Meanwhile, Congress, when it returns from its Columbus Day recess next week, plans to resume work on a second package of new Hurricane Katrina-related tax breaks--a gumbo that could include everything from the Bush Administration's proposal for a new tax-favored "Gulf Opportunity" zone to more energy industry goodies.

FORBES: Tax Reform? Not Exactly

Called Zone Green, it will promote energy efficiency by making it easier to add photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, greenhouses and shading devices to the roofs and sides of older buildings.

WSJ: Zoning Laws Grow Up | By Julie V. Iovine

One problem is that this hospitable zone can shrink or expand over the lifetime of a star, as its energy fluctuates.

WSJ: Login/Register to set your edition

Below the convective zone lies a radiative zone, which is a calmer region, where photons transport the Sun's energy outward.

BBC: Sun, Trace

"It was definitely worth being there, " said Mark Vonderheide, managing partner at Geneva Energy Markets LLC, who went into his firm's offices in Lower Manhattan, just outside the evacuation zone.

WSJ: Idled Stock and Bond Traders Watch, Wait and Position