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 […]
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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 […]
Report Calls For Federal Assistance For Local Planning for Climate Change
Posted on March 18, 2009
Last week the National Academies released a report calling for new federal efforts to identify local officials who need assistance in planning for climate change impacts. According to a press release by the National Academies, “The report recommends six principles that all agencies should follow in supporting decision makers who are facing the effects of […]
New Publication Guides Climate Change Outreach and Communications
Posted on March 18, 2009
Trying to figure out how to build support among your citizens for preparing for climate change? ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability’s new “Climate Change Outreach and Communications Guide” (39 pp.) claims to be a tool to help local governments effectively communicate climate information to their constituencies. The guide contains an array of steps and methodologies for […]
FUNDING/ASSISTANCE: Smart Growth Implementation Assistance
Posted on March 12, 2009
EPA’s Smart Growth Implementation Assistance 2009 program is seeking applications for technical assistance from communities that want to incorporate smart growth in their future development to meet environmental and other community goals. Eligible entities are tribal, local, regional, and state governments, and nonprofit organizations that have a demonstrated partnership with a governmental entity. Applications are […]
FUNDING/ASSISTANCE: NOAA Seeking "Shovel-Ready" Habitat Restoration Proposals
Posted on March 12, 2009
NOAA is seeking proposals for coastal habitat restoration projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in an unprecedented effort to jumpstart the economy. The effort is designed to create resilient and healthy communities by generating and saving jobs, employing several thousand people, and restoring valuable coastal and marine habitat. NOAA is formally […]
Trim Your Trees, Protect Your Utilities?
Posted on March 9, 2009
A report commissioned by the Public Utility Commission of Texas recommends a relatively inexpensive means of protecting the city’s utility lines: trim back dead and diseased trees — even those on private property. The article in the Houston Chronicle notes that the report argues that 96% of all damage to the city’s utility company’s infrastructure […]
Town gets ~$11 million in FEMA funds to move utilities underground
Posted on February 16, 2009
FEMA today released a case study outlining how a town secured $1.5 million through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grants Program (HMGP) to convert over 1,200 residential utility services underground. The utility-lines had been repeatedly damaged by storms, and the town recognized that simply repairing them again and again made little sense. (more…)
EPA releases new report on effects of sea level rise on Mid-Atlantic region
Posted on January 29, 2009
The Department of Environmental Protection has released a new publication called Coastal Sensitivity to Sea Level Rise: A Focus on the Mid-Atlantic Region. The lengthy report (784 pages!) covers ecological and economic implications of sea level rise, and while it focuses on the Mid-Atlantic portion of the US coastline (New York to North Carolina), it […]