Group items tagged

Interesting to compare the response to disasters in different countries (US to the recent hurricanes and Sierra Leone to a recent deadly mudslide). Also shows how promises of aid can be a shallow political tool.

Sea level rise is not noted as a major threat as often as CO2 or natural disasters, but that's here in the US. Island nations like Kiribati and the Maldives see this as a different level of problem, as they would be almost entirely submerged if sea levels rise much more than this. Putting blame on India is interesting: is it entirely fair to demand additional efforts from a country which produces the level of emissions that it does due to sheer population mass rather than consumer habits?

Seems like a similar argument made by countries like Pakistan for climate reparations in general, except almost more urgent, simply because climate change threatens to literally submerge these island nations. To protect against sea level rise like the netherlands has would be incredibly expensive, so it makes sense that the money would go into a fund to rebuild after climate change disasters. I just wonder what they will do to actually stop their islands from disappearing.

Wow!

It is shocking to see the state that the government is in (especially the part about them only having two months' salary). In Pakistan's history this would have meant a military or oppositiong party takeover. However, neither general Kayani nor fromer prime minister Sharif wants to be responsible for the disaster caused by the floods. The military has been doing most of the work in flood aid. But the fact that neither group wants to take over shows just how bad Pakistan's situation is.

I wonder why only 2 million out of 170 million people pay taxes. It seems to be the political culture, since top government officials don't pay either. Gilani, who really runs the country, is also being blamed, instead of just Zardari. In addition, it seems that another military coup is in the near future, but how are the people going to reconcile their desire for democracy with the current government's unpopularity?

This is really sad, but it's inspiring to see how civilians have organized to help eachother

It's nice to hear that so many people are willing to risk their lives to save others despite the dangers the earthquake posed.

An interesting piece on the place of technology in combatting climate related disaster as well as the push and pull between state and federal government in the context of California wildfires.

This is really interesting - and kinda sad. Hasn't military technology migrated into the public sector before and made our lives better as a result (like GPS)? Why are these satellites any different?

About 2,000 people have gathered between the US and Mexico border. Neither of the countries are willing to accept them currently, citing Covid concerns as a reason. However, recently, the frequency of migrants arriving at US borders has been increasing, and I am curious on how this administration will handle it.

Truly devastating. The United States needs better policies to accept immigrants and process asylum/refugee visas, especially from nations like Haiti, which have been ravaged by poverty, political violence, and natural disasters.I doubt these deportations will stop them from coming, and sounds like there are thousands more on their way.

And there's a super interesting connection with Chile. . . .

An entire block in Queens was destroyed, with barely any of the home owner's valuables left to save. As Ida moves north, with more and more rainfalls, people are unprepared for the damages they'll face. As of Wednesday, 40 are dead, 13 being from New York.

This is really scary and seems to have left a lot of families devastated. Hopefully some aid efforts can help the people impacted by the flooding?

This story is really well reported, and the photographer did a great job capturing the moment that the article talked about. It never ceases to amaze me how fragile our system is - always just a disaster away from financial ruin

Gang violence, particularly kidnappings and ransom demands, has become another threat to public safety in Haiti, along with natural disaster, political upheaval, and and crippling poverty. Now, gangs are targeting the church, as seen through the kidnapping of 17 American missionaries. The church has long been a pillar of support in Haiti throughout its impoverishment. Breaking this taboo is a sign of how bad the crime and violence has become.

This is a demonstration of low capacity -- there's no governmental authority able to maintain order.

It seems like gang violence has become one of Haiti's greatest challenges among the natural disasters and political upheaval. Definitely agree it is a sign of a low-capacity country, that is unsurprising, however, given their president's assassination. Similar to Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador, and Venezuela, who have all struggled with gang control of major portions of the country's territory. A common theme in this region of the world.

yup yup, thanks Sam, Anay and Ershai!

Haiti is the first black republic, but foreign control and intervention had greatly affected the wellbeing of the state. Furthermore, it had a series of ineffective governments that were not able to resolve the economic problems and natural disasters in the area.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will depart for a five-day visit to Africa to "support democratic principles," and especially to advance diplomacy aimed to prevent a potentially catastrophic civil war in Ethiopia, where there is already extreme violence, that would threaten the stability of East Africa. From my perspective, it isn't often the U.S. or other Western nations engage in diplomacy with African countries, but I could be incorrect. Anyhow, this caught my eye, especially to see if it's effective in heading off what seems to be an imminent civil war in Ethiopia.

My first reaction was to question why any outreach took this long to give. I've personally known about this conflict for months, which means the U.S. government certainly has too. One of the officials was quoted as saying "all the warning signs are flashing," but I feel like they've been more than warning signs for a while now. It just seems that this administration is just always in a defensive position when it comes to foreign policy - like it sweeps issues under the rug until they become too large to ignore. Afghanistan is a great example of this. Hopefully, Ethiopia turns out much better than that.

Natural disasters and the inability to generate enough electricity are stalling most sectors of the Chinese economy. People are saying that it is hard to earn money. This may seem like a good thing for the US, but the Chinese economy is intricately linked with the American one -- it is certainly related to the global supply chain issues.

I find this article interesting as you always hear about the "rise of China" in the 21st century, and this article shows that the rise is having a few minor roadblocks.

I agree with Sam Denny that it's not often you hear about the roadblocks to the "rise of China", so this is a novel article in that regard (at least for me). I'd be interested to see how the Chinese government responds to this, if at all.

This is a bit of a longer read, but it's an interesting one. It examines the intersection of a multitude of political and infrastructure based issues that could lead to a large scale disaster.

This really illuminates how interconnected our world is; a political decision by a single group in a particular country can impact the entire world.

I love new yorker reads! This one in particular does a good job of the classic multi view style!

The built environment has always played a major role in climate change (roughly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions can be allocated to constructing and maintaining buildings). But the building sector hasn't garnered a wide amount of attention at international climate conferences. However, an increase in climate-related natural disasters has made adaptation and resilience within buildings and infrastructure an immediate concern. In addition, the energy crisis that spread through Europe due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has created a massive regional effort to rapidly reduce heating oil and gas use and improve building efficiency.

Major hurricane Fiona affects Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. There are injuries and deaths, and power went out.

This is probably an example of how future natural disasters will look in the coming years across the world. It brings up the question of whether some of the more recent bills being passed to combat climate change will be effective or if it is too little too late.