Calling it “the most comprehensive and authoritative report of its kind,” on Tuesday the White House released Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. In its 190-pages, the nonpartisan report confirms what many have long argued: climate change due to heat-trapping pollution is already occurring and is visible throughout the United States, and the […]
Tag Archives | publications
Mid-Atlantic to See Greatest Sea Level Rise?
Posted on June 9, 2009
The Washington Post yesterday reported that the East Coast may face the greatest relative sea level rise in the states. The reason: projected changes in ocean currents, which are currently keeping sea levels on the mid-Atlantic coastline well below what they might otherwise be. If those currents change, sea levels in the region may rise […]
Radio Show: "'Hurricane Highway' Islands: Rebuild Or Retreat?"
Posted on June 4, 2009
National Public Radio aired a piece earlier this week exploring the parallels and differences between Alabama’s Dauphin Island and Isle Derniere (a Louisiana island that was a resort town in the 1800s, but was slowly abandoned in the wake of an 1856 hurricane). The story raises that age-old question: is retreat sometimes the only answer? […]
Slight Downgrade in Hurricane Projections [REPORT]
Posted on June 3, 2009
The Tropical Meteorology Project at Colorado State University has slightly decreased the number of storms predicted for this year’s hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin. A quick summary of the changes since the April projections: Read the 34-page report, Extended Range Forecast Of Atlantic Seasonal Hurricane Activity And Landfall Strike Probability For 2009 (PDF).
REPORT: Interagency Study Concludes Structural Shore Protection Can't Solve All Problems
Posted on May 28, 2009
The Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (a group organized by the U.S. Corps of Engineers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina) has released a draft of a report evaluating the performance of the New Orleans hurricane protection system during Hurricane Katrina and to assess the risks posed to the New Orleans region by future tropical […]
PUBLICATION: New EPA Report Outlines Adaptation Options
Posted on May 18, 2009
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a report outlining different ways that coastal managers of all levels can help adapt to on-going climate change. It focuses on nine general goals: Maintain/restore wetlands Maintain sediment transport Preserve coastal land/development (including infrastructure) Maintain shorelines utilizing “soft” measures Maintain shorelines utilizing “hard” measures Invasive species management […]
DHS Releases New Compendium of Disaster Assistance Programs
Posted on May 18, 2009
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security just released The Compendium of Disaster Assistance Programs (PDF 1.5 MB), and it’s arguably as imposing impressive as it sounds. While the 43-pages of tabular data on “federal programs providing assistance (financial and non-financial) to individuals, states, localities, nonprofit organizations, and businesses impacted by a disaster” may not be […]
New publication: The Importance of Reducing Disaster-Related Losses for Vulnerable Populations
Posted on March 26, 2009
The Institute for Business and Home Safety has released a new 4-page report outlining why certain groups are at higher risks for loss of life an property during natural disasters, and makes some recommendations for how communities can work to protect their most vulnerable citizens (e.g. improved building codes). The Importance of Reducing Disaster-Related Losses […]
New book: Managing for Long-Term Community Recovery in the Aftermath of Disaster
Posted on March 26, 2009
The Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) has released a new book which, in their words, is “designed to help local officials and community leaders better understand the issues and challenges in restoring the social, political, and economic elements that make a community viable in the long term after a disaster has occurred.” Managing for Long-Term […]
New book: How to Maximize FEMA Funding After a Natural Disaster
Posted on March 26, 2009
While it doesn’t yet appear to have appeared on bookstore shelves (Amazon has it listed as “temporarily unavailable”), the $35, 80-page How to Maximize FEMA Funding After a Natural Disaster is already gathering attention, including an article in the Times Picayune and many “reviews” on Amazon (though few, if any, of the reviewers appear to […]