Disaster by Choice: How our actions turn natural hazards into catastrophes

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They tell us how we’re doing at school, how much we weigh, who might win an election and whether the economy is booming. In this provocative book, Ilan Kelman argues that the true disaster is not caused by natural phenomena, but by human choices which leave people unprepared and at terrible risk.

We put ourselves in harm’s way; we fail to take measures which we know would prevent disasters, no matter what the environment does. From the workings of its different layers to why carbon dioxide is special, from pioneers like Pascal to the unsung heroes working in the field to help us understand climate change, ‘Firmament’ introduces us to an oft-overlooked area of science and not only lays the ground work for us to better understand the debates surrounding the climate today, but also provides a glimpse of the future that is possible with this knowledge in hand.Taking us from the everyday numbers that govern our health and wellbeing to the statistics used to wield enormous power and influence, ‘The Number Bias’ counsels us to think more wisely. Discover and access geoscience information resources via one of the world’s premier Earth science libraries. assume is ours, and to protect ourselves from what we perceive to be wrath from outside our communities. They arise from the political processes dictating where and what we build, and from social circumstances which create and perpetuate poverty and discrimination.

Disaster by Choice demonstrates in a vivid and engaging way why big issues like the current climate crisis, where people are starting to accept that their actions can contribute to a collective result on a global scale, are just the tip of the iceberg. In ‘Firmament’, atmospheric scientist and science communicator Simon Clark offers a rare and accessible tour of the ins and outs of the atmosphere and how we know what we know about it. From a couples’ meet-cute to businesspeople who’ve turned misfires into multi-million dollar ideas, Christian reveals the secrets behind the hidden force that rules the universe – serendipity. We feel the need to fight natural forces, to reclaim what weassume is ours, and to protect ourselves from what we perceive to be wrath from outside our communities.If you continue without changing your settings we'll assume you are happy to receive all GSL cookies.

Despite environmental destruction impacting mental health and wellbeing, connecting science, art, and action helps heal and improve.

The disaster is not the tornado, the volcanic eruption, or climate change, but the deaths and injuries, the loss of irreplaceable property, and the lack and even denial of support to affected people, so that a short-term interruption becomes a long-term recovery nightmare. effective human action that limits damage, such as managing flooding in Toronto and villages in Bangladesh, or wildfires in Colorado. A new scientific study explores how youth’s disaster-coping strategies can lead to maladjustment or adjustment. In a story that resonates with the moorland fires in England, three people in July 2016 chose to camp in the woodlands around Nederland, Colorado, and did not properly extinguish their barbeque. Indigenous people in northern Sweden experience the mental health impact of losing their land, heritage, and livelihood.