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Omar Pérez: Submarine Roots, Resisting (un)natural disasters

omarperez

I am interested in seeing how social ties and networks have been used to cope with (un)natural disasters. My research focus on places under disasters conditions such as Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria, in which social ties have made the difference between life and death. Furthermore, “natural” disaster has been used to approved austerity measures and unjust policies to impoverished communities like in New Orleans after Katrina. These policies were not new, as they are rooted in structures of power to preserve the status quo. Yet, people have resisted, “through a network of branches, cultures, and geographies” that has stimulated a reflective process of looking within for solutions rather than outside. As often this outside solutions are not only detached from community’s reality but can perpetuate social injustices and inequalities.

McKittrick, K., & Woods, C. A. (Eds.). (2007). Black geographies and the politics of place. South End Press.

Bullard, R. D., & Wright, B. (Eds.). (2009). Race, place, and environmental justice after Hurricane Katrina: Struggles to reclaim, rebuild, and revitalize New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Westview Press.

Annotated Bibliography (EIS)

This link complements the Essay Bibliography of the Project Environmental Justice framing implications in the EIS.

EPA Database on EISs

This (EIS) database provides information about EISs provided by federal agencies, and EPA's comments concerning the EIS process.

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jaostrander

“we have seen that it is possible to decrease the extent to which social inequalities become embodied as health disparities”

“National health insurance and other social safety nets, including those that guarantee primary education, food security, and clean water, are important because they promise rights, rather than commodities, to citizens.”

 

“: structural violence remains a high­ranking cause of premature death and disability”

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jaostrander

The authors used reports and statistics from international health organizations such as WHO. They also gathered information from think tanks like RAND. Additionally, to support the claims made in this article the authors looked at how biological outbreaks and threats were dealt with in the past, specifically World War II and the wars with Iran. 

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jaostrander

This organization operates within low socioeconomical regions. These are regions that are typically war zones or are high in violence. This has shaped their way of conceiving disaster in that they believe everyone should be provided care.