By 2100, sea level rise is likely to threaten thousands of hazardous facilities along America’s coastlines. 80% of these facilities are concentrated in just 7 states. Choosing to ignore this could potentially endanger millions of people unless we choose to do something about it.

While the sophistication of government action (and its attendant bureaucracy) is a rather recent development, the very concept of disaster response, hazard mitigation, and emergency management as components of a larger social contract can be seen throughout history.