Catastrophe in the Making

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.

Auteur

William R. Freudenburg was professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Robert Gramling is professor of Sociology and director of the Center for Socioeconomic Research at the University of Louisiana at Layayette. Shirley Laska is a professor of Sociology at the University of New Orleans and director of the Center for Hazards, Assessment, Response and Technology (CHART). Kai T. Erikson is professor emeritus of Sociology and American Studies at Yale University.

Contenu

Prologue. The First Days of Katrina

Chapter 1. A Mighty Storm Hits the Shore

Chapter 2. The Setting

Chapter 3. Slicing Through the Swamps

Chapter 4. The Growth Machine Comes to New Orleans

Chapter 5. A "Helpful Explosion"

Chapter 6. The Collapse of Engineered Systems

Chapter 7. The Loss of Natural Defenses

Chapter 8. Critical for Economic Survival?

Chapter 9. The Axe in the Attic

Chapter 10. The End of an Error?

Endnotes

References

Acknowledgments

Index.