GREENSURG, Kan., April 29, 2008
Greensburg: A Story Of Revival
Early Show Pitches In As Kansas Town Rebounds From Devastating Twister A Year Ago
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(CBS/EARLY SHOW)
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Play CBS Video Video Greensburg's Green Playground "The Early Show" gang helps the citizens of Greensburg, Kan. construct a sprawling playground from scratch, which will benefit the community for years to come.
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Video God Helps Greensburg Faithful People in Greensburg, Kan. are thankful in spite of losing loved ones and possessions. Maggie Rodriguez speaks to one resident and Harry Smith talks to the pastor about the community's faith.
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Video Gossip At The Quikshop A convenience store in Greensburg, Kan. offers much more than daily necessities. Residents also come here for gossip and chit-chat, helping make life there more normal. Dave Price reports.
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Photos Tragedy To Triumph Go behind the scenes as The Early Show chronicles a town's comeback from a devastating tornado
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Section Greensburg Rebuilds A Kansas town refuses to die, rising from the rubble of a devastating tornado. And The Early Show pitches in. Check out our stories, videos, and photos.
The locals refuse to give up on themselves, or their community.
They are rebuilding.
And The Early Show is helping, and chronicling it all in a special, weeklong series; "Tragedy To Triumph: Greensburg Rising."
As residents put the pieces of their lives, and Greensburg itself, back together, they're keeping an eye on the environment, determined to make theirs the greenest town in the land.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
What Makes Tornadoes Go
Early Show weatherman and features reporter Dave Price stood inside a Greensburg grocery story, pointing to the items the funnel left behind even as it literally sucked most of what was inside, out -- to emphasize the fickle nature of twisters.
He then looked at the phenomenon that is a tornado, saying, ”If ever there was a reminder of the power of nature's fury, we certainly saw that (Monday) ... in Virginia, especially at this time of year, when warm, moist air on the ground collides, with cold, dry air. That often spells disaster. Price used vivid videos of twisters to make his points.
Price then discussed it further, with Discovery Channel "storm chaser" Reed Timmer, a PhD. candidate in meteorology at the University of Oklahoma.
Check out
And to see Dave in the grocery store, explaining tornadoes, and with Timmer, click on the arrrow in the image below:
Building "Green"
How do you build a "green" house? Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez explored Greensburg's decision to go green as it rebuilds. And Maggie learned more from none other than Steve Thomas, host of the new Planet Green program, "Renovation Nation." You may also recognize Thomas from his 14 years as host of "This Old House":
Story Of Survival
When the tornado ripped through Greensburg, it wiped out the town's General Motors dealership. Its owner's parents rode out the deadly storm in the basement. They're OK, and the business is being rebuilt. The owner, Ron Shank, looked back, and ahead with Maggie:
Playground To Be Fun, Green Showcase
Maggie and Dave chatted with landscape architect Tim Duggan, of BNIM Architects, at the future site of Greensburg's Big Well Park where, in a few short days, a new, eco-friendly playground will be finished. We're rolling up our sleeves, helping to get the job done!
Hurricane, Twisters Compared
Maggie was in Miami when Hurricane Andrew hit, and compared her memories of that fierce, killer storm to what she sees of what the funnel left behind in Greensburg:
Truckloads of Donations Arrive
FAO Schwarz, Scholastic, Inc., and G-Diapers contributed toys, library books, and, of course, diapers, respectively!:
We're working alongside a team from Planet Green, which launches on June 4, and with Pilgrim Television and Films. The 13-part Planet Green series "Greensburg" premieres Sunday, June 15. The series is co-produced by Planet Green, Pilgrim, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company, Appian Way. Planet Green is Discovery Communications’ global, cross-company initiative with a commitment to document, preserve and celebrate the planet, including the 24-hour television network in more than 50 million homes.
To make donations from wherever you are, click here or here.
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- It''s a good thing Bush did not do to Greensburg what he did to New Orleans. Imagine no one in the town being able to work and outsiders trying to put the town back together with illegal but government sanctioned labor from Central America. Think it would be green? Think the people in Greensburg would even have been allowed to get jobs alongside the illegals? Think the town would be bouncing back with the rise in crime, welfare, and a lot more anchor babies etc from having that transient population?
God is in the details--and so unfortunately is the devil. - Reply to this comment
- in addition, building green does not necessarily mean that all the homes have PV panels, or wind turbines, or any other REG''s. Simply insulating your house better works fine. A good portion of the community has no desire to build green in the most extreme way possible, they just want to build their homes and get on living their lives. CBS is showing the most extreme examples to give the viewing public the most information that they can in the short time allotted. If you really want to know more about our community I invite you to visit us and see what we are doing here through your own eyes. Not what the media chooses to showcase. For every story that has been told by CBS and will be told by Pilgrim Films there are countless more, some that may even strike a chord with you personally. So feel free to stop by and find out the facts for yourself.
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- maiingan, to answer your question, residents are planing on using ICF, in fact if you noticed in the video covering Farrell Allison''s house, his house is entirely made out of ICF. Also, the support structure of his roof is "hurricane proof" or "tornado proof" in this case. (watching this house being built has been quite the conversation starter) As for the rest of the community, there are quite a few homes using ICF, and most have safe rooms. On a darker note, most of the studies I have seen concerning "tornado proof" homes does not take into account flying debris. I don''t care what your house is made of (unless it is 3 ft of solid concrete) when a combine or tractor gets thrown into it by that strong of wind it doesn''t matter how well nailed down or strapped down the roof is. If you don''t believe me, i can show you where a mid-sized car was hurled into the top story of the courthouse.
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- Hats off to Greensburg on taking time to rebuild the rightway. It''s been ten years on May 30th that our town of Spencer, S.D. suffered the same type of disaster.Unfortunitly with the help of a gung-ho govenor who couldn''t wait to get things cleaned up, many opportunities were bulldozed under and the people didn''t have time to sort things out in their minds. Trauma to the mind and soul take time to heal and many decisions were hastily made and are now regretted. Taking it slow will build a beautiful and inviting community with many lasting relationships.
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- I live in Wichita, about 50 miles east of Greensburg. We in Kansas are PROUD of the tenacity of the people of Greensburg, and we look forward eagerly to their rebuilding as the first true "green" town in Kansas.
Greensburg is not a "typical" small town in a sparsley populated part of the state. It is a thriving, educated, kind-hearted community of fine people. They will welcome people of all races and ethnicities who are ready to help them rebuild their town from the bottom up, using an environmentally friendly approach.
Greensburg may very well become a model community that people from all over the USA study as they build their own 21st century towns in an energy-efficient manner.
I wish the good people of Greensburg the very best as they start anew, but I know that they will do just fine. They are people of CHARACTER, and DETERMINATION, and they will make the entire country proud when they reach their goals. - Reply to this comment
- I was away till now & haven''t seen any videos. Why doesn''t CBS ask Greensburg why they omit tornado-resistant construction atop priority list for rebuilding? It''s the "elephant in the room." Has Dave Price studied FEMA 320? More Search keywords: Insulating Concrete Forms (esp. Amvic); Monolithic Dome; Texas Tech Wind Science & Engineering Resource Center; Continuous Load Path. We taxpayers & nature-lovers DO have standing to prevent a repeat disaster/rebuilding scenario. Is CBS shilling for Greensburg?
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- Great job on the Greensberg story, but I am curious did u all do the same thing for the victims of Katrina? Perhaps I missed it...
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- Coincidently Greensburg is almost directly south of Nicodemus by about 150 miles.
On another note, I guess Dave Price commented about the wind. I didn''t think it was too bad today. At least the house isn''t shaking right now. Hah! - Reply to this comment
- Kaprena, I agree fully with windblowngal, we would welcome anyone that wishes to come and be a part of what we are trying to build here, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, hair color, height, shoe size, etc. This community will be stronger than we were before the storm and there is a place here for everyone.
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- To Kaprenaa, Greensburg is a small southwestern town in Kansas. At this time there are no black children or teachers living in the community. I know that the town of Greensburg would welcome any new family, red, black, brown or even blue with open arms. The school district is losing a number of teachers this coming year and any teacher of a different ethnic background is welcome to apply. Kiowa County does have many different ethnic families living within the communities. If you want to help, the county library was completely destroyed and the county is needing help to rebuild a buiding and put a library back in the town. Just think, if it takes up to five years to rebuild a library, a child born after the tornado will never have had the opprotunity to check out a book, sit and read with there grandmother until they are five or six years old. Now there is how you can help.
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- Kaprenaa - I am from Kansas but in the middle of the state east of Greensburg. Western Kansas does not have a large population. You can go miles without seeing a town even. Most of the people there are 3rd and 4th generation families that just happen to be white. Now going east we have a large variety of all ethnic groups. I would like to point out that Kansas did have one of the first towns after slavery that was an all black community. It was called Nicodemus and is a national historic site. http://www.nps.gov/nico/
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- kaprenaa-Greensburg is a small town, there is only one school, that is why they are getting the attention. I just think it is sad that you are only interested in helping black students. How would you feel if white people refused to help black people in need? As Americans, we should all help each other however it is possible, no matter the skin color. God doesn''t judge people by their skin color and neither should we. Thank you CBS for covering the Greensburg story and for helping them out!
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- Greensburg is an inspiration to all of us. The graduate students from KU have worked their hearts out to create a green building for the town, for now and in the future. Students have labored 18-20 hours a day during the design process and now on site, even sleeping in the building to work continuously to finish on time. From a devasting situation, new ideas, new experiences and friendships have emerged to create an exemplary project in the architecural field. We thank KU and the dedicated architectural students, msny who have put their personal lives on hold, for the massive effort they contributed to this wonderful rebuilding process.
LADixon - Reply to this comment
- oops, sorry about that. having problems with my network.
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- gogreenvt, there are quite a few projects in town that are utilizing geothermal energy. The 547 art center, built by Studio 804, the county courthouse, and a few homes around town are implementing this resource. Thank you for your support and suggestions I''ll pass them along. Oh, and djwall3, the reason that it is dark and says ''live'' is because the segments are being broadcast live at 7am eastern time. It is actually being filmed here at 6am, so what you are seeing is a tape delay.
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- gogreenvt, there are quite a few projects in town that are utilizing geothermal energy. The 547 art center, built by Studio 804, the county courthouse, and a few homes around town are implementing this resource. Thank you for your support and suggestions I''ll pass them along. Oh, and djwall3, the reason that it is dark and says ''live'' is because the segments are being broadcast live at 7am eastern time. It is actually being filmed here at 6am, so what you are seeing is a tape delay.
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- gogreenvt, there are quite a few projects in town that are utilizing geothermal energy. The 547 art center, built by Studio 804, the county courthouse, and a few homes around town are implementing this resource. Thank you for your support and suggestions I''ll pass them along. Oh, and another thing, the reason that it is dark and says ''live'' is because the segments are being broadcast live at 7am eastern time. It is actually being filmed here at 6am, so what you are seeing is a tape delay.
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- gogreenvt, there are quite a few projects in town that are utilizing geothermal energy. The 547 art center, built by Studio 804, the county courthouse, and a few homes around town are implementing this resource. Thank you for your support and suggestions I''ll pass them along.
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- kaprenaa - Apparently you are not familiar with small rural towns in the midwest. There are very few black people in any of them, not just Greensburg. I don''t know why that would effect anyones desire to help these people.
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- It''s a great story that CBS is recognizing this school and the basketball team for their accomplishments through their adversitys.But please address the question as to what community is this in Greensburg that doesn''t have any black kids teachers in the broadcast that I can see. Also, were there damage to any other schools in the area that did not get any community support. I would like to contribute to those learning institutions. If there are any black people that were students of this school or teachers, where are they?? Is this a public school system? Kaprena
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