Louisiana’s response to extreme weather : a coastal state’s adaptation challenges and successes
Autor
Laska, Shirley
Institución
Resumen
Projections of future extreme weather; environmental history; social diversity,
inequality, and vulnerability; environmental justice; impacts of historic disasters;
actual and potential impacts of policies designed to mitigate disaster losses and
adapt to changing coastal conditions; distinctive local and regional cultural traditions; cultures and livelihoods at risk; and recommendations for future risk reduction and adaptation policies and actions—all these topics and more are addressed in
this comprehensive volume, which promises to be an indispensable resource for all
those seeking to respond to hazard-related environmental stressors, both in Louisiana
and beyond.
These pages contain both broad and in-depth analyses of the “wicked problem”
posed by hazards and climate change. As several authors note, in contrast with problems that have specific solutions, even difficult ones, wicked problems are highly
complex and novel, difficult to define and frame, and subject to multiple and often
divergent interpretations of the nature of the problem and how to address it. When
policies and programs are created to deal with wicked problems, those solutions
often lead to more problems. Adding to this challenge, climate change has been
labeled a “super-wicked problem” (Levin et al. 2012) for four reasons. First, there
is pressure to act; time is running out to address the problem. Second, those who are
trying to reduce the risks posed by climate change, from individuals to corporations
to nation-states, are also contributing to it. This means that adequate responses to
climate change will require radical, fundamental changes in behavior and social
organization. Third, climate change poses a major global collective action challenge, but there is no overarching authority that can compel or manage action.
Fourth, both current and proposed solutions focus on near-term timeframes, but
addressing the problem requires long-term thinking and strategies that must be sustained over time—which is almost unthinkable under contemporary governance
regimes and in light of conflicts over the significance (and even existence) of the
problem. The authors in this volume rightly characterize climate change adaptation
as a multigenerational challenge, but policies can shift whenever political power
changes hand.