Böcker av Robert O. Schneider

Highlighting American cultural and political contexts, this book provides an in-depth assessment of the breadth and magnitude of the United States' errors in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.An Unmitigated Disaster chronicles and explains the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Emergency management expert Robert O. Schneider considers the quality of U.S. pandemic planning and preparedness; the quality and effectiveness of national, state, and local response efforts; and the performance of national leaders during this historic public health crisis. The book culminates in an assessment of how a predictable public health threat became an unprecedented health, economic, and security disaster. Schneider convincingly shows that conscious decisions were made by governmental authorities, beginning with the president, to ignore expert information and security intelligence in pursuit of other objectives. In other words, Schneider argues, if the U.S. was ill-prepared for or slow to respond to the crisis, it was because its leaders consciously chose to be ill-prepared or slow to respond. Readers will be fascinated by this behind-the-scenes exposé of a pandemic year.

This book explains why science and politics collide, why this is an especially critical problem at this precise time in U.S. history, and what should be done to ensure that science and politics coincide. The United States is waging a political war against science, and the stakes are increasing.

Using a risk management approach to tease apart the complex issue of climate change, this book assesses the key vulnerabilities and redirects the discussion to present a comprehensive plan to overhaul our response to climate change.According to the 2014 U.S. Climate Report, temperatures might increase by 5 degrees even with aggressive strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and could increase by as much as 10 degrees if emissions continue unabated. The report also predicts increases in extreme weather caused by global warming will continue. It is time to apply the lessons of sustainable disaster mitigation and hazard resilience to respond to the challenges posed by global warming, identify and assess the options we have for addressing the crisis, and create a practical plan for managing the problem.Unlike other books on climate change, this one uniquely applies a risk management approach to answer the question, "Considering what our policies look like now, what do we need to do next to mitigate climate change?" Robert O. Schneider, PhD, explains how the warming climate will affect everything from peak temperatures and weather extremes to infrastructure such as groundwater reservoirs, airports, and wastewater systems, making the dire nature of the crisis clear to readers in practical and personal terms. By enabling readers to understand the scientific and historical contexts of the climate crisis, the author makes a compelling case for the urgency of implementing a national climate policy to respond to the challenges posed by global warming.