The disasters of the 1990s were only partially attributable to climatic changes. They were mainly the direct result of poor planning on the part of individuals and governments to address the desire of a larger, wealthier population to live in areas subject to natural disasters. The hurricanes that struck during the decade were not only large and strong, but they also hit coastlines full of homes and vacation resorts rather than empty sea islands and marshes. The earthquakes were more costly because so many homes crowded along fault lines. The Mississippi floods were so damaging because there were no wetlands left to absorb the waters. It was evident that good emergency management was as much a function of prevention as relief. In 1997 FEMA and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) of the Department of Energy (DOE) launched "Project Impact: Building...