Disaster Law
Quote of the Day — or the Year — or the Century
Eric Pooley, vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund, on Hurricane Sandy: “We can’t say that steroids caused any one home run by Barry Bonds, but steroids sure helped him hit more and hit them farther. Now we have weather on steroids.” Any questions? UPDATE: Our commenter and friend Maya …
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CONTINUE READING“United We Stand”: National Unity in the Face of Disaster
During the Republican primaries, Governor Romney proposed curtailing or even eliminating the federal role in disaster response, leaving the response efforts to the states or the private sector. Why does this seem viscerally wrong to so many people today (enough so that Romney first refused to answer any questions about it and then abandoned it …
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CONTINUE READINGRedeeming FEMA: How the Agency has Been Strengthened Since Katrina
Today’s FEMA is a lot different from the organization that flubbed the Katrina response. There have been a number of positive changes, mostly during the past four years. First, as the Washington Post explains, FEMA’s authority has expanded: Congress has broadened FEMA’s authority so that the agency can respond in advance of major storms, instead …
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CONTINUE READINGA Resource on Disaster Law Issues
As the storm slowly passes through, there will inevitably be questions about a host of issues: the scope of FEMA’s role, the requirements of the Stafford Act, the operation of flood insurance, how private insurance might or might not apply, and so forth. The Berkeley Law School Library has established a great website with copies …
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CONTINUE READINGRomney Versus Disaster Assistance
In assessing Romney’s argument that disaster response should be a state or private responsibility, we should consider his record in Massachusetts. In his last year as governor, Romney refused to provide state assistance when major floods hit western Massachusetts., even though the state government had ample funds. Romney had already begun to run for President, …
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CONTINUE READINGKeynesian Mother Nature: The Case of Hurricane Sandy
My parents, my brother and his family are all getting ready to face Hurricane Sandy. Warned about the Storm’s likely path, they have taken a series of precautions. My parents have stocked up on supplies and won’t be leaving their 11th floor apartment for a day or two. They expect to lose electric power soon. …
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CONTINUE READINGRomney’s Opposition to Federal Emergency Assistance in Disasters
The federal role in disaster response dates back to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, when General Funston sent troops from the Presidio to deal with the city’s desperate emergency. Governor Romney seems dubious about this century-old federal role. During one of the GOP primary debates, Governor Romney was asked what he thought about the idea …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Damage Caused by Climate Change Induced Natural Disasters
Joe Romm has posted a mildly interesting post on the damage from natural disasters. A couple of thoughts. 1. Ignoring the last year of the data, the reported Figure 15 shows that in the average year that North America suffers roughly 15 billion dollars worth of damage from natural disasters. I have two evil …
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CONTINUE READINGEncouraging Precautionary Investment in an Increasingly Risky World
The NY Times has published an Opinion Piece about reducing wildfire risk in the American West. Due to climate change, actions such as machinery creating sparks that ignite brush are more likely to happen. When we anticipate this chain of events, what ex-ante actions should we take? Should there be more brush clearance in …
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