Title Interpretations of calamity : from the viewpoint of human ecology / edited by K. Hewitt

Published London : Routledge, 2019

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Description 1 online resource (325 pages) Series Routledge library editions. Ecology ; volume 4 Routledge library editions. Ecology ; volume 4 Contents Cover; Half Title; Title; Copyright; Original Title; Original Copyright; Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; Contents; List of tables; Part I NATURA L DISASTER: MISCHANCE OR MISNOMER?; 1 The idea of calamity in a technocratic age; The dominant view in outline; An 'enclosure system'; The disaster archipelago; The convenience of accidents; Problems of explanation; Uncertainty and prediction; The myth of 'ordinary life'; Alternative viewpoints; Concluding remarks; References 2 Coping with frosts, governments and disaster experts: some reflections based on a New Guinea experience and a perusal of the relevant literature'Disaster' in the New Guinea Highlands; Strategies and implications of relief programmes in the Third World; Natural hazards research; Conclusion; References; 3 The Bushmen and the British: problems of the identification of drought and responses to drought; Introduction;!Kung Bushmen: a seasonal response process; The British; Postscript; References; 4 Drought in the US Great Plains: shifting social consequences? The Great Plains and drought occurrenceShifting drought vulnerability: a hypothesis; Increasing catastrophe potential: a second hypothesis; The importance of Great Plains drought research; Acknowledgements; References; 5 The Sahelian drought: social sciences and the political economy of underdevelopment; The setting; Images; Directions; Conclusion; References; 6 Underdevelopment and hazards in historical perspective: an Irish case study; Introduction; Issues of interpretation; The historical context; Landlords, farmers, cottiers and labourers; Subdivision and 'overpopulation'; Ireland 1815-45 The Great Starvation 1845-8Conclusion; Acknowledgements; References; Part II HAZARDS IN CONTEXT: PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND FOOD SECURITY; 7 Interpreting the role of hazards in agriculture; Agricultural losses; Background to a vulnerable agriculture; References; 8 The place of climatic hazards in food scarcity: a case study of Belize; Introduction; Local production of staples; The colonial legacy; Development of subsistence farmers; Problems in agro-climate; The drought of 1975; Conclusions; References 9 Food production under conditions o f increased uncertainty: the settlement of the Paraguayan Chaco by Mennonite farmersEnvironmental milieu; Chaco Mennonite settlement; The Fernheim Colony; Production variation in relation to climatic and technological conditions; Production decisions and the environmental and economic decision-making milieu; Primary products processing industries; Evidence of emerging economic stability; Conclusions; References; 10 Climatic hazards and agricultural development: some aspects of the problem in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent; Introduction Summary Originally published in 1983, Interpretations of Calamity provides a provocative critique of the 'dominant view' of research into natural hazards. Throughout the world, there are now many people professionally engaged in the mitigation and control of risks & hazards, and the impact of continuing economic development will ensure that they are fully employed. There is a wealth of perspectives in the book, including weather and wheat yields in the Soviet Union and Canada, an historical view of underdevelopment and hazards in Ireland and the impact of a response to drought in southern Africa, the Sahel and the Great Plains of the USA. The book reflects the major themes of hazards in the context of economic development and social change. Most of the case studies are from the rural and agriculture scene. This book provides a unique view of the vital importance of food production and of the considerable, and sometimes calamitous, impact that frost, flood, storm and drought have on the wellbeing of millions of people and on the stability of the international economic system Notes The overall status of agriculture and food supply Print version record Subject Natural disasters -- Social aspects Human ecology. Natural disasters -- Economic aspects Climatic changes -- Economic aspects Crops and climate -- Economic aspects Agriculture -- Economic aspects. Food supply human ecology. NATURE -- Ecology. Agriculture -- Economic aspects Climatic changes -- Economic aspects Crops and climate -- Economic aspects Food supply Human ecology Natural disasters -- Economic aspects Natural disasters -- Social aspects Form Electronic book Author Hewitt, Kenneth, editor ISBN 1000698203 9780429329579 0429329571 9781000698565 1000698564 9781000698923 1000698920 9781000698206

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