Oxfam GB :: Resources :: Papers and reports :: Why death and destruction is not nature's fault but human failure

Excerpts: “Disaster officials were pitted against economic developers Thursday as a legislative committee debated the building code for earthquake zones. “The threat of an earthquake in the New Madrid area is great,” Arkansas State Police Lt. Lindsey Williams told lawmakers. “We should do everything we can to prepare for that.” Dave Maxwell, director of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, and representatives of firefighter groups told the Administrative Rules and Regulations Committee that they support the code.

Quoted: TED Theme In the last 3,000 years, the history of humankind has been tied to the history of cities. With half of the world's population living in urban settings now, it's urgent that we examine them and update our understanding. <a href="/index.php/talks/view/id/36">Robert Neuwirth</a> lived in and studied the overcrowded slums of megacities such as Nairobi and Rio de Janeiro -- and found hope and vitality there. <a href="/index.php/talks/view/id/53">Majora Carter</a> talks about how enlightened policymaking can "green the ghetto," offering an eye-opening look at why ghettos exist. <a href="/index.php/talks/view/id/61">Steven Johnson</a>, meanwhile, shares the history of a mapping innovation that helped wipe out a deadly disease in London -- and brought about a new reading of urban epidemics and public health.

click to play

Quoted: The night side of the Earth, these decades, displays dazzling webs of light on the continents, with incandescent nodes at all the metropolit.... Sep 22, 2006.

click to play

Quoted: http://www.ted.com With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, Prof. Hans Rosling uses software from Gapminder debunks a few myths about the "developing" ...