Emergency preparedness « Transition Brockville

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Tag : Emergency preparedness (45)

Credit crunch could make 2008 look like ‘child’s play’

The Guardian / Martin Farrer / 20 March 2020

A worldwide credit crunch triggered by the coronavirus will set in motion a wave of corporate bankruptcies that will make the global financial crisis look like “child’s play”, investors have warned.

With the world’s most advanced economies all entering a shutdown that could last months, companies that have gorged on cheap money for the past decade face going out of business thanks to a huge spike in borrowing costs on international money markets.

The sudden loss of revenue faced by airlines, tourism-related businesses and carmakers make them extremely vulnerable, ratings agencies have said, with parts of the energy sector also at risk.

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Telecom networks dealing with ‘unprecedented’ pressure

CBC News / Thomas Daigle / 20 March 2020

Bell spokesperson Nathan Gibson said home internet usage is up to 60 per cent higher than usual during the day and 20 per cent higher at night.

Widespread outages have not been reported, but University of Toronto computer science professor Yashar Ganjali warned “significant changes in typical traffic might lead to unforeseen situations that might lead to temporary disruptions in some services.”

The three main service providers said they’re all increasing their ability to deal with the traffic as usage grows.

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Think the world is ending? Grab a shovel, not a shopping cart

The Guardian / Adam Liaw / 15 March 2020

My late grandmother lived through poverty, wars and military occupation – if you had asked her how to prepare for hard times, she’d grab a spade and start digging a vegetable garden.

If things really get bad, the garden growers will be better prepared for the future than the bunker stockers.

If you planted the likes of spinach, Asian greens, snow peas or cabbages this weekend you’d be knee deep in homegrown fresh produce within a month or two, and it could last you all through winter.

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Coronavirus is our future

TEDx Talks / 11 March 2020

Global health expert Alanna Shaikh talks about the current status of the 2019 nCov coronavirus outbreak and what this can teach us about the epidemics yet to come. Alanna Shaikh is a global health consultant and executive coach who specializes in individual, organizational and systemic resilience.

Floods, freezing rain and high winds: are you really ready?

Toronto Star / Carola Vyhnak / 02 January 2020

Whether you live in a house, condo or apartment, “there’s no one who doesn’t have some sort of risk,” Fraser said. “I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for every family and individual to be prepared.”

The emergency plan should include steps to get everyone out safely, a meeting place and means of communicating with displaced family members, says Fraser, calling the Red Cross’s “Be Ready” app a “critical” tool.

With winter’s snow and ice storms threatening power outages, Fraser advised equipping a grab-and-go kit with enough water, food, cash and prescription medication for 72 hours. It should also contain copies of important documents, a battery or hand-cranked radio, phone charger, flashlight and batteries, candles, matches, a can opener, and a book or playing cards to pass the time.

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Will your EV keep the lights on when the grid goes down?

GTM / Justin Gerdes / 08 November 2019

Last month’s preventative power shutoffs in California highlighted the vulnerability of the electricity grid to threats exacerbated by a changing climate.

In the wake of the forced outages, much has been written about the ability of solar PV arrays working in tandem with stationary battery storage systems to keep the lights on when the grid goes down. But what about the mobile battery packs carried in the hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles now on the road in California?

For much of any given day, EVs are parked in garages or at offices. When paired with a power control system, the battery packs in those EVs are functionally little different than a stationary battery system.

One big difference: EV battery packs are much larger.

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