This material is based on work supported by the Califa Group under award NA15SEC0080008 from the Environmental Literacy Program of the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce, and by the National Science Foundation under Award Numbers 1515241 and DRL-1010577. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not

necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or NSF. © Dawson Media Group, L.L.C., 2013 - 2017

Pushing the Limits: Community Suggested Questions and Readings

Pushing the Limits: Community Discussion Questions

• What surprised you about this story? • What elements of Johnnie and Bert’s story remind you of things happening here in our

community? • Johnnie and Bert suggest that their close-knit community is a key part of their resilience.

o How would you describe our community? o How do you think this idea of community relationships leading to resilience applies or

doesn’t apply to our community? • Bert talks about the risk assessments he does with homeowners through the Firewise

Program. o What types of risks do we face in our community? o And what types of risk assessments can we do to try to better prepare for those risks?

• The scientist explains how higher spring and summer temperatures are making fire season worse in Ely. o How do you think higher temperatures might be affecting our community? o What can we do about that?

• The Pagami Creek Fire was costly due to the use of firefighters, property damage, and health costs. It’s possible that preventative measures could have been taken to reduce the impacts of the fire and, as a result, the costs of it. o What are some ways that our community can prepare for extreme weather or other

hazards so that the costs of recovery are lessened? • Bert comments that the lakes are freezing later than they used to, and melting earlier.

o Have you noticed changes in the ice and snow patterns in your area? • The smoke from the Pagami Creek Fire reached Chicago, causing air quality issues and

health impacts. o What are some ways that extreme weather events and other hazards that happen in our

neighboring communities (rural or urban) cause impacts to our community? o And vice versa: how do weather events and other hazards in our community affect our

neighbors? • What do you want to learn more about?

Recommended Books and Discussion Questions A.D: New Orleans After the Deluge by Josh Neufeld (nonfiction, graphic novel)

“Cartoonist Josh Neufeld depicts seven extraordinary true stories of survival in the days leading up to and following Hurricane Katrina.” (“Amazon Books.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/D-Orleans-Deluge-Pantheon-Graphic/dp/037571488X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479248783&sr=1-1&keywords=New+Orleans+After+the+Deluge+by+Josh+Neufeld.) • What do certain stories in A.D. show us about human nature and/or human behavior? • How does each character respond to news of the hurricane’s approach? • What were the similarities and differences between the experiences of those who chose to

stay and those who chose to evacuate during the storm? • Do you think people were being materialistic when leaving precious objects behind—or are

there ways in which things can be our “friends”? • Are there objects in your life that fill this role of “friends”? • How would you describe Abbas and Darnell’s friendship? • How is Abbas and Darnell’s friendship tested during their ordeal? • What does the author’s depiction of the events at the convention center tell you about how

rumors get spread? • How is order kept at the convention center? • What words would you use to describe Denise’s experience at the convention center? • Which character’s struggle did you respond to the most? • Why do you think Neufeld chose to pick up the story a year and a half after Hurricane

Katrina? • Why would social psychologists have an interest in studying natural disasters and the people

that experience them? • How does the author use powerful local symbols, like a Mardi Gras flag, to create meaning? • What challenges remain for the city of New Orleans as a whole?

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver (fiction)

“A brilliant and suspenseful novel set in present day Appalachia …Kingsolver's riveting story concerns a young wife and mother on a failing farm in rural Tennessee who experiences something she cannot explain, and how her discovery energizes various competing factions—religious leaders, climate scientists, environmentalists, politicians—trapping her in the center of the conflict and ultimately opening up her world.” (“Amazon Books.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/Flight-Behavior-Novel-Barbara-Kingsolver/dp/0062124277/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479251778&sr=1-1&keywords=Flight+Behavior+by+Barbara+Kingsolver.) • What is the significance of the novel's title? • How do the chapter titles relate both to scientific concepts as well as the events that unfold

within each chapter itself? • How Dellarobia she of this mountain town in Tennessee and how is she different from it? • What is everyday life like in the small town in Tennessee where Dellarobia lives?

• As news of her discovery spreads, what are the reactions of Dellarobia’s in-laws and her neighbors?

• How does Dellarobia react when she first sees the Monarchs? • Why is it often difficult for people see the long-term effects of their immediate actions? • Though she may not have a formal education beside her high school diploma, would you call

Dellarobia wise? • Why do so many Americans fear or dislike science? • Why do so many others fear or dislike religion? • What impact do these attitudes about science and religion have on the nation now and what

do they portend for our future? • How is media both a help and a hindrance in our understanding of social issues? • How is the media portrayed in Flight Behavior? • Do you believe in global warming or climate change? • How you strike a balance between protecting nature when your livelihood depends upon its

destruction? Forty Signs of Rain by Kim Stanley Robinson (fiction)

“It’s an increasingly steamy summer in the nation’s capital as Senate environmental staffer Charlie Quibler cares for his young son and deals with the frustrating politics of global warming… While Charlie struggles to play politics, his wife, Anna, takes a more rational approach to the looming crisis in her work at the National Science Foundation. There a proposal has come in for a revolutionary process that could solve the problem of global warming—if it can be recognized in time. But when a race to control the budding technology begins, the stakes only get higher” (“Amazon Books.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/Forty-Signs-Rain-Stanley-Robinson/dp/0553585800. ) • As readers, why do you think we’re drawn to stories about the end of the world? • Is any part of the book relevant to what is going on in Washington DC today? • What first comes to mind when you hear the term "climate change"? • Why does Robinson spend so much time introducing the characters? • This is a story of fiction, but with time, do you think it might become non-fiction? • Does this tale frighten you at all? • Do you believe that climate change exists? • How do you think our nation and the rest of the world should go about handling climate

change? • We see politics play a role in this story, what impact could politicians have on climate

change? • Should science play a part in politics? • Do you find yourself caring more about our planet after reading this story? • Did you find the plot believable? • Did you enjoy reading about all of the science in this book? • How do you feel about the way the book ends? • What does the ending leave you wondering about?

Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson (non-fiction) “September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people in what remains the greatest natural disaster in American history--and Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devastating personal tragedy.” (“Amazon Books.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/Isaacs-Storm-Deadliest-Hurricane-History/dp/0375708278/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479253401&sr=1-1&keywords=Isaac’s+Storm+by+Erik+Larson+%28.)

• Given the tools and knowledge the U.S. Weather Service had in 1900, could the Galveston disaster have been prevented? Larsen himself, in an interview with Powell’s bookstore, says the book is ‘so much about attitude.’ What does he mean?

• Why were Isaac Cline’s warnings so hesitant, as the barometer continued to drop and the storm raced toward the City of Galveston?

• Imagine if the hurricane had not hit Galveston. Would it have remained the ‘New York of the Gulf Coast’ as it was in 1900?

• Consider Hurricane Katrina. Are we better prepared for storms and their impact today? Does awareness of potential disaster translate into a different response now as compared to then?

• According to the book, several methods were used to dispose of the 10,000 bodies after the storm. How would it have been handled had that many died in Hurricane Katrina?

• How did this book’s descriptions of the devastation hit you emotionally? • Does this book have a hero? How does it affect the story for you as a reader? • Some wish the book had accompanying pictures. Can you visualize the situation and the

damage? • A reviewer in the New Statesman said the book had ‘just enough science.’ Do you agree?

MaddAddam Trilogy: Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, and MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood (fiction)

“This is Margaret Atwood at the absolute peak of her powers. With breathtaking command of her brilliantly conceived material, and with her customary sharp wit and dark humour, she projects us into an outlandish yet wholly believable realm populated by characters who will continue to inhabit our dreams long after the last chapter. [These novels] envision a near future that is both beyond our imagining and all too familiar: a world devastated by uncontrolled genetic engineering and a widespread plague, with only a few remaining humans fighting for survival.” (“Goodreads.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18594761-the-maddaddam-trilogy.)

Oryx and Crake Questions (first book of trilogy) • Oryx and Crake includes many details that seem futuristic, but are in fact already apparent in

our world. What parallels were you able to draw between the items in the world of the novel and those in your own?

• Margaret Atwood coined many words and brand names while writing the novel. In what way has technology changed your vocabulary over the past five years?

• The game "Extinctathon" emerges as a key component in the novel. Jimmy and Crake also play "Barbarian Stomp" and "Blood and Roses." What comparable video games do you know

of? What is your opinion of arcades that feature virtual violence? Discuss the advantages and dangers of virtual reality. Is the novel form itself a sort of virtual reality?

• If you were creating the game "Blood and Roses," what other "Blood" items would you add? What other "Rose" items?

• If you had the chance to fabricate an improved human being, would you do it? If so, what features would you choose to incorporate? Why would these be better than what we've got? Your model must of course be biologically viable.

• The pre-catastrophic society in Oryx and Crake is fixated on physical perfection and longevity, much as our own society is. Discuss the irony of these quests, both within the novel and in our own society.

• One aspect of the novel's society is the virtual elimination of the middle class. Economic and intellectual disparities, as well as the disappearance of safe public space, allow for few alternatives: People live either in the tightly controlled Compounds of the elites, or in the more open but seedier and more dangerous Pleeblands. Where would your community find itself in the world of Oryx and Crake?

• Snowman soon discovers that despite himself he's invented a new creation myth, simply by trying to think up comforting answers to the "why" questions of the Children of Crake. In Part Seven-the chapter entitled "Purring"-Crake claims that "God is a cluster of neurons," though he's had trouble eradicating religious experiences without producing zombies. Do you agree with Crake? Do Snowman's origin stories negate or enhance your views on spirituality and how it evolves among various cultures?

• How might the novel change if narrated by Oryx? Do any similarities exist between her early life and Snowman's? Do you always believe what she says?

• Why does Snowman feel compelled to protect the benign Crakers, who can't understand him and can never be his close friends? Do you believe that the Crakers would be capable of survival in our own society?

• In the world of Oryx and Crake, almost everything is for sale, and a great deal of power is now in the hands of large corporations and their private security forces. There are already more private police in North America than there are public ones. What are the advantages of such a system? What are the dangers?

• In what ways does the dystopia of Oryx and Crake compare to those depicted in novels such as Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and in Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale? What is the difference between speculative fiction—which Atwood claims to write—and science fiction proper?

• The book has two epigraphs, one from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels and one from Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse. Why do you think these were chosen?

• The ending of the novel is open, allowing for tantalizing speculation. How do you envision Snowman's future? What about the future of humanity—both within the novel, and outside its pages?

The Year of The Flood Questions • How does the friendship between Amanda and Ren grow, despite their differences and the

restrictions they face? They meet as children. Who was your greatest ally when you were that age? What do you think of Ren’s treatment of Bernice?

• What survival skills do the novel’s female characters possess? Do they find security or vulnerability at Scales and Tales, the AnooYoo Spa, and within the community of

Gardeners? What strength does Pilar find in nature, while Lucerne is drawn to artificial beauty?

• How do Adam One’s motivations compare to Zeb’s? In their world, what advantages do men have? Are they really “advantages”?

• Discuss Toby’s parents and their fate. What does their story illustrate about the dangers of an unregulated and corrupt drug industry? What motivates Toby to become a healer?

• How does Adam One’s explanation of creation and the fall of humanity compare to more standard Judeo-Christian ideas? What does he offer his followers, beyond an understanding of the planet and the creatures that inhabit it?

• Discuss the father figures in Ren’s life: her stepfather, Zeb; her biological father, Frank; and eventually Mordis. What did they teach her about being a woman? How did they shape her expectations of Jimmy?

• As a refugee from Texas, Amanda is an outsider, facing constant risk. Would you have harbored her? Why is Ren so impressed by her?

• What is the result of a penal system like Painball? How does it influence the citizens’ attitude toward crime?

• Should Toby have honored Pilar’s deathbed wish that she become an Eve? How did the lessons in beekeeping serve Toby in other ways as well?

• Crake’s BlyssPlus pill offers many false promises. What are they, and what was Crake really striving for (chapter 73)? If human beings are the greatest problem for the natural world, could they also provide solutions less drastic than Crake’s? How?

• In what ways do the novel’s three voices—Toby’s, Ren’s, and Adam One’s—complement one another? What unique perspective is offered in each narration?

• Explore the lyrics from The God’s Gardeners Oral Hymnbook. What do they say about the Gardener theology and the nature of their faith? Adam One does not always tell the truth to his congregation. Is well-meant lying ever acceptable?

• Margaret Atwood’s fiction often displays “gallows humor.” Can a thing be dire and funny at the same time? Must we laugh or die?

• The Year of the Flood covers the same time period as Oryx and Crake, and contains a number of the same characters — (“Snowman,” a student at the Martha Graham Academy and “the last man on earth”) and Glenn (“Crake,” who studied at the Watson-Crick Institute), as well as Bernice, Jimmy’s hostile college room-mate, Amanda, a live-in artist girlfriend, Ren (“Brenda,”) whom he remembers briefly in Oryx and Crake as a high-school fling, Jimmy’s mother, who runs away to become an activist, and the God’s Gardeners, whom he mentions as a fringe green cult. Re-read the final pages of both books. What do you predict for the remaining characters? Should the Gardeners execute the Painballers? Why? Why not? Would you?

• What parallels did you see between The Year of the Flood and current headlines? MaddAddam Questions • Why are Adam and Zeb so different? Or are they more similar than they first seem? • The MaddAddamites set about building a basic community for themselves, one that meets the

need for food, clothing, shelter, and an energy source. If you were in this position, would you do things differently? Should children be taught elementary survival skills?

• What comment, if any, do you think Margaret Atwood is making about environmentalism in this book, through organizations like Bearlift? Or does Bearlift suffer simply from the human flaws that appear in all organizations, no matter how well-meaning?

• The Internet has an almost physical presence in MaddAddam—the “lilypads,” the game Intestinal Parasites. Do you think this is where the Internet is heading? Is it becoming a “real” entity of its own?

• Is Toby right to trust Zeb? Do you think his feelings for Toby are genuine? • Toby teaches Blackbeard to write. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? What consequences do

you think this will have for the Crakers and their new world? • Margaret Atwood’s trilogy often portrays humans and our future grimly, but it is also both

funny and profane. Is Atwood’s gallows humor effective? • What parallels do you see between the events of MaddAddam and recent events in our real

world? Are Atwood’s three dystopian books exaggerated or could they really be our future? • Despite having seemed violent and disposed to eat humans, the Pigoons ultimately display

more compassion than many of the humans in MaddAddam. Is that because the Pigoons are animals, or is it because of the implanted human tissue in their brains?

• The Crakers seek stories from Jimmy and Toby to explain the world around them. What do these stories say about how myths are formed? Is the desire for religion innate within us? What do you think MaddAddam is saying about our need for gods and how religions are created?

• How important is language in shaping and changing history and rumour into myth? Discuss the way gods form in Toby’s monologues to the Crakers—including the one named for a swear word?

• Religion and our need for belief is a key concern in MaddAddam. What does the Church of PetrOleum say about Atwood’s view of religion? Has religion become a commodity?

• How do you think the hybrid babies will turn out? Will they be more human or Craker, and which would be best for the future of Earth?

• Is Atwood’s view of humanity ultimately negative? Is there hope at the end of MaddAddam, and if there is, where does it come from?

Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta (fiction)

“Global warming has changed the world’s geography and its politics. Wars are waged over water, and China rules Europe... In this far north place, seventeen-year-old Noria Kaitio is learning to become a tea master like her father, a position that holds great responsibility and great secrets. Tea masters alone know the location of hidden water sources… But secrets do not stay hidden forever, and after her father’s death the army starts watching their town - and Noria. And as water becomes even scarcer, Noria must choose between safety and striking out, between knowledge and kinship.” (“Amazon Books.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/Memory-Water-Novel-Emmi-Itäranta-ebook/dp/B00FJ3CHU4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479254914&sr=8-1&keywords=Memory+of+Water%C2%A0by+Emmi+Itäranta+%28fiction%29.) • Who owns water? • Is water a human right? • When you think of Earth 100 years from now, what comes to your mind? • Is it important to live your life with the future generations in mind? • Do you think people have had a net positive or net negative impact on Earth? • What are some of the water metaphors used in this book? • Does this book remind you of any other books you’ve read or television shows or movies

you’ve seen? • What emotional tone does the prologue set?

• In Chapter 2, what is the significance of the door with the blue circle? • How is it possible to help those who have limited access to resources? • What is significant about the past-world stories Noria is beginning to uncover in Chapter

Ten? • To what risk would you go to help a friend? • How do you decide when to take a risk for someone else? • How do you decide when you have to make a difficult choice? • At the end, Noria indicates that she needs to tell her own story. Why is this important to her?

Odds Against Tomorrow by Nathaniel Rich (fiction)

“At once an all-too-plausible literary thriller, an unexpected love story, and a philosophically searching inquiry into the nature of fear, Nathaniel Rich's Odds Against Tomorrow poses the ultimate questions of imagination and civilization. The future is not quite what it used to be.” (“Amazon Books.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/Odds-Against-Tomorrow-Nathaniel-Rich/dp/1250043646/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479255267&sr=8-1&keywords=Odds+Against+Tomorrow%C2%A0by+Nathaniel+Rich+%28fiction%29.) • How did this novel comment on our country's disaster recovery capabilities? • Why do you think FutureWorld became such a successful company? • Is there a company today like FutureWorld that similarly preys on fear to make money? • What does this novel say about our society's attitude toward disasters? • How is this attitude different from how we feel about other threats such as terrorism or

economic collapse? • What does the Psycho Canoe evoke or symbolize? • Some of the most harrowing parts of the novel take place in a canoe. What did those

moments evoke in you? • How did you react to the similarity between the floods Rich described and the destruction

Hurricane Sandy caused? • How does the novel suggest how we can continue being human in an age of algorithmic

prediction? • How are agency and responsibility for the future framed in this story? • Which real world disasters does Hurricane Tammy in the novel most strongly evoke? • Can literature deal with the challenges of slow catastrophe? • How is Elsa Bruner important to the book beyond the way Mitchell chases her? • What do you think of Mitchell's final decision in the end? • If you were in Mitchell's shoes, would you rejoin society or not?

The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (fiction)

“In a future hammered by climate change and drought, mountain snows have turned to rain, and rain evaporates before it hits the ground. In a fragmenting United States, the cities of Phoenix and Las Vegas skirmish for a dwindling share of the Colorado River. But it is the Las Vegas water knives - assassins, terrorists and spies - who are legendary for protecting Las Vegas' water supplies, and for ensuring Phoenix's ruin. When rumours of a game-changing water source surface, Las Vegas dispatches elite water knife Angel Velasquez to Phoenix to investigate. There, he discovers hardened journalist Lucy Monroe, who holds the secret to the water source Angel seeks. But Angel isn't the only one hunting for water, Lucy is no pushover, and the death of a despised water knife is a small

price to pay in return for the life-giving flow of a river.” (“Fantastic Fiction.” Accessed Nov 15, 2016. https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/paolo-bacigalupi/water-knife.htm.)

• Throughout the novel, several of the characters refer to the past, citing some variation of “It

wasn’t always like this.” Does there seem to be any benefit to reflecting on the past or does looking back hinder the characters in some way?

• In chapter 16, Angel tells Lucy about a specific ritual of the tamarisk hunters. Why do you think that he chooses to share this story with Lucy? Why do the hunters share water when they meet each other at the Colorado? How does this ritual correspond to the relationship between the characters in The Water Knife? What do you think this reveals about the storyteller, Angel? Does the story seem to elicit the response that Angel was hoping for from Lucy?

• In chapter 7, Angel indicates that he “had always liked the desert for its lack of illusions” (80). What do you think he means by this? Evaluate the theme of truth in the novel. Are the characters able to see the truth of what is going on around them and the truth about themselves, or are they in denial? What allows them to see the truth, or otherwise prevents them from being able to see it?

• Examine the treatment of the theme of allegiance within the story. How does allegiance seem to be defined within this novel? To what do the characters show allegiance? Do the characters remain steadfast in their allegiance or do their allegiances shift throughout? If they shift, what seems to motivate these changes?

• In chapter 28, we learn that Angel blends in with the group of people he is among. What is it that allows him to blend in? What does he have in common with all of the others in the group? What major theme or themes does this seem to reveal or support?

• Toomie says, “We’re all each other’s people” (250). What does he mean by this? Do the other characters seem to share this notion? Toomie also says that an Indian man once told him that he believed that the people of India could survive an apocalypse while Americans could not. Why does the Indian man believe this? Do you agree? Does the novel seem to confirm or refute that idea? Are there any examples of solidarity in the book? What does Angel seem to think about cooperation and survival?

Zeitoun by David Eggers (nonfiction)

“When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a prosperous Syrian-American and father of four, chose to stay through the storm to protect his house and contracting business. In the days after the storm, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and helping those he could. A week later, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared.” Eggers’s riveting nonfiction book, three years in the making, explores Zeitoun’s roots in Syria, his marriage to Kathy - an American who converted to Islam - and their children, and the surreal atmosphere (in New Orleans and the United States generally) in which what happened to Abdulrahman Zeitoun was possible.” (“Goodreads.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6512154-zeitoun?from_search=true.) • Eggers dwells on Zeitoun's daily ritual of feeding his neighbor's dogs. Why might this be

significant? • Many nonfiction writers feel the need to simplify their material. Why does Eggers introduce

so many of the Zeitouns' family friends, many of whom do not play an important role in the story?

• “Zeitoun is a more powerful indictment of America’s dystopia in the Bush era than any number of well-written polemics” (Timothy Egan, New York Times, August 13, 2009). Would you agree with this statement? Can Zeitoun be read as a contribution to the history of hurricane Katrina and the failure of government to handle the disaster effectively?

• Do Abdulrahman, Kathy and their children make up an unusual American family, or not? How would you describe the relationship between Zeitoun and Kathy, in marriage and in business? What effect does their religion have on the way others in the community see them?

• While Zeitoun helps the animals and people trapped in the flood, how does he feel about what he is doing? How does he think about these days after he has been imprisoned?

• Describe the relationship between Zeitoun and Kathy, in marriage and in business. How do they “work” together before and after the storm?

• While Zeitoun helps the animals and people trapped in the flood, how does he feel about what he is doing? How does he think about these days after he has been imprisoned?

• For those of us who did not live in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and therefore did not experience its impact firsthand, we likely received most of our information and formed most of our opinions about the various issues surrounding Katrina by watching or reading the news. Now having read the book, do you think that the information you heard or read was accurate? How has your view of the event and its issues been affected?

• What is Zeitoun’s feeling now about what happened? How does he move forward into the future, as expressed in the book’s closing pages

• A major turning point in the book is when Zeitoun and his friends are arrested. How did your impression of what the story is about change after this point?

• Do you think Zeitoun put the interests of his business and property in front of his family? Was he justified in staying behind in New Orleans? How did you feel when he ignored his chances to evacuate?

• What kinds of messages does Eggers send about human beings’ drive to help one another and take advantage of one another in times of crisis?

• Do you think Zeitoun should have left the city when Kathy asked him to, or did he have a valid reason for staying? What motivated him to stay?

• How did the experiences Zeitoun had in the flooded city reinforce his decision to stay? • A lot of people decided to stay in the city, even after a mandatory evacuation was declared.

Why do people resist evacuating in a situation like this? • One of the recurring issues in this book is the carelessness or deliberate indifference of

people in position of authority. In this final section, for example, the nurse who lost his paperwork requesting a doctor. Then, when he’s finally interviewed by Homeland Security officials, they seem brisk and businesslike and apologize to Zeitoun after asking a few questions. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt trapped in a bureaucracy, unable to get simple questions answered or get a problem solved? What does this suggest about how individuals should act in an official capacity – the relationship between the individual and the role they play in a workplace or organization?

Additional Suggested Readings The Cloud Seeders by James Zerndt (fiction)

“Winner of the 2014 Cygnus Award for New Adult Dystopian Fiction and Finalist in the 2014 Readers' Favorite Awards: “Serve Your Country, Conserve Your Water, Observe Your Neighbor” This is the slogan of the Sustainability Unit and of a country gone eco-hysterical. After nearly twelve months without rain and the hinges of the world barely still oiled, Thomas and his younger brother, Dustin, set out across a drought--ridden landscape in search of answers. What they discover along the way will change their lives, and their country, forever.” (“Amazon Books.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Seeders-Jamie-Zerndt-ebook/dp/B008GTIHS4/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479250784&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=The+Cloud+Seeders+by+James+Zerndt.)

Drought by Graham Masterton (fiction)

“Ex-Marine Martin Makepeace learns that good deeds mean nothing when the water just . . . disappears… In the deprived areas where Martin works, the water’s been intentionally cut off. And it’s his job, he discovers, to tell the families he cares for not to panic. Martin soon has more problems than lack of water. His daughter is sick with fever. And as riots over bottled water start, Martin’s teenage son is framed, and arrested, for a terrible crime.” (“Amazon Books.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/Drought-Californian-environmental-disaster-thriller/dp/0727883992/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479251316&sr=1-1&keywords=Drought+by+Graham+Masterton.)

Heart Like Water: Surviving Katrina and Life in Its Disaster Zone by Joshua Clark (nonfiction) “Joshua Clark never left New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, choosing instead to band together with fellow holdouts in the French Quarter…Clark, a key correspondent for National Public Radio during the storm, immediately began to record hundreds of hours of conversations with its victims…Their voices resound throughout this memoir of a unique and little-known moment of anarchy and chaos, of heartbreaking kindness and incomprehensible anguish, of mercy and madness as only America could deliver it.” (“Amazon Books.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Like-Water-Surviving-Disaster/dp/1416537635/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479252315&sr=1-1&keywords=Heart+Like+Water+by+Joshua+Clark.)

Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago by Eric Klineberg (non- fiction)

“On Thursday, July 13, 1995, Chicagoans awoke to a blistering day in which the temperature would reach 106 degrees…When the heat wave broke a week later…over seven hundred people had perished…in the great Chicago heat wave, one of the deadliest in American history… Klinenberg uncovers how a number of surprising and unsettling forms of social breakdown—including the literal and social isolation of seniors, the institutional abandonment of poor neighborhoods, and the retrenchment of public assistance programs—contributed to the high fatality rates.” (“Amazon Books.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/Heat-Wave-Autopsy-Disaster-Chicago/dp/022627618X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid= 1479252765&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=Heat+Wave+by+Eric+Klineberg.)

Through a Night of Horrors edited by Casey Edward Greene and Shelly Henley Kelly (nonfiction) “It had no name and gave no warning, but crept stealthily into the Gulf and then roared ashore, killing six thousand people. Nearly one hundred years after its landfall, the hurricane that struck Galveston Island on September 8, 1900 remains the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.” (“Amazon Books.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/Through-Night-Horrors-Voices-Galveston/dp/1585442283/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479255865&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Through+a+Night+of+Horrors.+Edited+by+Casey+Edward+Greene+and+Shelly+Henley+Kelly.)

Waiting on the Bounty by Mary Knackstedt Dyck (Nonfiction)

“Mary Knackstedt Dyck was a farmer’s wife in Kansas for over 30 years, during that time she kept a diary written in pencil on notebook paper. This volume contains her entries for the years 1936 – 1941, the years of the dustbowl, which drove many farmers from their farms” (“Book Depository.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.bookdepository.com/Waiting-on-the-Bounty-Mary-Knackstedt-Dyck-Pamel-Riney-Kehrberg/9780877456940?ref=grid-view)

A World Turned Over by Lorian Hemingway (non- fiction)

“A World Turned Over recounts what happened on the day of the Candlestick Tornado, as it came to be known in Jackson, and how its aftermath still reverberates today.” (“Amazon Books.” Accessed Nov. 15, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/World-Turned-Over-Tornado-Changed/dp/0684856344/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479256034&sr=8-1&keywords=A+World+Turned+Over.)