Heat Wave

Heat Wave

Introduction

The heat wave in Chicago 1995 was not only a natural disaster, but according to Klinenberg, it was a social and political disaster as well. Chicago and its residents were going through an extreme weather condition; it was a combination of heat and humidity and it developed into a massive panic throughout the entire city, as people were suffering immensely. Due to the great heat, people were searching for alternatives when the electricity and water supply had decreased by rebelling against the state, just too somewhat survive. The heat wave turned out to be Chicago's most fatal environmental event. Klinenberg's social perspectives will be discussed throughout the paper. A part from those interactive and other factors that brought implications would also be discussed here.

Discussion

Death is to be linked with a type of separation (social, spatial, and racial politics) identical to that governing the lives of some townspeople. The deadly heat wave of 1995 illustrated the new forms of marginality and social neglect specific U.S. cities and particularly pronounced in Chicago. A calamity more "structural" and "natural" that not only underlines the clear relationship between poverty and suffering, but also reveals the social and institutional mechanisms that underlie American insecurity. By exploiting this concept very American that makes the individual solely responsible for their well-being and social status ( 3 ), the Chicago city fathers manage to avoid the wrath of the population and de-politicize the debate.

Moreover, although experts in the fields Klinenberg draws on - epidemiology, public health, social policy, urban ethnography, and political economy - will find a lot to argue with, the effort to draw these perspectives together and show how they interconnect is a virtue of the book rather than a failing. Its reach may exceed its grasp at times, but there are worse faults than that in social science.

Social Factors

Failures of water and electricity

Tuesday, July 12, Chicago pants under a blazing sun. The streets are on fire. Several days ago, meteorologists, alerted by a warm air mass from the south, have announced the heat wave. A time for the authorities disseminates prevention messages. Some people are ready. Others react promptly in robbing an afternoon all the stores of air conditioners and fans. Population invades the banks of the lake there were up to ninety thousand people crammed on a single track. Those who are too far from the beaches go in search of fountains, swimming pools or fire hydrants...

While the city makes provision for air conditioners, energy consumption reached a level that exceeds the capabilities of fast power company. Its equipment is when people are most in need. On Friday, two large transformers discontent in less than an hour. Entire neighborhoods are without electricity - and hence without air conditioning, no fan and no TV to inform them of ways to protect themselves. (Haver, 2006)

Thursday was the hottest day. Firefighters must use their fire hoses to spray the passengers overwhelmed, a school bus stuck in traffic ...