John Trotti

Like most people in the US–indeed, the world–I find myself unable to come to grips with much of what has befallen the nation, the cities that endured the terrorist attack, the survivors, the victims, families, friends, neighbors, rescue workers, and ordinary citizens throughout a land that has enjoyed a freedom from external aggression for nearly two centuries.

While the toll in lives and human suffering staggers the imagination, it could have been far greater. The twin towers of the World Trade Center were places of employment for some 50,000 people, 5,000-plus of whom are reported missing. Of the 23,000 people at the Pentagon, the latest count at the time of this writing shows that 126 lost their lives. Of a possible 1,280 aboard the four aircraft involved, 266 people perished. While it’s unlikely the intended target of the fourth aircraft will ever be known, there’s solace in the fact that the attack claimed the lives of fewer than 8% of the potential victims. Still, that tells only part of the story.

As Kirk Johnson points out in a September 13, 2001, New York Times article titled "Challenges and Dangers in Disposing of Two Fallen Giants," "Cleaning up the vast mountain of debris at the 16-acre site, all that remains of the trade center’s dream after a terrorist attack on Tuesday morning, presents a challenge no less daunting than the construction itself." The article then tries to put some perspective on the magnitude of the challenge facing those involved in the search and cleanup effort by explaining, "there is enough concrete to build a five-foot-wide sidewalk from New York City to Washington, DC, enough steel to erect more than 20 Eiffel Towers, and the remnants of nearly 14 acres of glass." Take the figure on the glass alone. That’s roughly equivalent to all the glass in all the automobiles in a city with a population of 30,000. John Skinner, CEO and executive director of SWANA, estimated that 1.25 million tons of demolition debris will be generated from the two towers and third building. In his editorial "Assistance During the Recovery" on page 16, Skinner equates this to the total demolition debris generated across the entire US in a nine-day period. As you might suspect, dealing with all this debris in an expeditious yet sensitive manner is a Herculean task.

As Skinner goes on to document, public and private waste management authorities and haulers–Allied, Republic, Waste Management, IESI, along with Pennsylvania landfill operators that handle the bulk of New York City’s waste since the closure of Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island–have committed to an integrated waste-hauling and landfill effort to expedite the cleanup effort. The plan is to use Fresh Kills only for the rubble and as a staging area while disposal and diversion options are explored.

In the meantime, there are the more immediate tasks of rubble and hazardous-materials removal to facilitate search and rescue efforts that will take precedence until all hopes for finding survivors are exhausted. Then begins the grim task of sifting for the remains of victims, recovering and cataloging personal effects, and clearing the area of the last remnants of the terrorist acts. All of these actions involve monumental efforts in their accomplishment, but even more than that they presuppose incredible organization and planning efforts.

Looking to the Future

Without forgetting or diminishing the terrible impacts on the victims, their survivors, and those who have borne the direct brunt of the attack, it is worthwhile to reflect on the almost superhuman efforts of local officials and agencies, first in gaining control over the situation and then organizing and directing effective response efforts–all before the dust from the destruction had settled.

It is tempting to say that we have witnessed a miracle, but I think this misses what might be the most important point of the whole situation. Instead of some mysterious force at work, what we’ve seen is a way of life and the systems that support it living up to their promise. In the normal give-and-take of our daily lives, it’s easy to overlook a fundamental truth about ourselves: that as the most culturally diverse nation in history, America holds within its borders a stupendous richness of experience in its human resources unmatched anywhere at any time. This diversity is often cited as being a weakness, but here in the wake of tragedy we have the incontrovertible proof of the strength and majesty of pluralism and tolerance.

No amount of planning will ever allow us to envision, much less prepare to cope with, the impacts of such disasters in any community, but if we can learn just one thing from September 11, 2001, it is that the real resources–those of our nation’s diversity and resolve–are available and will prevail.

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