Natural Disasters61
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“You are Misinformed”–Planning for Flood Regime Change
Lately a lot of people are wondering just how helpful the 100-year flood benchmark really is, as places seem to be getting hit by 100-year floods all the time.
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Southern Louisiana’s Vanishing Act
Louisiana’s wetlands — the largest system in the United States — are shrinking at an alarming rate.
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Before the Flood—Predicting the Deluge
The Columbia Global Flood Project is based on the conviction that while human beings may not have direct control of where and how much rain falls, there is a great deal more that can be done to manage the risk of extreme flooding around the world.
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A Flood at Home More Motivational Than a Flood of Information
Is it necessary for your house to be flooded for you to feel personally threatened by climate change? Maybe not – but according to a March behavior study, a soggy basement will probably make you more inclined to take action to mitigate climate change. Despite the consensus within the scientific community that immediate action is…
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Of Earthquakes and Nuclear Reactors
As Japan’s nuclear meltdown catastrophe continues in the wake of the March 11 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, Japanese power company executives and officials face an increasingly challenging situation. Tuesday morning, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) — the company operating the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant — dumped more than 11,000 gallons of radioactive seawater into…
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Maybe Ben Franklin Was Wrong
A new study says that for all of its ill effects, the Laki volcanic eruption of 1783-84 probably was not the main culprit behind one of the coldest winters in hundreds of years, as many scientists — and contemporary observer Benjamin Franklin — have speculated.
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Lessons from the Japan Earthquake
The jolt in Japan stunned even scientists who’ve studied earthquakes all their lives.
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Done in Khulna, back to Dhaka and then home
On Saturday, we finished up work at the site. Even at the last minute, it threw some challenges at us. We began the day with out reduced group eating breakfast down the street. We could no longer take the mediocre food at the hotel. Dhiman and Babu had been eating there for days. Besides paratha,…
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Learning From Japan’s Catastrophe
The images and stories of the devastation caused by Japan’s massive earthquake is heart wrenching. We see countless examples of extraordinary acts of human courage and generosity as the local, national and world communities struggle to respond to this catastrophe. Japan, a nation that has long ensured that its buildings were built to withstand earthquakes…
By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings“
