Situation Report

Chasing The Chatter - VOST - Crowdsourcing - Social Monitoring

           

Photograph - Getty Images - nfpa.org - by Jesse Roman - July 1, 2019

Around the world, an army of volunteers equipped with little more than laptops monitors social media activity during all manner of emergencies. That work is contributing to a fundamental change in how safety agencies interact with the public during large-scale disasters.

. . . a virtual operations support team, or VOST community remains primarily a loosely affiliated network of do-gooder volunteers . . .

. . . Because the work is conducted online, VOST members can be located anywhere in the world . . .

. . . The general term for this work is social monitoring, a concept that has grown steadily since about 2010. Many forward-thinking disaster managers now see this digital sleuthing as critical to their on-the-ground efforts, regardless of the type of disaster they are facing.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

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Scientists Predict Climate Change Will Make Dangerous Heat Waves Far More Common

CLICK HERE - RESEARCH - Killer Heat in the United States: Climate Choices and the Future of Dangerously Hot Days (2019)

CLICK HERE - PAPER - Increased frequency of and population exposure to extreme heat index days in the United States during the 21st century

time.com - by Jamie Ducharme - July 16, 2019

People all across the U.S. have been sweating through heat waves this summer, and new research suggests they should get used to it.

Over the next century, climate change will likely make extreme heat conditions—and their concordant health risks—much more frequent in nearly every part of the U.S., according to a paper published in the journal Environmental Research Communications. By the end of the century, it says, parts of the Gulf Coast states could experience more than 120 days per year that feel like they top 100°F.

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'Dangerous' Heat Wave to Scorch Central, Eastern US This Week

           

usatoday.com - by Doyle Rice - July 16, 2019

The hottest weather of the summer is poised to spread across much of the central and then eastern U.S. over the next several days.  

Several cities are likely to see their highest temperatures of the summer so far, including Chicago, Detroit, New York City and Washington, D.C., according to the Weather Channel. Many spots are forecast to approach 100 degrees over the next few days.

Factoring in the heat index, temperatures will be even more brutal . . .

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

CLICK HERE - NOAA - National Weather Service - MAXIMUM HEAT INDEX FORECASTS

 

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We have 18 months to save world, Prince Charles warns Commonwealth leaders

CLICK HERE - A speech by HRH The Prince of Wales at a Reception for Commonwealth Foreign Ministers, Clarence House, London

princeofwales.gov.uk - July 11, 2019

. . . The next 18 months will see critical meetings that will collectively determine the global agenda for the coming decade. And these, again, as you know better than I, range from the UNSG’s Climate Action Summit this September, to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of Parties in China next October, to the UNFCCC Conference of Parties to be held, I hope, in London that Autumn. Next year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting stands of course at a pivotal point in the middle of these events and will be an absolutely vital moment to consolidate consensus on the way forward, not least of which, will be the deliberations on how to increase the amount of private sector finance flowing towards supporting sustainable development throughout the Commonwealth.

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Squalid Conditions at Border Detention Centers, Government Report Finds

           

A page from the Office of Inspector General report.

CLICK HERE - U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General - Management Alert – DHS Needs to Address Dangerous Overcrowding and Prolonged Detention of Children and Adults in the Rio Grande Valley (16 page .PDF report)

nytimes.com - by Zolan Kanno-Youngs - July 2, 2019

Overcrowded, squalid conditions are more widespread at migrant centers along the southern border than initially revealed, the Department of Homeland Security’s independent watchdog said Tuesday. Its report describes standing-room-only cells, children without showers and hot meals, and detainees clamoring desperately for release.

The findings by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General were released as House Democrats detailed their own findings at migrant holding centers and pressed the agency to answer for the mistreatment not only of migrants but also of their own colleagues, who have been threatened on social media.

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United Nations Says World May Face 'Climate Apartheid' that Pushes Over 120 Million Into Poverty by 2030

           

The tiny archipelago Tuvalu is among the Pacific island nations facing an "existential threat" from climate change ( Getty Images for Lumix )

CLICK HERE - UN - OHCHR - UN expert condemns failure to address impact of climate change on poverty

thehill.com - by Justin Wise - June 30, 2019

A United Nations report is warning that the world is risking a "climate apartheid" scenario in which the wealthy can pay to avoid the consequences of global warming while the rest of society suffers. 

“Even if current targets are met, tens of millions will be impoverished, leading to widespread displacement and hunger,” U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, said in a report released last week.

The report says that extreme climate change threatens to push "more than 120 million more people into poverty by 2030," according to Alston, who added that it will "have the most severe impact in poor countries, regions, and the places poor people live and work.” 

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Motiva Confirms Release of 'Petroleum Coke Dust' from Port Arthur Refinery, Sets Up Claims Line

           

Photo by: Felicia Alexander-Branch

Port Arthur residents can call 1-800-451-7746 if they were affected by Friday's dust release.

12newsnow.com - by Raegan Gibson - July 1, 2019

PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Motiva confirmed to 12News a 'petroleum coke dust' release happened on Friday. 

The written statement said the Port Arthur refinery had 'an event' that resulted in the release of the dust. 

A claims line has been set up as a 'cautionary measure' for anyone who was affected by the release. 

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

 

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New Solar + Battery Price Crushes Fossil Fuels, Buries Nuclear

           

BARREN RIDGE, CA - APRIL 4: The new project will join the current large Barren Ridge solar panel array in Kern County, California. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)GETTY IMAGES

CLICK HERE - Kern County, CA - Eland 1 Solar Project

forbes.com - by Jeff McMahon - July 1, 2019

Los Angeles Power and Water officials have struck a deal on the largest and cheapest solar + battery-storage project in the world, at prices that leave fossil fuels in the dust and may relegate nuclear power to the dustbin.

Later this month the LA Board of Water and Power Commissioners is expected to approve a 25-year contract that will serve 7 percent of the city's electricity demand at 1.997¢/kwh for solar energy and 1.3¢ for power from batteries.

"This is the lowest solar-photovoltaic price in the United States," said James Barner, the agency's manager for strategic initiatives, "and it is the largest and lowest-cost solar and high-capacity battery-storage project in the U.S. and we believe in the world today. So this is, I believe, truly revolutionary in the industry."

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