Who Ya Gonna Call? Wal-Mart!

As reviled as they may be, local big-box stores are often a big source of relief in times of disaster, according to a new stody by St. Lawrence University economics professor Steven Horwitz. Horwitz says stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot often outperform the government in terms of responding to local crises.

High Hopes for a Balloon Network

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, telephone service for an entire region was lost for days. DePauw University researchers recently tested a potential solution to such problems: a network of high-altitude balloons capable of providing uninterrupted cell phone coverage.

FEMA and the California Wildfire

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials know the agency's performance in the California wildfires will be watched closely for comparisons to its failures in Hurricane Katrina. FEMA Director David Paulison promised on Tuesday "a different type of response" and declared "this is a new FEMA." Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including the following (click on names for contact info):

Vincent Gawronski - Assistant Professor of Political Science, Birmingham-Southern College - Gawronski studies the political impact of natural disasters. As a consultant for the U.S. Agency for International Development, he has been involved in the evaluation of training programs for civil defense personnel and in the assessment of post-impact disaster response and nongovernmental organization capabilities.

Richard Ellis - Associate Professor of Politics, Willamette University - A widely published author on politics, Ellis's books include Presidential Lightning Rods: The Politics of Blame Avoidance and Dilemmas of Presidential Leadership: From Washington Through Lincoln.

Char Miller - Professor of History, Trinity University - Miller's research interests in environmental history include forests, fires, water, and wildlife in the American West, and the U.S. Forest Service. She is currently editing an environmental atlas of Canada and the U.S.