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Sat, 2012-01-28 13:15 — mdmcdonald
The Resilience Collaboratory focuses on the issues associated with dynamic adaption of social ecologies.

The mission of the Resilience Collaboratory is to find solutions associated with dynamic adaption of social ecologies to global change, societal challenges and social disruption.

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The Great Transition, Part II: Building a Wind-Centered Economy

Sun, 2012-11-04 12:39 — Maeryn Obley

earth-policy.org - October 31st, 2012 - Lester R. Brown

In the race to transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy and avoid runaway climate change, wind has opened a wide lead on both solar and geothermal energy. Solar panels, with a capacity totaling 70,000 megawatts, and geothermal power plants, with a capacity of some 11,000 megawatts, are generating electricity around the world. The total capacity for the world’s wind farms, now generating power in about 80 countries, is near 240,000 megawatts. China and the United States are in the lead.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

U.S. Satellite Plans Falter, Imperiling Data on Storms

Fri, 2012-11-02 18:14 — Maeryn Obley

A NASA satellite image shows Hurricane Sandy battering the Caribbean on Thursday.

Image: A NASA satellite image shows Hurricane Sandy battering the Caribbean on Thursday. (Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)

nytimes.com - October 26th, 2012 - John H. Cushman Jr.

The United States is facing a year or more without crucial satellites that provide invaluable data for predicting storm tracks, a result of years of mismanagement, lack of financing and delays in launching replacements, according to several recent official reviews.

 The looming gap in satellite coverage, which some experts view as almost certain within the next few years, could result in shaky forecasts about storms like Hurricane Sandy, which is expected to hit the East Coast early next week.

The endangered satellites fly pole-to-pole orbits and cross the Equator in the afternoon, scanning the entire planet one strip at a time. Along with orbiters on other timetables, they are among the most effective tools used to pin down the paths of major storms about five days ahead.

On Twitter, Sifting Through Falsehoods in Critical Times

Thu, 2012-11-01 22:27 — Maeryn Obley

A startling but manufactured image of the giant storm that made the rounds on Twitter and Facebook. Image: A startling but manufactured image of the giant storm that made the rounds on Twitter and Facebook.

nytimes.com - October 31st, 2012 - Jenna Wortham

During Hurricane Sandy’s peak, Twitter was abuzz with activity, as tens of thousands of people turned to the microblogging service for alerts, updates and real-time reports and photographs of the storm.

 Trouble is, not all of it was true.

Deliberate falsehoods, including images showing the Statue of Liberty engulfed in ominous clouds and sharks swimming through waterlogged suburban neighborhoods quickly spread through the service, as did word that power would be shut off for the entire city of New York and that the floor of the New York Stock Exchange had been flooded.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Global Warming Systemically Caused Hurricane Sandy

Tue, 2012-10-30 18:21 — Kathy Gilbeaux

           

Residents in Little Ferry, N.J., were rescued from flood waters. (photo: Adam Hunger/Reuters)

huffingtonpost.com - by George Lakoff - October 30, 2012

Yes, global warming systemically caused Hurricane Sandy -- and the Midwest droughts and the fires in Colorado and Texas, as well as other extreme weather disasters around the world. Let's say it out loud, it was causation, systemic causation.

There is a difference between systemic and direct causation.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE - HUFFINGTON POST)

(IMAGE AND SAME ARTICLE - READER SUPPORTED NEWS)

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Amazon's New Green-Roofed Headquarters Will Be Seattle's Largest Development Ever

Thu, 2012-09-13 02:04 — Maeryn Obley

Conceptual art of the new Amazon headquarters.Image: Conceptual art of the new Amazon headquarters.

submitted by Samuel Bendett

inhabitat.com - September 12th, 2012 - Bridgette Meinhold

Amazon will make its new headquarters not in some sprawling suburb, but in the heart of downtown Seattle. Recent plans for Amazon's campus reveal that it will take up 3 square blocks with 3 towers supported by lower volumes, and will feature lots of open green space—including green roofs. NBBJ, who also designed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation nearby, is in charge of the massive new project for Amazon.

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Engaging Local Stake Holders: A Conceptual Modal for Effective Donor-Community Collaboration

Wed, 2012-08-29 15:16 — Maeryn Obley

sites.duke.edu - Volker Franke, Ph.D.

In an effort to stabilize and reconstruct post-conflict countries and fragile states, the United Nations and the European Union are currently involved in 29 peace operations in communities throughout the world. The Communities impacted by disasters, both man made and natural, or by the growing range of threats to peace, security, and development, require assistance from domestic and international organizations. Donor agencies and academic observers have addressed the importance of partnering with stakeholders in local communities in order to provide aid most effectively for the best possible outcome.

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Solar superstorm could kill millions, cost trillions

Wed, 2012-08-08 15:21 — Maeryn Obley

chicagotribune.com - Deborah Zabarenko - August 3rd, 2012

A monster blast of geomagnetic particles from the sun could destroy 300 or more of the 2,100 high-voltage transformers that are the backbone of the U.S. electric grid, according to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Even a few hundred destroyed transformers could disable the entire interconnected system.

There is impetus for a group of federal agencies to look for ways to prepare for such a storm this year as the sun moves into an active period called solar maximum, expected to peak in 2013.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

(ALSO SEE ARTICLE IN THE LINK BELOW)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/03/us-solar-superstorm-idUSBRE8721K820120803

Country / Region Tags: 
United States
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Emergency Management
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Situation Report

Improved disaster resilience is imperative for U.S: report

Wed, 2012-08-08 11:48 — Maeryn Obley

submitted by Samuel Bendett

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - August 7th, 2012

Increasing the U.S. resilience to natural and human-caused disasters will require complementary federal policies and locally driven actions that center on a national vision, says a new report from the National Academies. The report, Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative, says that improving resilience should be seen as a long-term process, but it can be coordinated around measurable short-term goals that will allow communities to better prepare and plan for, withstand, recover from, and adapt to adverse events.

“Without innovations to improve resilience, the cost of disasters will continue to rise both in absolute dollar amounts and in losses to social, cultural, and environmental systems in each community,” said Susan L. Cutter, director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina and chair of the committee that wrote the report.  “Enhancing our resilience to disasters is imperative for the stability, progress, and well-being of the nation.”

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Extreme Poverty Up 50% Since 2000

Mon, 2012-06-25 17:56 — Corey Watts

                                                         Homeless mother and child. (photo: unknown)

http://readersupportednews.org - by Evan Soltas - June 25, 2012

For the purpose of our analysis here, an individual as "extremely poor" if he or she resides in a family unit whose income is less than half of the federal poverty threshold. To give you a sense of what that means, the awful extremity of extreme poverty: a single person under 65 must have made less than $5,851, and a family of four must have made less than $11,509. (In my opinion, it is likely that for the majority of the extreme poor, taxable income is zero.)

(READ COMPLETE POST)

Study Finds Majority of Americans Unprepared for Disasters

Thu, 2012-03-01 22:35 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Mike Kraft

Homeland Security News Wire - February 29, 2012

According to the latest survey by the Persuadable Research Corporation, half of the poll’s respondents believe they are unprepared for a disaster.

When asked in further detail why not, 38 percent said preparing for a disaster never crossed their mind, while 48 percent said they lacked the money to prepare and 15 percent said they did not have time. Furthermore 20 percent of those surveyed, said they intended to “just wing it” during a disaster.

On the opposite front, of the minority who are prepared, 82 percent said they had a previous brush with a disaster and are now ready to act in the event of another. In addition, 27 percent of those who were prepared for a disaster said they did it because they needed to care for other family members like children or elderly parents.

Meanwhile respondents were uncertain on whether the government would be able to provide assistance in the event of an emergency. Twenty-eight percent were uncertain about the government’s response, while 30 percent were convinced the government was incapable.

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