Hurricanes: Their Nature and Impacts on Society - Climate Science ...

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HURRICANES: THEIR NATURE AND IMPACT ON SOCIETY
millons 1993 $
Figure 2.1 Annual hurricane damages, 1900-1995. Source: Hebert, Jarrell <strong>and</strong>
Mayfield (1996)
with unintended consequences. If the hurricane problem faced by the United
States is to be dealt with effectively, then an important first step is to
underst<strong>and</strong> the nature of that problem, <strong>and</strong> the implications of various
alternative definitions of it.
Problems originate from the universe of "issues", which have been defined
as "patterns of events with significance for human values" (Rein <strong>and</strong> White
1977). For instance, global climate change went from an esoteric scientific
issue to an international problem when temperature trend data were associated
with societal impacts of climate. Global climate change did not emerge as
a policy problem overnight -observers will point out that climate change has
been a topic of discussion in scientific circles for close to a century. Why did
global climate change, or any other problem for that matter, emerge from the
"policy primeval soup" to occupy a place on the public agenda (Kingdon
1984)? Why do problems emerge when they do? What role ought the social
<strong>and</strong> physical science community play in shaping <strong>and</strong> responding to policy
problems? Answers to questions like these lie in a deeper underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the
role of problems <strong>and</strong> problem definitions in the policy process.
From issues to problems: getting on the agenda
The first step on the path from issue to problem is a sense of dissonance. John
Dewey, the American philosopher, observed early this century that conscious