Highlighting the Issues

Are environmental catastrophes and disasters truly environmental?

When reading the Modern World and Chicago Heat Wave of 1995 sections in the textbook, there was one passage which really struck me. In retrospect, environmental disasters grew to such extensive capacities because of the complex and flawed society it was enveloped in, not (entirely) because of its eminence and natural effect on the environment and humanity. Many times, natural disasters have made such an indent on society because of the way society itself was established; the disaster merely highlighted them and in a way, challenged them, to force humanity to see that maybe it is not the best institution and that it must be rethought or abolished completely. Environmental disasters are something that underlines the structure of society and shakes that basis in order for it to regain the “balance” or agreement with nature; humanity must live in accordance with natures law and intents. In the case of Hurricane Katrina and the Chicago Heat Wave, both disasters were unquestionably devastating and horrific for humanity to bear and cope with, but its societal institution made it all the worse for humans as a whole. Both instances highlighted the issues of social and economic class is society, and how equality and a balance between each individual was something considered absurd and outlandish then. With Katrina, the people with the money and the resources had the capability and the availability of options by which they could choose from and decide how to survive and sustain themselves and their loved ones throughout the disaster. This, of course, upset, aggravated, and fueled the individuals in the lower class to revolt and highlight the fact that they had zero options and were completely stuck in the disaster itself and its aftermath. Clearly, this is unfair, unjust, and a sign of the corruptness of social and economic classes in society. As devastating as the Hurricane was environmentally, the true humanitarian disaster came as a result of the inequality of society and the limited options and efforts which were made in an attempt to better the lives of the people who were directly effected by the disaster. Simply, Hurricane Katrina was an environmental disaster which then further prompted humanitarian installations in society to be seen as corrupt, negative, or deficient, which then grew the catastrophe to new proportions, making it the pressing disaster as it was; but, categorizing it merely as a natural disaster is misleading--it was so much more than just an environmental obstacle. In the case of the Chicago Heat Wave of 1995, when reading the interview, it becomes clear that the community of Chicago was greatly divided, and clearly the most prevalent division dealt with economic statuses. At the time, the wealthier side of society immediately utilized their resources to better their situation and improve their living style to better cope with the major issue at hand. But, the ones without the resources, being the poorer class (a great part of the population), senior citizens, etc., took every step needed to obtain any measure which could improve their individual well being and condition. This, then, developed into an entirely new issue of supply and demand, greatly effecting the economy itself, and also destroyed many institution which parts of society heavily relied on, including power sources. As everyone was trying to get everything they could get their hands on in such a desperate time, great commotion and changes underwent throughout society. This, obviously, made dealing with the heat wave even more difficult, and forced the natural disaster to make an exponentially larger impact on society than it was meant to/would have if society was different. Evident in both Hurricane Katrina and the Heat Wave of 1995, environmental disasters have grown to new heights simply because of the flawed humanitarian institutions in society, and the disasters are merely a method by which such foundations are highlighted, and seen to need to be changed in order to improve and better prepare humanity for the next natural disaster or obstacle that we will be confronted with.