"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Category: Engineering
Homeowner Wildfire Mitigation
12/09/19
“How can homeowners take action in wildfire mitigation?”
Wildfires threaten homes of all types. However, just as wildfire mitigation needs to be practiced on the institutional level, it also needs to be considered by individual households. This Homeowner Wildfire Mitigation can be accomplished in a myriad of forms, whether it be by modifying windows, cultivating a defensible space, or making roofs ignition resistant.
Image credit http://www.usfa.fema.gov
How to Protect Building Windows Against Wildfires
12/08/19
“How can we protect our windows against wildfires?”
Wildfires are an extreme threat to the built environment. And one of the most vulnerable elements is windows. Their fragile makeup can be destroyed by the radiant heat of fires alone. To protect against this, facility owners can implement double glazing with tempered glass on the exterior or even roll-down metal fire doors that activate in case of a fire. All of these are great ways of thinking of How to Protect Building Windows Against Wildfires.
Image credit https://disastersafety.org/
Ignition Resistant Roofs
12/07/19
“How can we make our buildings’ roofs resistant to wildfire?”
Wildfires pose a threat to all buildings in or near the wildland-urban interface. To protect against this, fireproof housing designs must be implemented. Part of this will be to design Ignition Resistant Roofs that won’t flame up in the case of wildfire contact. These are usually built by lacking pores and holes for which ember can enter and having a fireproof coating.
Image credit http://www.metalroofing.com
Fireproof Housing
12/06/19
“How can we create homes that are resilient to wildfires?”
Wildfires are destroying homes all over dry, forested areas. And with the ascent of climate change, the wildland-urban interface is only becoming larger and more deadly. To save lives, we need to think about how to make our housing stock more resilient to these disasters. This can come in the form of Fireproof Housing, often accomplished by changing the external surface to a burn-resistant material such as fiber-cement composite or creating a defensive landscape.
Image credit image.cnbcfm.com
Hail Resilience
12/05/19
“How can we protect ourselves against hail?”
Hail is very intrusive. It damages car windows, roofs, and transmission lines. As a result, we need to build Hail Resilience in some form. Whether it be bulletproof glass in windows or shielding on electricity poles, this can be accomplished.
Image credit dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com
How Climate Change Will Disrupt Global Supply Chains
12/01/19
“How will global supply chains be critically impacted by climate change?”
Global supply chains for businesses rest upon the physical transport of items, which are contingent upon weather conditions. However, with the Earth’s equilibrium being sent into imbalance with climate change, these conditions are going to become more chaotic, whether it be greater turbulence in the oceans impeding freight traffic or ports being flooded by sea-level rise, governments, institutions, and individuals will need to deal with How Climate Change Will Disrupt Global Supply Chains.
Climate Resilient Urban Design
11/30/19
“How can urban designers incorporate resilient design into their profession?”
Urban designers are at the forefront of creating new visions for urban metropolises. And with the advent of climate change, Climate Resilient Urban Design will become a critical component in the profession, whether it be looking at how to make housing structures able to weather wildfires better or creating urban drains in city centers.
Wildfire Fuels Management
11/29/19
“How can we manage the amount of burnable fuels found in wildfires?”
Wildfires are becoming an increasingly difficult problem in dense, forested, dry regions as a result of climate change. One of the most critical vulnerabilities in these areas are the fuel, or material that can ignite wildfires on the ground. Through Wildfire Fuels Management, we can look at what might be igniting these fires and ensure that proper mitigation is achieved.
Image credit http://people.forestry.oregonstate.edu/
How a Circular Economy Enhances Societal Resilience
11/28/19
“How can a circular economy enhance climate change resilience?”
The circular economy is touted as a strong pathway to curb emissions and material waste. But since it also reduces the amount of materials that a society needs to consume, it also ends up increasing societal resilience as there are less choke points that can harm it. For example, a community with a localized supply-chain for critical items such as food can keep themselves stable in case of a natural disaster and an economy that can recycle some of the rare-earth minerals it uses will not need to rely as much on suppliers which may act against their interest given conflict. This is How a Circular Economy Enhances Societal Resilience.
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