. They can get them, and they can bring it all to the table."
And yet. Reality shows are notorious for playing up the drama angle of whatever they're peddling, and that means showcasing and exacerbating emotion and conflict. The residents of Greensburg are people whose security has been yanked out from under them, whose lives have been turned upside down. It's hard to imagine letting the camera crews in under those circumstances, and giving them the go-ahead to stir the pot.
What do you think? Is a spot of reality-show mutual exploitation a good idea in this situation? (Poll below). Is a green Greensburg a workable prospect? What incentives might it take to make a green Greensburg come about -- surely carrots would be better than sticks in such a situation?
I'm following this story for several reasons. One, the idea of the green Greensburg has grabbed my imagination -- it's a powerful vision! Two, I'm from Kansas originally and keep finding six-degrees-of-separation connections to Greensburg in my own life. (A high-school classmate lived in Greensburg; the brother of my dad's financial advisor was among the ten who lost their lives; etc.) Three, a dinky little F0 tornado tore the playground off my daughter's daycare a few years ago, not much more than a mile from where we live. There but for the grace of God go I...
Finally, if you'd like to contribute financially to the ongoing disaster-relief effort in Greensburg, Mennonite Disaster Service is doing its usual fine work there.
Donate online and click the radio button to designate May 2007 Kansas storms
or send a check to: MDS Binational Office, 1018 Main St., Akron, PA 17501