The Geography of Risk
Epic Storms, Rising Seas, and the Cost of America's Coasts
-
-
4.8 • 4 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
This century has seen the costliest hurricanes in U.S. history—but who bears the brunt of these monster storms?
Consider this: Five of the most expensive hurricanes in history have made landfall since 2005: Katrina ($160 billion), Ike ($40 billion), Sandy ($72 billion), Harvey ($125 billion), and Maria ($90 billion). With more property than ever in harm’s way, and the planet and oceans warming dangerously, it won’t be long before we see a $250 billion hurricane. Why? Because Americans have built $3 trillion worth of property in some of the riskiest places on earth: barrier islands and coastal floodplains. And they have been encouraged to do so by what Gilbert M. Gaul reveals in The Geography of Risk to be a confounding array of federal subsidies, tax breaks, low-interest loans, grants, and government flood insurance that shift the risk of life at the beach from private investors to public taxpayers, radically distorting common notions of risk.
These federal incentives, Gaul argues, have resulted in one of the worst planning failures in American history, and the costs to taxpayers are reaching unsustainable levels. We have become responsible for a shocking array of coastal amenities: new roads, bridges, buildings, streetlights, tennis courts, marinas, gazebos, and even spoiled food after hurricanes. The Geography of Risk will forever change the way you think about the coasts, from the clash between economic interests and nature, to the heated politics of regulators and developers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Investigative journalist Gaul (Billion-Dollar Ball) issues a punchy report on "unchecked" coastal development, with a focus on New Jersey, showing how local interests, backed by big money, have placed seashores at risk. In the clipped style of a beat reporter, he recounts the histories of early developers, such as of Lithuanian immigrant Morris Shapiro, who in 1926 bought 53 acres on Long Island Beach in New Jersey for $53,000 property reportedly now worth $400 million. Mixing breezy storytelling with the nitty-gritty details of inside-politicking, Gaul demonstrates how state and federal agencies have tried, but failed, to reign in developers and decelerate coastal development. He revisits the town meetings where, in the late 1970s and early '80s, local mayors and property owners clashed with state and federal officials over New Jersey's doomed Dune and Shorefront Protection Act, which aimed to protect fragile shorefronts and limit homeowners' rights to rebuild after hurricanes. Tallying up the enormous national tax burden of protecting and rebuilding coastal towns and beaches after storms, Gaul captures the overall head-in-the-sand mentality of coastal investors and administrators. While some readers may wish he would have vented more ire, Gaul sticks to the facts in this close-up expose about land at risk.
