Record Nr.

UNINA9910781932203321

Titolo

Catastrophe in the making [[electronic resource] ] : the engineering of Katrina and the disasters of tomorrow / / William R. Freudenburg ... [et al.]

Pubbl/distr/stampa


Washington, D.C., : Island Press/Shearwater Books, c2009

ISBN

1-59726-231-5

1-59726-682-5

Edizione

[1st ed. 2012.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (222 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

FreudenburgWilliam R

Disciplina

363.34/9220976090511

Soggetti

Hurricane Katrina, 2005

Hurricane protection - Louisiana - Evaluation

Flood control - Louisiana - New Orleans - Evaluation

Levees - Louisiana - New Orleans - History

Levees - Mississippi River

Emergency management - Louisiana - New Orleans

Economic development - Environmental aspects - Louisiana - New Orleans

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Prologue. The First Days of Katrina -- 1. A Mighty Storm Hits the Shore -- 2. The Setting -- 3. Slicing Through the Swamps -- 4. The Growth Machine Comes to New Orleans -- 5. A “Helpful Explosion” -- 6. The Collapse of Engineered Systems -- 7. The Loss of Natural Defenses -- 8. Critical for Economic Survival? -- 9. The Axe in the Attic -- 10. The End of an Error? -- Endnotes -- References -- Acknowledgments -- Index.

Sommario/riassunto

When houses are flattened, towns submerged, and people stranded without electricity or even food, we attribute the suffering to “natural disasters” or “acts of God.” But what if they’re neither? What if we, as a society, are bringing these catastrophes on ourselves? That’s the provocative theory of Catastrophe in the Making, the first book to recognize Hurricane Katrina not as a “perfect storm,” but a tragedy of our own making—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 “economic development” 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 building—quite literally—toward similar destruction. Too often, the U.S. “growth machine” generates wealth for a few and misery for many. Drawing lessons from the most expensive “natural” disaster in American history, Catastrophe in the Making shows why thoughtless development comes at a price we can ill afford.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910816764303321

Titolo

Aegritvdo Perdicae / / recognovit Loriano Zurli

Pubbl/distr/stampa


Monachii ; ; Lipsiae : , : In Aedibvs K.G. Saur, , [2001]
©2001

ISBN

3-11-096765-0

Edizione

[Editio Stereotypa, Editionis Primae (1987).]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (39 pages)

Collana

Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana

Classificazione

FX 436700

Altri autori (Persone)

ZurliLoriano