By When his house burned down in 2012, Alain Hamel he set out to build a home that would keep his family safe no matter what nature threw at it.
Searching for Optimism in an Age of Climate Change
What inspired me to launch an organization to promote these and other aspects of resilient design, was the recognition that the safety aspects of these strategies might be a stronger motivation to get mainstream America on-board in achieving more sustainable, lower-carbon buildings and communities than simply “doing the right thing.”
How Beavers Are Coming to the Rescue in an Age of Climate Change
“In 2002 we had the worst drought on record. The only places where we had water in natural areas was where we had beaver. Beavers were mitigating the effects of drought and keeping water on the landscape.” Biologist Dr. Glynnis Hood near Edmonton, Alberta
A Dramatic Resiliency Plan to Transform New York City: The BIG U Moves Forward
The first portion of the project was approved by HUD in mid-October, 2014 for $335 million.
How the California Drought Will Affect All of Us
The most important thing we can do to strengthen the resilience of our food systems is to diversity agricultural production.
Do We Need to Shift Gears Post-Election?
Rather than sitting back and waiting for the pendulum to swing back to the left, we need to find more examples of environmental gains that can be achieved in ways that deliver other benefits—in other words, that appeal not just to the left, but across the political spectrum.
Looking to Resilient Design for a Cyclone-Battered Coastal City in India
The devastating cyclone, Hudhud this month in India provides an opportunity to incorporate strategies of passive survivability and resilience in the rebuilding.
By Resilient Design: Not as mainstream as we’d like
As part of its monthly tracking how the architectural firms are faring, in its latest survey the American Institute of Architects queried members about their resilient design practices. Since “resilient design” is a concept that’s not yet the kind of household word that “sustainability” has become, we’re encouraged at the number
A Vision for Transitioning to Renewable Energy Sources
From the standpoint of resilience, a shift to this sort of renewables-based energy system will create a more resilient, distributed power grid with a more diverse generation sources.
By The business implications of sea-level rise along the Atlantic coast, and especially in Delaware
I want us to envision an unfamiliar challenge together. I want us to think about the plans and investments we may need to make.
Pandemics and the Need for Resilience
Should a major pandemic occur here—whether a mutated, airborne Ebola or a SARS virus or something like the deadly 1919 flue—suddenly many services will likely break down.
Resilience on the Home Front – Creating a Farm
Indeed, the house planning, design, and reconstruction was a major undertaking. After having written about energy efficiency, renewable energy, and green building for more than 35 years, there were countless ideas, materials, and innovative products I wanted to try out. This would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a model
New Public Safety Building in Salt Lake City a Model of Resilience
The Salt Lake City Public Safety Building is designed to maintain functionality during and following the most severe earthquake foreseen.
Resilience as Means of Mitigating Climate Change
Resilience can be a motivation for taking actions that will not only make us and our families safer, but also help to mitigate climate change.
San Francisco Names a Chief Resilience Officer
“As CRO it will be my task to be a central point of contact for all our resiliency based plans and efforts that currently live in various departments.”
