By “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.
Colleges and Universities Can be Models of Resilience
Earlier this year I gave a presentation at a regional conference of the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) on how college and university campuses can become resilience hubs. I was recently asked for information on this topic, so decided to upload my presentation so that it can be
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.
RDI and our “resilient home” profiled in The Guardian
“I want even climate change deniers to boost the energy performance of their homes. Doing so will keep their families safer during power outages and other disturbances, and it will benefit all of us,” Alex explains.
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
AAAS Speaks Out on Climate Change
Cover of the March 2014 AAAS report, What We Know A paper by the American Association for the Advancement of Science provides a superb, highly concise, summary of where we stand and what we can do about climate change Being a writer myself—and one who likes to convey complex concepts
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.
The Resilience Imperative in Canada
Adam Auer, the Director of Sustainability for the Cement Association of Canada, has just posted an excellent article, “The Resilience Imperative,” in ReNEW Canada: The Infrastructure Magazine. Adam interviewed me when he was writing the article, and I think he’s done an excellent job at capturing the salient issues. Even
