When houses are flattened; towns submerged; and people stranded without electricity or even food; we attribute the suffering to ldquo;natural disastersrdquo; or ldquo;acts of God.rdquo; But what if theyrsquo;re neither? What if we; as a society; are bringing these catastrophes on ourselves? Thatrsquo;s the provocative theory of Catastrophe in the Making; the first book to recognize Hurricane Katrina not as a ldquo;perfect storm;rdquo; but a tragedy of our own makingmdash;and one that could become commonplace. The authors; one a longtime New Orleans resident; argue that breached levees and sloppy emergency response are just the most obvious examples of government failure. The true problem is more deeply rooted and insidious; and stretches far beyond the Gulf Coast. Based on the false promise of widespread prosperity; communities across the U.S. have embraced all brands of ldquo;economic developmentrdquo; at all costs. In Louisiana; that meant development interests turning wetlands into shipping lanes. By replacing a natural buffer against storm surges with a 75-mile long; obsolete canal that cost hundreds of millions of dollars; they guided the hurricane into the heart of New Orleans and adjacent communities. The authors reveal why; despite their geographic differences; California and Missouri are buildingmdash;quite literallymdash;toward similar destruction. Too often; the U.S. ldquo;growth machinerdquo; generates wealth for a few and misery for many. Drawing lessons from the most expensive ldquo;naturalrdquo; disaster in American history; Catastrophe in the Making shows why thoughtless development comes at a price we can ill afford.
#2241168 in eBooks 2012-07-20 2012-07-20File Name: B008OWFKWO
Review
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Finally the doodlers have a championBy Erik MelverFunny. witty. silly. inane. stupid. exotic. blue print. mumbo jumbo. jerk fest. church songs. plutonic. graphically large smallish. two more words required
