Disaster by Choice: How our actions turn natural hazards into catastrophes

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This attitude distracts us from the real causes of disasters: humanity's decisions, as societies and as individuals. Science recounts a different story, however: disasters are not the consequence of natural causes; they are the consequence of human choices and decisions. Taking us from the everyday numbers that govern our health and wellbeing to the statistics used to wield enormous power and influence, ‘The Number Bias’ counsels us to think more wisely. But we can combat this, as Kelman shows, describing inspiring examples of effective human action that limits damage, such as managing flooding in Toronto and villages in Bangladesh, or wildfires in Colorado.

Disaster by Choice demonstrates in a vivid and engaging way why big issues like the current climate crisis, where people are starting to accept that their actions can contribute to a collective result on a global scale, are just the tip of the iceberg. But we can combat this, as Kelman shows, describing inspiring examples ofeffective human action that limits damage, such as managing flooding in Toronto and villages in Bangladesh, or wildfires in Colorado. This is an excellent little book that crystallises ideas about the influence and impact of human actions on natural catastrophes into a thoughtful and informative narrative, concluding - and rightly so - that there is no such thing as a natural disaster. Floods, fires and viruses are just three of a panoply of natural hazards that includes earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and many others.This Way to the Universe’ is a celebration of the astounding, ongoing scientific investigations that have revealed the nature of reality at its smallest, at its largest, and at the scale of our daily lives. The disaster is not the tornado, the volcanic eruption, or climate change, but the deaths and injuries, the loss of irreplaceable property, and the lack and even denial of support to affected people, so that a short-term interruption becomes a long-term recovery nightmare.

Find out about the benefits of membership, and how we can help you achieve and maintain Chartered status.Despite environmental destruction impacting mental health and wellbeing, connecting science, art, and action helps heal and improve. Disasters arise when we fail to build suitable housing capable of withstanding 400 kph winds, fail to shun places subject to lava flows or tsunamis, or do not create a culture of warning and safe shelter for all – including for those with disabilities.

Despite eco-trauma and solastalgia (mental distress), the indigenous Ogiek people in Kenya are opposing evictions from and destruction of their forest. One day later a wildfire lit up the forest in the Cold Springs Fire, which killed numerous animals, forced 2000 people to evacuate, and destroyed eight homes. Japan’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami continue to provide many post-disaster mental health and wellbeing lessons to be implemented for prevention.effective human action that limits damage, such as managing flooding in Toronto and villages in Bangladesh, or wildfires in Colorado. Sanne Blauw travels the world to unpick our relationship with numbers and demystify our misguided allegiance, from Florence Nightingale using statistics to petition for better conditions during the Crimean War to the manipulation of numbers by the American tobacco industry and the ambiguous figures pedalled during the EU referendum.