Month: May 2019

Why Informing Citizens of the Risk of Power Outages Is Important for Making Public Resilience Decisions

Why Informing Citizens of the Risk of Power Outages Is Important for Making Public Resilience Decisions

Why Informing Citizens of the Risk of Power Outages Is Important for Making Public Resilience Decisions

05/31/19

“What is the importance of informing people about the risk of power outages?”

Power outages occur from time to time. And when they do, it could cause great harm to existing infrastructure, both public and private. HVAC systems will shut down, food in fridges will rot, and pipes might freeze over. That being said, there are a large amount of citizens who are not aware of the totality of the risks. If they become informed, then they can make better decisions and help contribute to making better public decisions about infrastructure. This is Why Informing Citizens of the Risk of Power Outages Is Important for Making Public Resilience Decisions.   

How an Institute’s Culture is the Biggest Effect on Resilience

How an Institute’s Culture is the Biggest Effect on Resilience

How an Institute’s Culture is the Biggest Effect on Resilience

05/30/19

“Why does bad institutional culture harm resilience more than engineering or human errors?”

When infrastructure failures occur, the engineering or human failures are often the ones that are the most analyzed. However, new research has come out supporting a very different idea. It is the governing institutions culture that has the greatest impact. To illustrate, the Northern Californian utility Pacific Gas and Electricity had long neglected infrastructure repairs/upgrades and foliage trimming, ultimately leading to the great Camp Fire of November 2018. This is How an Institute’s Culture is the Biggest Effect on Resilience.

Infrastructure System Interdependence

Infrastructure System Interdependence

Infrastructure System Interdependence

05/29/19

“How do multiple infrastructure systems affect one another?”

Critical Infrastructure Systems are woven into the fabric of our everyday life. Whether it be the electricity we use to power our computers or the water pumps that we drink from, there is some resource behind it. And in the modern world, all of these systems seem to be interconnected, such as electricity for water-pumps or water for agriculture. As a consequence, if one of these systems go haywire then there will be consequences across all infrastructure systems. This coupling is known as Infrastructure System Interdependence and is used by policy-makers and engineers to analyze resilience risk.

How Better Fault Documentation Will Improve Climate Change Resilience

How Better Fault Documentation Will Improve Climate Change Resilience

How Better Fault Documentation Will Improve Climate Change Resilience

05/28/19

“How can simply documenting failures lead to better resilience?”

With the global increase in temperatures there will be an increase in infrastructure faults. As a result, we will need to learn from these mistakes to make sure we can survive the next blow. By having better documentation of these mistakes, we will be able to make better improvements, therefore improving resilience. This is How Better Fault Documentation Will Improve Climate Change Resilience.

Digitization and its Implications for Manufacturing

Digitization and its Implications for Manufacturing

Digitization and Its Implications for Manufacturing

05/26/19

“What is digitization and how will it affect manufacturing?”

With the rise of the industrial internet of things, engineering processes are moving more and more towards the digital realm. This means that components once limited to the physical realm, such as mail and design models, are moving into the virtual one as e-mail and CAD. This digitization will have a lot of ramifications for the manufacturing sector, where processes will now be less prone to human error and move a lot faster while being more prone to cyber-security issues. This are the Implications for Manufacturing from Digitization.

Image credit http://recodesolutions.com

Why Telecommuting Should be Considered Apart of Sustainable Transportation

Why Telecommuting Should be Considered Apart of Sustainable Transportation

Why Telecommuting Should be Considered Apart of Sustainable Transportation

05/25/19

“Why should we include telecommuting into sustainable transportation?”

When sustainable transportation is conjured up, images of electric vehicles and bullet trains are conjured up. However, since a core component of sustainable transportation is taking vehicles off of the road, telecommuting should be considered. Telecommuting allows people to skip traveling, whether it be a car to work or a plane to a meeting, thereby saving on greenhouse gas emissions. This is Why Telecommuting Should be Considered Apart of Sustainable Transportation.

How Voting Can Help Fight Climate Change

How Voting Can Help Fight Climate Change

How Voting Can Help Fight Climate Change

05/24/19

“How can you fight climate change by casting a vote?”

When we think of committing to fighting climate change, we usually picture technological implementations or policy implementations. But did you know that the simple act of casting a vote makes you an effective foot soldier in combating rising temperatures? By helping new climate-friendly legislation and leaders come into power, we can ensure that we can make progress to our climate goals! This is How Voting Can Help Fight Climate Change.

The Rebound Effect

The Rebound Effect

The Rebound Effect

05/23/19

“How can energy efficiency measures backfire?”

Energy efficiency measures are touted as one of the most effective means of combating climate change. However, since they also make using electricity cheaper, people will be less disincentivized to use less of it, and therefore consume more energy, driving GHG emissions higher. This Rebound Effect has dangerous implications for policy makers looking to combat climate change.