An interesting editorial by Global Ethics professor Tom Sorell on why our natural post-disaster instinct to return things to normal is so often exactly the wrong response, and why we instead ought to work to “usher in discontinuity.” The problem with returning to “normal” is obvious: we’re often returning to the same conditions that put […]
Tag Archives | funding & assistance
Five Years After Katrina: The Changing Landscape of the Lower Ninth Ward
Posted on August 27, 2010
The New York Times has created a mesmerizing and troubling (and clever) webpage that allows you to virtually drive down two streets in New Orleans’s Lower Ninth Ward in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010. The animation stops at various properties along the way, so you can see how certain buildings have fared (some gone, some […]
New Funding & Technical Assistance Opportunity for Local Planning
Posted on August 17, 2010
The Model Forest Policy Program is offering an interesting-sounding new funding and technical assistance opportunity for rural communities looking for help with their land-use planning. Here’s how they’re describing the program on their website: The Model Forest Policy Program (MFPP) is now accepting applications for 2011 Climate Solutions University: Forest and Water Strategies (CSU). This […]
Funding for "Climate Change Mitigation" Available
Posted on July 26, 2010
New funding opportunity. From their press release: EDA Offers Grants through Climate Change Mitigation Fund The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) advances economic growth by assisting communities experiencing chronic high unemployment and low per capita income to create an environment that fosters innovation, promotes entrepreneurship, and attracts increased private capital investment. EDA […]
White House Opposes Multiple Peril Insurance Bill [UPDATED]
Posted on July 22, 2010
The White House released a statement today saying that it would not support the expansion of the National Flood Insurance Program to cover wind damage. Such a move would likely do no good, the statement explains, because the government’s rates would be comparable to current market prices. The whole statement: EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT […]
FEMA Releases Guidance for 2011 Mitigation Grant Programs
Posted on July 21, 2010
Via the always useful CZMA Climate Change and Coastal Hazards E-News Update newsletter: The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) “Unified Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program Guidance” (176 pp.) represents the unification of all five of the agency’s hazard mitigation grant programs into one guidance document. These programs, which provide funding for eligible mitigation activities that reduce […]
NOAA Announces New Coastal Resilience Networks Grant Program
Posted on July 20, 2010
From our friends at NOAA: CRest Grant Program – Coastal Resilience Networks Pacific Islands – Gulf of Mexico – West Coast Coastal Resilience Networks (CRest) is a new and exciting grant opportunity for the Pacific Islands, Gulf of Mexico, and West Coast regions. The program funds projects that help communities become more resilient to the […]
3ft of Freeboard? I'll Take 12ft!
Posted on July 19, 2010
After Hurricane Ike bashed a hole in their roof and left their first floor uninhabitable, FEMA experts recommended that Galveston (TX) residents Matt and Lauren Johnson elevate their home 3′ above the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program. The Johnsons went for 12′ instead. “Even if it costs us more now, whatever costs […]
It's Back . . . Senate Reauthorizes National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
Posted on July 1, 2010
From the bright and informed folks over at the Association of State Floodplain Managers: As part of a unanimous consent agreement last night, the Senate cleared a measure (HR 5569) that would extend the authorization of the National Flood Insurance Program until September 30, 2010. It was previously passed by the House, so it will […]
Federal Flood Insurance Will Cover Flood-Related Oil Damage [FEMA Memo]
Posted on June 11, 2010
FEMA has released a memo clarifying that in the event of a declared flood disaster, National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) coverage will apply even if oil is mixed with flood waters. The brief memo suggest that the NFIP will bill the party that caused the oil damage (in this case, British Petroleum) for the damages. […]