Category: Engineering

Why Weather Prediction is Critical for Farming

Why Weather Prediction is Critical for Farming

Why Weather Prediction is Critical for Farming

03/13/20

“Why is weather prediction so important for farming?”

 

Plants grow according to the availability of sunshine and water. This makes them dependent on the whims of the environment. To help make the amount of produce necessary for the modern world, weather prediction has become an essential tool in optimizing the amount of produce and sensing whether or not bad environmental conditions are to ensue. This is Why Weather Prediction is Critical for Farming.

Why Utilities Should Trim Trees Near Roads for Wildfire Resilience

Why Utilities Should Trim Trees Near Roads for Wildfire Resilience

Why Utilities Should Trim Trees Near Roads for Wildfire Resilience

03/12/20

“Why should utilities trim trees near the road for wildfire resilience?”

 

Utility lines often run near roads. Trees and other foliage also grow in close proximity. If these interact too much, a wildfire can occur. Cutting down the nearby foliage can reduce this potential loss. This is Why Utilities Should Trim Trees Near Roads for Wildfire Resilience.

Image credit cdn.vox-cdn.com

How Stricter Building Codes Can Drive New Markets

How Stricter Building Codes Can Drive New Markets

How Stricter Building Codes Can Drive New Markets

03/11/20

“How can enforcing stricter building codes open up new markets?”

 

When building codes become stricter, many housing units will need retrofits or new appliances will need to be made. This can induce demand for a product and in effect open up new markets. For example, by requiring new residential buildings to have tighter wire meshes, these new models will become a hot commodity. This is How Stricter Building Codes Can Drive New Markets.

Why Climate Resilience and Adaptation Need to Recognize and Correct Past Injustices

Why Climate Resilience and Adaptation Need to Recognize and Correct Past Injustices

Why Climate Resilience and Adaptation Need to Recognize and Correct Past Injustices

03/10/20

“Why does anyone working in resilience and adaptation need to help recognize and correct past injustices?”

 

Great injustices of the past (and present) have thrust marginalized communities into shakier economic and environmental foundations. And with the advent of climate change, these inequities will only be amplified, whether it be through forced migrations of climate gentrification or inequal access to cooling. Because of this, resilience and adaptation professionals will need to understand what injustices have been caused and work to correct them. Only through this can we understand the problems that face communities and make a truly resilient and sustainable future. 

Displacement From Sea-Level Rise

Displacement From Sea-Level Rise

Displacement From Sea-Level Rise

03/08/20

“How can sea-level rise displace people from their homes?”

 

Since the dawn of civilization, humans have built their cities near the oceans and seas. However, with the advent of climate change, the sea levels are going to rise, destroying structures in their path and forcing people to flee. To prepare for this, governments and communities around the world will need to build their towns in accordance with Displacement From Sea-Level Rise.

Image credit cdn.vox-cdn.com

Village Relocation

Village Relocation

Village Relocation

03/03/20

“Why are entire villages relocating because of climate change?”

 

Villages and towns have been built throughout the world. However, with climate change already on its way, more and more towns are going to become vulnerable to climate impacts. In fact, the land that many villages rely upon is going to disappear. To preserve their traditional ways of life, many of these communities are talking about entire Village Relocation to safer grounds. Usually this involves finding a suitable piece of land nearby, obtaining the funding mechanisms for construction, and then building the new village in its entirety. One real-world example is that of Newtok, Alaska, where its eroding permafrost ground has prompted its citizens to move to a new location around 19 kilometers (12 miles) away.

 

Image credit archive.thinkprogress.org

How Infill Development Can Build Climate Resilience

How Infill Development Can Build Climate Resilience

How Infill Development Can Build Climate Resilience

03/02/20

“How can infill development lead to increased climate resilience?”

 

Infill development is a wonderful solution to densify the urban core without (at least directly) causing any displacement. This increased density also has the added effect of protecting from sprawl and branching out into unsafe zones that could be subject to wildfires and floods. This is How Infill Development Can Build Climate Resilience.

Infill Development

Infill Development

Infill Development

03/01/20

“How can we build in an urban area that’s already in use?”

 

The global housing crisis is one of the largest social and infrastructure problems right now. One course of action that holds great promise is to convert a space in an urban area that’s currently not in use or underutilized (such as a decaying factory) into something new using Infill Development. Infill development not only holds the potential to increase the amount of housing and infrastructure available in a city but also combat sprawl by allowing for cities to not have to spread out to accommodate for new development.

 

Image credit http://www.prologis.com

Why Natural Disasters Are Not Natural

Why Natural Disasters Are Not Natural

Why Natural Disasters Are Not Natural

02/29/20

“Why are natural disasters never really natural?”

 

When a massive hurricane, flood, or wildfire hits an area, it often gets described as a natural disaster. However, the factors that make these disasters such as economic devastation, infrastructure loss, and community displacement, are not from natural factors. Rather, these are from the results of years, decades, and in some cases centuries of bad planning, corrupt leadership, and systematic discrimination. 

 

Take New Orleans during Katrina as an example. While the city was built in an area that was safe from flooding, it was surrounded by floodplain wetlands. When it expanded under U.S control, the Army Corp of Engineers made sure to build levees to protect it. In the 20th century, the government built a wide variety of levees and dams to protect coastal cities, which ended up devastating the sediment carrying process and destroying many natural flood barriers. This was further compounded by the U.S Army Corp of Engineers miscalculating sea-level rise and rate of subsidence for the new levee which caused it to sink 5 ft further into the ground. Combine this with the fact that more vulnerable populations were placed closer to harm’s way and the impact of global warming gon making hurricanes stronger, and you get a very unnatural Hurricane Katrina Disaster. This is just one illustration of Why Natural Disasters Are Not Natural.