We all remember the chilling images of Hurricane Katrina: flattened houses, people stranded on rooftops, a dog floating down the street, alone in a rowboat. The pictures and newscasts told a thousand stories, but did any of them actually tell us the true story?
The carnage was blamed on a natural disaster, and Katrina was one for sure. But what the authors of Catastrophe in the Making: The Engineering of Katrina and the Disasters of Tomorrow
“What happened in New Orleans is not a story about the way natural forces sometimes hammer us. Rather it is a story about the way humans can rearrange the contours of the land they settle on, doing so in ways that make it, and themselves, more vulnerable and exposed—inadvertent authors of their own demise.
That, in a nutshell, is the theory of Catastrophe in the Making, a book that recognizes Hurricane Katrina not as a “perfect storm,” but as a tragedy of created by the collision of man and nature.
The authors content that the problems in New Orleans ran far deeper than faulty levees and inadequate emergency response to the disaster. They write that in an effort to grow the economy of Louisiana and other parts of the Gulf Coast, wetlands—a natural buffer against storm surges—were replaced by a canal that all but invited the hurricane waters into New Orleans and adjacent communities. Chillingly, the authors warn, other areas of this country are headed for a similar fate.
I was given a copy of Catastrophe as part of the Green Books Campaign, in which 100 bloggers help support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of more than 100 such books. Organized by Eco-Libris, this campaign aims to promote “green” books by reviewing only books printed on recycled paper or FSC-certified paper.
I found Catastrophe in the Making to be a fascinating look into how thoughtless over-development sacrifices the natural integrity of the land and how violating nature’s plan will ultimately make man a victim of his own crime.
Catastrophe in the Making is published by IslandPress and is available on Amazon.com for $17.95.
Tags: book review, Catastrophe in the Making, Catastrophe in the Making: The Engineering of Katrina and the Disasters of Tomorrow, eco, Eco to the People, eco-friendly, Eco-Libris, green, Green Books Campaign, Heather O'Neill, Hurrican Katrina, hurricane, Katrina, recycled materials