| November 2006 | Volume XXXI | Number 2 |
Gilbert F. White 1911-2006
“I believe that each of us finds greatest use and greatest satisfaction in a life which respects and kindles the spark of the divine that is found in the conscience of every other member of the human brotherhood and which nourishes the harmonious growth of individual men and women. To set the welfare of any national or racial group ahead of the development of individuals, or to coerce individual expression of thought and worship is to unloose a destructive erosion of human values to gain the temporary prosperity of a state. While watching the German occupation of France, I became convinced that man can no more conquer or preserve a civilization by war than he can conquer nature solely by engineering force. I found that an occupying army or a concentration camp can repress men’s basic beliefs but cannot change them. The good life, like the balance of all the complex elements of a river valley, is founded upon friendly adjustment. It changes slowly, but it leads always toward a more fruitful development of individual men in service of each other. It embraces confidence in fellowship, tolerance in outlook, humility in service, and a constant search for the truth. To seek it in our own lives means imperfection and disappointment, but never defeat. It means, I believe, putting ourselves in harmony with the divine order of love, with the great stream of forces that slowly are shaping, in spite of man’s ignorance and selfishness, an enrichment of the human spirit.”
—From a 1951 interview with Edward R. Murrow for the radio program “This, I Believe.”
Table of Contents
Preparing for a Flu Pandemic:
A Northwest Perspective
—an invited comment
In Memoriam: Gilbert Fowler White
Disaster Myths Series
Panic and the Vision of Collective Incompetence
On the Line
Overcoming Legal Challenges: A Perfect Storm of Opportunities
Respect for Nature as Cornerstone to Community Resiliency:
The View from Katrina “Ground Zero”
- President Signs Homeland Security Appropriations and FEMA Reform
- Executive Order: Improving Assistance for Disaster Victims
- Annual Stafford Act Updates
- New Mitigation How-To Guide from FEMA
- DOJ Publishes ADA Guide for Local Governments
- FCC Launches Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau</li>
- Public Alert Radios for Public Schools
- New Preparedness Initiative for Older Americans and Individuals with Disabilities
- FEMA Mitigation Team Reports on Building Performance in Katrina
- DOE Releases Climate Change Technology Program Strategic Plan
- FEMA Offers Accessible Trailers for People with Disabilities
- FEMA Seeks Alternative Housing Ideas
- FEMA: Increasing Postdisaster Rental Assistance
- Katrina Fraud Task Force Releases Report
- FEMA Clarifies Policy on Mapping Areas Protected By Levees
- US&R System Gets Checkup
- Pets Get Recognition in Disasters
- New Orleans: EPA’s Final Sediment Results
- OSHA Offers New Publication on Fire Service
- FEMA Offers NDMS FCC Operations Course
- ICS Overview for Executives/Senior Officials Course Available for Download
- SBA Moves to Improve Disaster Response
- 2007 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction Nomination Process
- Help Reestablish CHART’s Library
- World Bank Expands Disaster Role
- PERI/ICMA Launch Emergency Management Network
- New ICC Disaster Certifications
- New Course to Serve People with Disabilities after Disaster