Politics in Property Destruction - Rick Perry vs Reality

One of the most financially damaging disasters in the Southern United States has been the streak of wildfires sweeping across Texas.  Doing much more than demonstrating developed countries' tendency to not expect natural disasters to continue after periods of development, these fires have pressed a political issue with a presidential candidate.  Rick Perry, normally a staunch defender of the idea that government spending is superfluous, has had to reverse his position for the sake of his constituents.  The fires, which have raged over 3.6 million acres of land in the state, have claimed an unprecedented number of homes and businesses. 

One concern that may seem depressingly unlikely is nevertheless true: military construction equipment, the one bit of government-funded property that Rick Perry supports, has in some cases gone unused due to security regulations.  Hopefully the debate between conservatives and liberals can be set aside in future, at least for the duration of the town being on fire.

((Article at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2034549/Texas-wildfires-Death-toll-rises-4-fires-rage-turning-hundreds-homes-rubble-ash.html))

The Tuvalu Drought: A Microcosm of Things to Come

As climate change looms, there are few better vanguard countries to keep an eye on than Tuvalu.  A series of islands in the Pacific, the atoll nation's highest point is 5m above sea level, and is the perfect testing ground for issues relating to the interaction between human development and environmental change.  It is extremely susceptible to not only rising tides, but also fluctuations in weather patterns.  This year, it has been devastated by a drought so severe as to beg the question - is it feasible to continue to live there?  Regardless of the answer, many residents below a certain income level are trapped.  Emigration is high, and many families would do so if they could.  However, there are also members of another camp, including the chairman of the national disaster committee.  Disturbingly, he takes a c'est-la-vie position when asked about the prospects of living in a potentially dying country. 

In the light of recent retractions and setbacks in the battle against climate change, the attitudes in Tuvalu raise questions as to how first-world countries will deal with these same issues when their time comes.  If it is to be taken as an example, we may need to ensure that our leaders are not simply waiting for the inevitable by voting with the highest priority given to candidates' stances on climate change.

((Article at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/17/tuvalu-drought-climate-change

Image from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/648373.stm))

New Orleans and Tropical Storm Lee - Good News, Finally

Too often as of late have relief efforts failed, warning systems been too late, and evacuation orders been ignored.  This was not the case with Tropical Storm Lee, with which Obama's state of emergency order saw the evacuation of over a hundred thousand individuals in the United States.  At the time of one of the articles' writing, over 100,000 people had been evacuated with 14 casualties.  Considering the developmental level of the United States, this displacement will have much less of an impact on the population than, say, many times more than that being displaced due to conflicts in Africa.  All in all, the response to Lee can be counted as a success.

((Article at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2011/h2011_Lee.html))

Retreating Artic Ice Releases Methane

Over the last twenty years, the survey area in the Arctic Ocean has never seen anything quite like this: 20 times the average amount of carbon dioxide has been bubbling to the surface. While studying the seabed, they discovered “torch-like structures”, possibly numbering in the thousands. In theory, there could be hundreds of millions of tones of methane under the Arctic permafrost, which is shrinking quickly, and as it does so, this could release the gas beneath the surface, and damage the atmosphere.

((Article at: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/shock-as-retreat-of-arctic-sea-ice-releases-deadly-greenhouse-gas-6276134.html))

UK Heat Wave

At a time when starvation runs rampant in Africa, an anomalous meteorological event this autumn in the UK was met with a different reaction.  The development paradigm is clearly at work in the consequences of a potentially drought-causing heat wave were the UK to have Africa's infrastructure or political climate.  To quote the article, "a lamb has been born early and a field of about 100 sunflowers have blossomed near Bamburgh castle".  This can either be taken as a mark of proper preparedness on the part of the UK, or as indicative of a severe disproportion in global economic distribution.

((Article at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-15107937))

Grimsvotn Eruption

In a case of internationally joined efforts to reduce risk in line with the behavioral paradigm, flights were shut down in May this year over a 120-square mile area in Iceland.  This was a necessary step, as much of that area was obscured by a pillar of ash and debris kicked up by the Grimsvotn eruption.  370 flights were canceled, and rightfully so.

((Article at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/21/grimsvotn-eruption-2011-iceland-volcano_n_865150.html#s282574&title=Iceland_Volcano_Eruption))

Government Regulations: There For a Reason

Despite building codes and disaster prevention plans, a Malaysian orphanage saw a smaller scale tragedy this year.  Over a dozen children and their guardian were outside near a tent when a landslide occurred, burying the lot of them.  Recovery efforts took most of a day, and were too late to save the lives of the victims.  Speaking from the behavioural paradigm, this case may be attributed to both terrible timing and a risky decision made in face of recent torrential rains.

((Article at: http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-05-21/news/29588538_1_rescuers-search-landslide-orphanage

Image from:http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43119471/ns/today-today_news/t/landslides-kill-malaysian-orphanage/))