Are Natural Disasters Increasing?

by Roman Espejo (Editor)

Overview

Contemporary movies and television programs often depict the world as we know it displaced, awash in ocean tides or broken into pieces by devastating earthquakes. The climate data coming through news outlets can seem to reinforce this fatalistic view, with earth warming records hitting new levels year after year. While it can seem like natural disasters are increasingly affecting our world, is there data to support this perception or is this view of events mediated by panicked activists and the media? This anthology explores key ideas and opinions regarding discussions about natural disasters, including subjects such as the frequency and severity of natural disasters, poor infrastructure, human activity, and the economic costs of natural disasters.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780737768237
Publisher:	Greenhaven Publishing LLC
Publication date:	05/11/2014
Series:	At Issue Series: Disasters
Pages:	104
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

Table of Contents

Introduction 7

1 Climate Change Is Increasing the Severity of Natural Disasters Andrew Freedman 11

2 Climate Change Is Increasing the Frequency of Floods and Droughts Paul A. Dirmeyer 18

3 Climate Change Is Not Increasing the Frequency of Floods Kenneth Artz 27

4 Natural Disasters Are Hitting Harder, and Not Because of Global Warming Jacey Fortin 31

5 Natural Disasters Caused by Human Activity Have Increased Brian Merchant 40

6 Urbanization Increases the Threat of Natural Disasters Stewart M. Patrick 45

7 The Increase of Natural Disasters Is a Biblical Prophecy Ron Fraser 50

8 Catastrophe on Camera: Why Media Coverage of Natural Disasters Is Flawed Patrick Cockburn 56

9 The Frequency of Earthquakes Is Not Increasing Colin Stark 64

10 Counting the Costs of Calamities Economist 68

11 Economic Recovery from Natural Disasters Is Declining Richard Heinberg 78

12 International Laws Fail to Address Disaster-Driven Migration Michael Clemens 84

Organizations to Contact 88

Bibliography 92

Index 97