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 audiobook
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 tells why
thoughtless development comes at a price we can ill afford.
