All sectors
Oil supply limits and the continuing financial crisis
Science Direct / Gail E. Tverberg / Volume 37, Issue 1, January 2012
Since 2005, (1) world oil supply has not increased, and (2) the world has undergone its most severe economic crisis since the Depression. In this paper, logical arguments and direct evidence are presented suggesting that a reduction in oil supply can be expected to reduce the ability of economies to use debt for leverage. The expected impact of reduced oil supply combined with this reduced leverage is similar to the actual impact of the 2008–2009 recession in OECD countries. If world oil supply should continue to remain generally flat, there appears to be a significant possibility that oil consumption in OECD countries will continue to decline, as emerging markets consume a greater share of the total oil that is available. If this should happen, based on these findings we can expect a continuing financial crisis similar to the 2008–2009 recession including significant debt defaults. The financial crisis may eventually worsen, to resemble a collapse situation as described by Joseph Tainter in The Collapse of Complex Societies (1990) or an adverse decline situation similar to adverse scenarios foreseen by Donella Meadows in Limits to Growth (1972).
Ottawa: Courthouse to get green roof
Centretown News Online / Kathleen McFarland / 14 October 2011
The Ottawa courthouse on Elgin Street will add grass and tundra plants to its roof next year as part of an initiative by the province to design more environmentally sustainable construction projects.
The courthouse, a prominent civic building in the downtown core, and the roof designed by the Ontario government will bring more than 6,782 square metres of green roof to Ottawa’s cityscape.
“Ottawa is one of the least progressive cities in the country,” says Dana Silk, general manager of Envirocentre, an organization that provides advice and services to Ottawa homes and businesses about energy efficiency.
“The green roof at the courthouse is a great idea. I think the province should be commended.”
The courthouse, built in the mid-1980s, has a conventional flat roof. The switch to a green roof began in 2009 when Infrastructure Ontario brought in an architect to design a custom-tailored roofing solution. The project is expected to be completed in 2012.
[ FULL ARTICLE HERE ]
[ Hat tip to SWITCH Kingston! ]
Red Cross: Emergency Preparedness
In his BCAG/BPL presentation yesterday, Chief Harry Jones of the Brockville Fire Department, coordinator of the City's emergency control team, highlighted the Red Cross as a key resource for disaster management and for household emergency planning. And he showed one of the household emergency preparedness kits which are available through the Red Cross.
Insurance industry facing a climate of fear
NZ Herald / Peter Huck / 27 June 2011
This month, as the US reeled from some very nasty weather - floods in Mississippi, drought in Texas, tornadoes in the Midwest - the New York Times got right down to brass tacks: given damage to property, crops and lost business, how much would insurers have to fork out? Ten billion dollars and counting seemed a safe bet.
"There's no question it's above average," says David Smith, a senior vice president with US company Eqecat, which uses modelling to advise the insurance industry on catastrophe risk management. "An average annual loss for severe convective storms - tornadoes, hail, thunderstorms and wind - is about US$6 billion. ($7.4 billion). We'll certainly end the year above that."
Indeed. Add in damage from February's monster blizzard, which shut down much of the Midwest; an "unseasonable" heatwave, dramatised by Arizona's largest wildfire; and, since June 1, a hurricane season the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts will be "above-average", and payouts in the US may set records.
For an industry whose survival means managing risk, these are challenging times.
Which cities can best adapt to climate change?
Grist / Jeff Opperman / 23 June 2011
Earlier this month, 35 mayors from major cities around the world convened for the Resilient Cities 2011 Conference and released a declaration [PDF] that highlighted the recent rise in natural disasters and the imperative for cities to increase their resiliency and ability to adapt to climate change.
But what does it mean for a city to be "resilient" to climate change? Which cities are most resilient -- and what makes a city vulnerable?
Grist recently ran a slideshow featuring "the top 10 climate ready U.S. cities" -- which was basically a measure of steps those cities were taking to reduce carbon emissions. What that piece didn't address is how vulnerable or resilient a city is to climate change based on the city's environmental context. For instance: What's a city's risk for climate-related disasters? Is its water supply sustainable?
Facing The New Dark Age: A Grassroots Approach
CounterCurrents / John Michael Greer / 29 May 2011
ABSTRACT: Despite four decades of detailed warnings, industrial civilization has failed to turn aside from self-destructive policies of exponential growth and dependence on nonrenewable resources. At this point, stark limits of time and resources as well as a failure of political will make attempts to prevent the fall of industrial society an exercise in futility. Individuals, small groups, and communities can still prepare for the approaching crises by mastering low-tech survival skills now to lay foundations for a sustainable society in the future.
Disaster planning crucial no matter where you live
Globe and Mail / Bertrand Marotte / 16 March 2011
The events unfolding in Japan may seem remote and rare to most Canadians, but the reality is that disaster can strike any place, any time.
And the question that should be top of mind for business owners is to what extent they are prepared for a catastrophe – earthquake, fire, flood, pandemic – that could seriously damage, shut down, or even destroy their operations.
Yet emergency preparedness is not part of the strategic planning of most Canadian small and medium-sized businesses.
Experts say companies need solid contingency plans not only to protect their hard assets but also for intangibles, such as reputation and responsibilities to customers, employees, shareholders and the community.
"For too many businesses, thinking about disaster planning summons up the image of Henny Penny running around crying, 'The sky is falling!' It's not taken seriously," said Mary-Ellen Heiman, director of development at the Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness.
