Although Mesopotamians were familiar with the notion of sin, it is not sin that precipitates the Flood. The offence of human beings is simply that they multiply and, as a result, make too much noise for the gods' comfort. That such a slight and unwitting offence evokes such a lethal response is due to the shortcomings of the gods: they are tyrants - and stupid tyrants at that

So human beings were brought into being to act as the servants, if not the slaves, of the gods. It was a notion which had long been standard amongst the peoples of Mesopotamia

This Sumerian version of the Flood story seems to have been composed for a political purpose: to strengthen the established order. The king was central to that order - and the story not only insists that kingship was established by the gods (something that every Sumerian knew well enough) but also shows us a king who was so devoted to the gods that they rewarded him with safe conduct during the Flood and immortality after it.

The connection is clear - and since the Mesopotamian story was written down centuries before the people of Israel came into being, the biblical story must be derived from it.

Be fertile and increase and fill the earth.'H They fulfilled that task: all people on earth are descended from them.

The quick diffusion of these technologies is a clear indication of the growing communication between these communities, a pattern also reflect-ed in the appearance of trade goods from distant sources: seashells from the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts are found at many sites in the interior, and obsidian from the mountains of Turkey reached deep into the southern Levant and to the Zagros Mountains in the eas

Toward the end of the Pleistocene, some rr,ooo years ago, changing environ-mental conditions prompted wandering groups of Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) hunter-gatherers to settle into small communities, where they took the first steps toward the domestication of certain species of plants and animals.

Ms. Forbes pointed out that black families tend to be more exposed to flooding because their homes are often built on cheaper land in historically segregated areas. Investing in flood protection there would be a good start, she said, adding that the public discussion of climate change should address why minorities are more vulnerable in the first place. “We are really silent on the impact of race,” Ms. Forbes said.

Last year her group found that 87 percent of insurance claims for Chicago flood damage between 2007 and 2016 went to people in communities of color. Among the many risks, residents of flood-prone areas often suffer more mold in their homes, which can worsen respiratory conditions, a danger in the current pandemic.

“More information and transparency for consumers and home buyers and renters about flood risk is critical, no matter where it comes from,” said Laura Lightbody, project director for the flood-prepared communities initiative at the Pew Charitable Trusts. “We know that residents and home buyers don’t have this type of information, or it’s very

They made certain that the house they bought, while it did require flood insurance, had never flooded in the past. But they had no idea how vulnerable it was to flooding in the future — the very near future, as it turns out.

A warming climate is poised to wreak havoc on the housing market, particularly if risk is not properly priced. Homeowners could be stuck owning properties that are literally and financially underwater, and insurers and lenders could face a financial reckoning of their own.1AdChoices

“Flood Factor,” which is a score on a 10-point scale, to allow prospective buyers to better understand the flood probabilities associated with a particular property.

The discoveries of science, the works of art are explorations- more, are explosions, of a hidden likeness.

The progress of science is the discovery at each step of a new order which gives unity to what had long seemed unlike.

We must be content that power is the by-product of understanding.

These inventions have been directed by social needs, and they are useful inventions; yet it was not their usefulness which dominated and set light to the minds of those who made them.

But in fact it is the picture of a slave society, and should make us shiver whenever we hear a man of sensibility dismiss science as someone else's concern. The world today is made, it is powered by science; and for any man to abdicate an interest in science is to walk with open eyes towards slavery.

We live in a world which is penetrated through and throug,h by science, and which is both whole and real.

The power of science for good and for evil has troubled other minds than ours.

Gradual approaches may also be particularly well suited to disaster research: when a severe event strikes, researchers from different disciplines who may not have collaborated previously, but who have established relationships may be able to quickly form an investigative team and develop innovative and relevant projects that build on solid foundations of trust, communication, and shared mental models of hazards and disasters.

A common theme across many studies is the importance of trust and mutual respect (Bracken & Oughton, 2006; Harris & Lyon, 2013; Monteiro & Keating, 2009). As interdisciplinary teams learn to work together, members frequently report feeling vulnerable and they are more willing to participate fully when they trust their colleagues to be respectful.

Achieving such trust, shared understandings, and communicative competence requires more than casual familiarity with other disciplines; it requires detailed knowledge of the technical language, conceptual frameworks, and methods of different disciplines.

failures of implementation frequently obstruct effective disaster research

However, prominent reviews warn that in practice, disaster research and planning continue to suffer from poor engagement and communication between different disciplines and that these failures contributed to avoidable catastrophes, such as Hurricane Katrina

Developing interactional expertise requires time and effort, which can be challenging for a busy researcher, and also requires a foundation of trust and communication among team members.