United States
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When houses are flattened, towns submerged, and people stranded without electricity or even food, it is usually attributed to natural disasters or acts of God. But what if they are neither? What if we, as a society, are bringing these catastrophes on ourselves? That's the provocative theory contained inside this, 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 many 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 toward similar destruction.
