Heard of NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), but not quite sure what they’re all about? Have a look at their new site The OCRM in Your State, and use some fancy GIS’esq tools to navigate around the country and your state. The OCRM in Your State
Author Archive | Wesley Shaw
Amazing Tsunami Photos (Japan)
Posted on March 14, 2011
Incredible collection of tsunami/quake/nuclear reactor photos gathered by the Boston Globe. Perhaps the most troubling part of this? That a massive wall of water dropping large ships into neighborhoods and houses into the sea might not be the worst of it. Hope those nuclear engineers are lucky and we’re all fortunate. The Big Picture, Japan: […]
Horrible and Terrifying (Japanese Tsunami)
Posted on March 11, 2011
Wow. If you live anywhere near the ocean and this doesn’t scare you, it probably should.
EPA Launches Climate Ready Water Utilities
Posted on March 10, 2011
EPA has released another set of tools to help communities adapt to climate change: this time they’re focusing on water and wastewater utilities. If you only have a moment, start with the Climate Ready Water Utilities Toolbox. I know—another toolkit. But the EPA has taken an interesting strategy to address the primary challenge of toolkits: […]
FEMA Releases Wind Retrofiting Guide
Posted on March 7, 2011
FEMA has released a new publication on how to best retrofit existing residential buildings. While it was designed with the Gulf of Mexico in mind, it should be applicable for coastal areas around the country (or at least those subject to major wind). You can download the (large) PDF directly from FEMA’s website.
Sea Level Rise and Beaches: Not a Pretty Combination
Posted on March 4, 2011
Orrin Pilkey, always a lightening-rod for coastal climate change issues, has written a gloomy forecast for the world’s beaches, and has the photos to justify his positions. He acknowledges that predicting the effects of sea level rise on beaches is complex, and that results will vary greatly depending on many factors. But overall, the picture […]
New Research on the Benefits and Detriments of Coastal Armoring
Posted on March 4, 2011
A new paper looking at structural shore protection in Massachusetts and Hawaii finds a few things to like, and a lot to cause consternation. Among the benefits: Stabilizes the upland Protects infrastructure Maintains property values for some . . . And the detriments: Source sediment impoundment resulting in increased erosion of the fronting and adjacent […]
Do Sea Walls Cause more Harm than Good? More Evidence Suggests Yes
Posted on January 10, 2011
A new article reiterates that seawalls may increase erosion rates of beaches, so while they (temporarily) protect what’s behind them, it’s at the expense of the beach in front of them. “We thought we could engineer and control nature by these techniques, but you’re fighting a losing battle,” [Rick Murray of Scituate] said. “And the […]
Comprehensive (and Free!) Emergency Management Outreach Toolkit
Posted on December 10, 2010
. . . and when I say “comprehensive,” I mean “comprehensive.” Ready.gov has come out with an emergency preparedness outreach plan they’re calling Resolve to be Ready in 2011, and it includes everything from press releases, newsletters, and links to videos to (are you ready for this?) tweets that you can cut and paste to […]
Ocean Policy Forum: December 9, Boston
Posted on December 8, 2010
Want to weigh in on the future of ocean and coastal policy in New England? Here’s your chance: Ocean Policy Forum The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Departments of Defense, the Interior and Homeland Security invite you to a Town Hall forum for ocean stakeholders in New England on President Obama’s new National […]