Acts of God, Acts of Men: When We Turn Nature into a Weapon
Distillations | Science History Institute · Science History Institute
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Show Notes
Mother Nature can do a lot of damage. Tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and droughts destroy landscapes and ruin lives. But what happens when humans are the ones creating these disasters? This episode of Distillations explores the many ways humans have provoked nature’s destructive forces purposefully and inadvertently through history.
Our journey begins in Oklahoma, a state that now has more earthquakes than California. Reporter Anna Stitt talks to the people affected by these new quakes and finds out how their lives have changed.
Then we talk to historian Jacob Darwin Hamblin about his latest book, Arming Mother Nature: The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism. He tells us how Cold War military planners sought to use the environment as a weapon and in the process discovered how vulnerable our planet really is.
SHOW CLOCK:00:03 Introduction
01:20 Oklahoma, the Earthquake State
11:07 Interview with Jacob Darwin Hamblin
CREDITS:Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy
Guest: Jacob Darwin Hamblin
Reporter: Anna Stitt
Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr
Music courtesy of the Audio Network.
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