[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 132 (Tuesday, December 5, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2082-E2083]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE LIFE OF DR. GILBERT F. WHITE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 5, 2006

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and 
honor the life of Dr. Gilbert F. White, the ``Father of Floodplain 
Management,'' who died October 5, 2006 in his home in Boulder Colorado. 
He will be missed by friends and loved ones, yet the legacy of his 
social and environmental vision will long continue in communities 
throughout the world.
  Gilbert F. White was born on November 26, 1911 in Hyde Park, Illinois 
and received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University 
of Chicago. As a graduate student in the late 1930s, he studied the 
Mississippi River Basin for the federal government when many planners 
followed a flood control policy based on the construction of dams. 
White questioned the impact of such projects and suggested alternatives 
that protected people, as well as floodplain ecosystems. He served as 
president of Haverford College in Pennsylvania from 1946 until 1955 and 
taught at the University of Chicago from 1956 to 1969. He was a 
visiting professor at the University of Oxford in 1962-63, and he 
chaired the American Friends Service Committee from 1963 to 1969.
  In 1970, White joined the faculty of the University of Colorado at 
Boulder as a Professor of Geography and Director of the Institute of 
Behavioral Science, remaining active in academic work well into his 
90s. He founded the University of Colorado's Natural Hazard Research 
and Applications Information Center in 1974 which has become the 
nation's leading repository of knowledge on human behavior in 
disasters. White's work in natural hazard mitigation changed the way 
people addressed their surroundings and made the world safer for its 
inhabitants in the process. In his doctoral dissertation of 1942, White 
wrote, ``Floods are acts of God, but flood losses are largely acts of 
man.'' So significant was this work that it has since been called the 
most influential book ever written by an American geographer.
  In an era characterized by the construction of bigger and stronger 
flood control devices, Dr. White pioneered effective models of flood 
management that promoted public safety while preserving rivers and 
waterways. He was a true humanitarian, making extraordinary 
contributions toward educating governments on the most effective 
actions available in managing floodplains and alleviating flood losses. 
Dr. White's persistence convinced the nation to take a broader view in 
reducing flood risks, culminating with the implementation of the 
National Flood Insurance Program. This program encouraged responsible 
floodplain management at the local level and created stronger, safer 
communities for generations of Americans.
  Among White's numerous honors are the National Geographic Society's 
highest honor, the Hubbard Medal; the United Nation's

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Sasakawa International Environmental Prize; and the Association of 
American Geographer's Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also presented 
with an honorary doctorate from CU-Boulder in May of 2006.
  Dr. White's legacy derives from the programs he helped implement. His 
contributions will continue to keep communities safer and protect the 
environment while making smart investments in mitigation activities at 
all levels of government. We all owe this great man a debt of gratitude 
and respect. I ask my colleagues to join with me in celebrating and 
remembering this life of service.

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