November 10, 2000

Acts of God or Acts of Congress?

By JEFF SHARLET

Deconstructing the politics of earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes

When the earth shakes or big winds blow, Ted Steinberg pricks up his ears for politics. Somewhere between an angry Lord and a whimsical Mother Nature, he argues in his new book, Acts of God: An Unnatural History of Natural Disaster in America (Oxford University Press), lies the human role in the creation of catastrophe.

Consider the case of Charleston, S.C., on August 31, 1886. At around 10 o'clock on a humid

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