by admin | Jun 6, 2014 | Blogging, Disaster, Disaster policy, Public safety, Urban Planning
A few months ago, I was asked to speak at the 2014 annual Science Policy Conference of the American Geophysical Union, a scientific organization that has developed a growing interest in natural hazards. I agreed, and am one of four speakers on a panel that will...
by admin | May 18, 2014 | Disaster, Disaster policy, Political philosophy, Public safety, Urban Planning
As a young man from a blue-collar family, I partially worked my way through college during the summers at a chemical company near Cleveland that employed my father as a truck mechanic. If there is one thing I learned at the time, it was the value of safety and...
by admin | Oct 14, 2013 | Disaster policy, Uncategorized, Urban Planning
Far too often have I heard people ask the facile question about why other people live in hazardous areas, such as along rivers that flood or coasts that suffer coastal storms. Yes, Americans do have a propensity for building in hazardous areas, and often not building...
by admin | Sep 1, 2013 | Disaster policy, Uncategorized
It is easy enough to be cynical about government, especially about its response in a crisis. Millions of Americans express such cynicism on a regular basis, if not daily. It takes a bit more fortitude to look honestly at some of the daunting challenges government must...
by admin | Jul 29, 2013 | Disaster policy
This post is not a substitute for my normal blog commentary, but I am catching up. Just a little bit. I am on a vacation from the American Planning Association for two weeks, and will blog this week and next on some more leisurely topics as a result, but right now I...
by admin | Jul 20, 2013 | Disaster policy
Think not only of the natural disasters suffered within the U.S. each year, but around the world. Then imagine finding between 400 and 500 of the most experienced experts in the various fields related to research and practice on natural disasters and bringing them...
