Amazon.com description: Product Description: Major "natural" disasters hit the world time after time. Aid is offered when earthquakes, floods and famines strike, but it is always too little and too late. Is it possible to see them coming, to be prepared and so to save possibly thousands of lives? The author begins to answer this question by demonstrating that it is the wrong one. Throughout the developing world, people have developed sophisticated techniques for coping with earthquakes, floods and droughts. They have learned to limit the damage, to budget supplies for the lean years, to diversify and in general to survive hardship. What has changed radically are the social and economic circumstances which have dramatically limited their power to deal with potentially dangerous situations. Harsh market economics, enforced changes in land-use and massive environmental problems have led to starvation, loss of home, of livelihood and finally of life. The author points to the direct and obvious damage done to a peasant infrastructure by the draconian creation of surplus value.