Emergency preparedness « Transition Brockville

Transition Brockville archive

Tag : Emergency preparedness (56)

For energy security, power is the new oil

Forbes / Mark Finley / 25 February 2021

[ TB: “Power” as used here appears to mean “electricity”. ]

The deep freeze that afflicted the center of the US last week caused massive power outages in Texas and surrounding states. The plight of millions without power and heat captured the headlines and attracted world-wide attention.

In the meantime, other energy-related disruptions triggered by the same weather events remained largely unnoticed, despite the fact that any of one of them would be on the list of biggest US energy disruptions ever:

As much as 4 million barrels per day (Mb/d) of US oil production was shut-in, nearly 40% of domestic crude supply, with the Permian basin especially impacted;
Nearly 6 Mb/d US Gulf Coast refining capacity was shut-in (roughly 30% of the national total);
Up to 20 billion cubic feet per day of US natural gas production was shut-in (20% of total production);

What little discussion there was of shortages at gasoline stations and of natural gas outages, was in the context of the power outages.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

Blackouts show US deeply unprepared for the climate crisis

The Guardian / Maanvi Singh / 19 February 2021

The crises in California and Texas are different, in scale and severity. One faced fire, the other an ice storm. But experts say the power outages in both states make one thing clear: neither is prepared for the chaos of the climate crisis.

“There’s a lot of similarities, between what has happened in Texas and California,” said Roshi Nateghi, a researcher at Purdue University who studies infrastructure sustainability and resilience. “In both cases, you had an extreme climate or weather event. And in both cases, the states were not prepared.”

Over the past two decades, across the United States, severe weather has been the main cause of sustained power outages, Nateghi said.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

Bringing community to the table in climate adaptation

Resilience / Leslie MacKenzie / 28 January 2021

Climate preparedness and adaptation work is excellent for Transition groups to do for several reasons:

Transition’s practical, solution-oriented approach makes it easier for people to take in difficult climate change information. We weren’t just telling people problems; we were giving them solutions.
Transition isn’t out for a quick win. Our group was there for years, offering different ways to engage so people had multiple opportunities to learn.
Transition doesn’t just give people information; it gives them a community where they can continue to talk to others. We’re building relationship capital.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

Ontario launches climate change impact assessment

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks / 14 August 2020

The Ontario government has selected a consulting team led by the Climate Risk Institute to conduct the province’s first-ever multi-sector climate change impact assessment. The study will use the best science and information to better understand where and how climate change is likely to affect communities, critical infrastructure, economies and the natural environment, while helping to strengthen the province’s resilience to the impacts of climate change […]

As part of its work, the Institute will be reviewing a variety of information such as climate data, land use patterns and socio-economic projections. They will also develop an engagement plan to ensure the final assessment reflects the views and perspectives of Indigenous communities, municipalities, key economic sectors and the public. The assessment will be conducted over the next two years and it is anticipated that the final results will be released in 2022.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

Manitoulin Island prepares for climate change

Manitoulin Expositor / 14 August 2020

Smart Green Communities, a reThink Green program working in consultation with municipalities, townships and First Nation communities throughout Manitoulin Island and the North Shore, has launched a public consultation on two regional energy and emissions plans (REEPs): a two-year study of the region’s collective greenhouse emissions and what that means for the future.

The primary goal of the REEPs is to assist these communities in meeting their energy and emission reduction goals by understanding how much they currently emit. This work paves the way for more collaboration between municipalities and communities to reduce their energy costs, decrease carbon emissions and address the identified risks of climate change.

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

Time to retreat from living on the riskiest waterfront land?

CBC News / Janet Davison / 18 July 2020

Across Canada, flooding has become the most expensive natural disaster, costing $1 billion annually in damage to homes, property and infrastructure, according to the federal Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

Insurers and many policy experts expect that number will go up. Sea levels are rising. A recent study by researchers at Environment and Climate Change Canada found that climate change has made rainfall more extreme and storms with extreme rainfall more frequent.

While experts see a variety of strategies to help deal with the situation, there is one potential solution people may not want to talk about: When might it be time to retreat from living on the riskiest waterfront properties altogether?

[ FULL ARTICLE ]

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