American engineers have done astounding things to bend the Mississippi River to their will: forcing one of its tributaries to flow uphill, transforming over a thousand miles of roiling currents into a placid staircase of water, and wresting the lower half of the river apart from its floodplain. American law has aided and abetted these feats. But despite our best efforts, so-called “natural disasters” continue to strike the Mississippi basin, as raging floodwaters decimate waterfront communities and abandoned towns literally crumble into the Gulf of Mexico. In some places, only the tombstones remain, leaning at odd angles as the underlying soil erodes away. Mississippi River Tragedies reveals that it is seductively deceptive—but horribly misleading—to call such catastrophes “natural.”
Authors Christine A. Klein and Sandra B. Zellmer present a sympathetic account of the human dreams, pride, and foibles that got us to this point, weaving together engaging historical narratives and accessible law stories drawn from actual courtroom dramas. The authors deftly uncover the larger story of how the law reflects and even amplifies our ambivalent attitude toward nature—simultaneously revering wild rivers and places for what they are, while working feverishly to change them into something else. Despite their sobering revelations, the authors’ final message is one of hope. Although the acknowledgement of human responsibility for unnatural disasters can lead to blame, guilt, and liability, it can also prod us to confront the consequences of our actions, leading to a liberating sense of possibility and to the knowledge necessary to avoid future disasters.
Christine A. Klein is the Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and is co-author of Natural Resources Law: A Place-Based Book of Problems and Cases (Aspen Publishers).
Sandra B. Zellmer holds the Robert B. Daugherty Chair at the University of Nebraska College of Law and is co-author of Natural Resources Law (West).
Table of Contents
Preface: Mississippi River Children Acknowledgments Introduction: Disasters, Natural and Otherwise 1. An Unnatural River: How We Got Here 2. A Decade of Record Floods (1903 – 1913): The Federal Government Tackles Floods, but with Levees Only 3. The Flood of 1927: Sheltered by Immunity, the Corps Ventures beyond the “Colossal Blunder” of the Levees-Only Policy 4. The Flood of 1937: The Corps Builds Floodways 5. Mid-Century Floods in the Missouri River Basin: Congress Promises Something for Almost Everyone 6. Hurricane Betsy of 1965: The Corps Fortifies New Orleans and Congress Insures Floodplain Residents 7. The Flood of 1993: Revealing the Moral Hazard of Subsidized Flood Insurance 8. Hurricane Katrina of 2005: Revealing the Importance of Coastal Wetlands 9. Ruined Lives: Trouble Rains Down on Minorities and the Poor 10. Double-Takes: Charging Taxpayers, Twice Conclusion: How Law Has Hurt, How Law Can Help Notes Bibliography Index About the Authors
