Michel Bruneau

Speech Topics

• The Blessings of Disaster: The Lessons That Catastrophes Teach Us and Why Our Future Depends on It

  Are we doomed? As individuals, certainly, eventually, inevitably. But as a species? As a civilization? Perhaps not.  “The Blessings of Disaster” draws on knowledge from multiple disciplines to illustrate how our civilization’s future successes and failures in dealing with societal threats — be they pandemics, climate change, overpopulation, monetary collapse, and nuclear holocaust — can be predicted by observing how we currently cope with and react to natural and technological disasters. Maybe most importantly, this entertaining and often counter-intuitive book shows how we can think in better ways about disasters, to strengthen and extend our existence as both individuals and as a species. When it comes to rare extreme events, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornados, volcanic eruptions, technological accidents, terrorist attacks, pandemics, and even existential threats, it is in our nature to set ourselves up for disasters because the gamble may be worth it. But only maybe.  “The Blessing of Disaster” is the very real story of the relationship between humans and disasters – and it’s not a simple one. Bringing together observations from extreme events like Japan’s Kobe earthquake and category 5 hurricanes in the American South, along with thoughtful and practical solutions, this presentation provides a thorough examination of the structural challenges that face today’s (and tomorrow’s) world. How we cope with today’s threats is indicative of what the future holds. Contrary to popular forecasts, it is not all gloom and doom — but some of it definitely is. What others have said on “The Blessings of Disaster”: • “An engrossing study of human complacency, myopia, and faulty risk perception on a grand scale. "— Publishers Weekly • “Offers plenty of solid science, engineering, and food for thought and debate.” — Midwest Book Review • “A must read by all – engineers and non-engineers alike – as it is a story of our relationship with disaster.” — ISE, UK • “A readable, deeply informed window into the reasons why we cycle through disaster after disaster.” — Natural Hazards Journal • “Deliberately humorous in tone, but never at the expense of Bruneau’s realism” — ASCE • “Bruneau writes with wit, irony, and well-crafted figures of speech [that] the situation is not hopeless” — EERI Spectra

Books

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