ACTS OF GOD?

How Natural Are Natural Disasters?

As I write, Hurricane Jeanne – the last of 2004’s historic and seemingly endless procession of storms – is leaving its finishing touches on the Carolinas before continuing its lazy march northward. Jeanne promises to deliver our Northern neighbors little more than a few gusty rains – a far cry from the devastation witnessed in Florida and other points South.

It’s true that this year has been unusual: it’s the first time since record-keeping began in 1851 that four hurricanes have hit Florida in the same Atlantic hurricane season (from June to November), filling the minds of more than a few Sunshine State residents with apocalyptic visions and leaving them to wonder what they did to deserve this.

Yet for all of 2004’s storm surprises, the stories that have emerged from Florida’s wreckage are also eerily familiar, even predictable. We read of low-income communities with sub-standard housing – often trailer parks – leveled by wind and rain. We hear of posh beachfront developments laid waste due to their cozy proximity to the ocean, while owners demand government bailouts for the “unforeseen” damage. On occasion, we learn that wastewater pools and similar facilities have overflowed – usually because they weren’t built with severe weather in mind – leaking contaminants into local water supplies and putting entire populations at risk.

“Strictly speaking,” says the United Nations in their International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, “there are no such things as natural disasters.” There are only natural hazards, the U.N. says – which only become “disasters” if communities are vulnerable or unprepared for whatever nature has in store.

So there’s nothing “natural” about the fact that Hurricane Jeanne, while killing 70 people and knocking out electricity for 1.5 million in Florida, claimed the lives of over 2,000 people in Haiti, a country where decades of economic and social devastation have rendered the country uniquely vulnerable to powerful storms.

As the stories in this issue of Southern Exposure show, there’s nothing new about how corporate leaders and state boosters underplay the role of human forces – especially race and class – in determining who suffers (and who gains) when nature strikes.

These elites have also been predictably reluctant to acknowledge how greed and bad policy – as manifested in activities like wide-scale deforestation, mountaintop removal, and destruction of coastal wetlands – help trigger disasters by making natural systems more fragile, putting not only the environment but entire communities at risk.

As the staggering impact of humans on the planet grows, our ability to understand and confront the role of political and economic choices in creating disasters will only become more vital.

Whether or not the flurry of hurricanes that battered the South this year is the direct result of human-caused global climate change, as several scientists have suggested, may never be conclusively demonstrated. But there is little dispute that our country’s tragic and unnecessary addiction to polluting energy sources will set in motion enormous climate changes with permanent and severe repercussions – not just during hurricane season, but every day of the year.

The sooner we stop seeing these developments as “Acts of God” and admit that they are the byproducts of policies that we can and must change, the better off we’ll be. Indeed, our survival may depend on it.

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HONORS & ACCOLADES: One reason that our readers tell us they love reading Southern Exposure is because of the quality of our in-depth coverage of critical social issues. We are pleased to announce that SE – especially our landmark 2003 project investigating predatory banking by Citigroup and other financial institutions, led by Virginia-based reporter Michael Hudson – has recently been honored with some of the top awards in journalism.

In just the last year, Southern Exposure and its writers have garnered the following accolades:

n Winner, 2003 George Polk Award, Magazine Reporting (previous winners include Harpers, The New Republic and Time)

n 2^nd Place, Society of Professional Journalists, 2003 “Green Eyeshade Award” (the top award for Southern journalism)

n Judge’s Award, 2003 Harry Chapin Media Award for poverty reporting

n Honorable Mention, 2003 White House Correspondents’ Association Award

n Honorable Mention, 2003 National Press Club Award, Consumer Journalism

n Finalist, 2003 Utne Independent Press Award, Local/Regional Coverage

A big “congratulations!” to our writers and editors – and a big “thank you” to our readers and supporters for making it possible.

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This issue is a bit behind schedule, and we apologize. Rest assured that you will receive a full complement of Southern Exposures in the coming months. We have some great issues planned, so stay tuned!

Chris Kromm

Editor and Publisher