Did you know that at one point in our recent history, the Army Corp of Engineers and other local developers encouraged Americans to live in the very shadows of our levees? Lots of people made money. Politicians won elections. And then, the levees broke and all those homes were flooded. 

This is a general narrative that applies to the infrastructure and property developments of many urban areas. It's a history of failed flood prevention policies. This history would not be complete without talking about home insurance policies, both federal and private, which incentivized many Americans, particularly poor Americans, to live in flood zone - in areas that are not natural human habitats. 

In addition to climate change, building and living in flood-prone areas is probably one of the biggest contributing factors to devastating floods, which have increased in frequency and ferocity. 

Lucky for us, my guest has many suggestions for what can be done, and he has already implemented much of his flood prevention policies in Louisiana, where nature has been incorporated to help us live with floods, instead of constantly fighting it. 

To learn more about Prof. Verchick, listen to this podcast and also visit his academic homepage. 

Below, are links to other episodes about climate: 

S1E42: America's Water Rights, Prof. Craig 

S1E38: Climate Change Laws, Prof. Takacs 

S1E26: History of Green Energy, Prof. DuVivier

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the History Behind News podcast

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