As authorities in the Northeast order new evacuations and the airlines cancel hundreds of flights in anticipation of another fierce storm, OtherWords is taking stock of the many ways in which Sandy may prove a teachable moment.

Daphne Wysham and John Talberth show how this latest bout of extreme weather exposes the shortcomings of relying on GDP to measure economic progress. William A. Collins, one of the 8.5 million people who lost power last week, asks whether Mother Nature was disciplining Wall Street for its dirty-energy finance. Michael Brune, who grew up in one of New Jersey’s hardest-hit towns, calls for bigger investments in clean energy. Ryan Alexander calls for a more responsible approach to the nation’s flood insurance system. And Khalil Bendib’s cartoon can accompany any of these commentaries.

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1. How Sandy Reveals the GDP’s Twisted Logic / John Talberth and Daphne Wysham
   Extreme weather doesn’t boost the economy.
2. Hurricane Sandy’s Wakeup Call / Michael Brune
   Sandy is only the latest and most devastating incident in a pattern of extreme weather that’s become impossible to ignore.
3. Social Security: It Ain’t Broke / Elizabeth Rose
   It’s a basic part of what makes America run, like our national highway system.
4. Rebuilding Resilience / Ryan Alexander
   We have to stop subsidizing people to live in harm’s way.
5. The Invisible Hand Won’t Stop Inequality in Its Tracks / Sam Pizzigati
   We’ll have more economic and climate disasters on Sandy’s scale unless our political systems intervene.
6. Why the Chicken Crossed the Road / Jim Hightower
   Factory farms are animal concentration camps.
7. Shivering in the Land of Climate Denial / William A. Collins
   If Wall Street doesn’t get Mother Nature’s hint, it will become the entire world’s tragedy.
8. Sandy Trumps Romney’s Climate Joke / Khalil Bendib Cartoon
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   Sandy Trumps Romney’s Climate Joke, an OtherWords cartoon by Khalil Bendib