Global

Read more about Here’s How AI Can Help Fight Climate Change According to the Field’s Top Thinkers
Log in or register to post comments

Dominica’s Indigenous Innovation

Wed, 2019-06-05 21:30 — Kathy Gilbeaux

CONCEPT DRAWING KALINAGO RESILIENCE HUB CHANNELING CULTURAL BUILDING PRACTICES AND MYTHOLOGY OF THE CENTIPEDE. PHOTO © ILLYA AZAROFF AND + LAB ARCHITECT PLLC

rocagallery.com - by Illya Azaroff - May 21, 2019

. . . Since Hurricane Maria struck in 2017, the tiny island of Dominica is rebuilding with the aim of becoming the first climate resilient and 100% sustainable nation in the world . . . Dominica can unlock the DNA of resilience through the vernacular building practices and rich cultural history of the Kalinago people that first inhabited the island . . .

. . . Rediscovering these historic threads of resilience have been key to developing new master plans for the territory under the Kalinago Institute for Resilience and Regeneration (KIRR), founded by my team together with leading experts and community leaders, including members of the Kalinago council of chiefs, Nichie Louis Patrick Hill and Dr. Michael McDonald. Its mission is to create a thriving Kalinago Territory as a low carbon, resilient region where citizens can live and excel within the carrying capacity of its ecosystems for multiple generations into the future.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Disaster Risk Reduction

Sustainable Development

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Read more about Dominica’s Indigenous Innovation
Log in or register to post comments

World Bank Offers Dominica $27 Million for Geo-Energy

Mon, 2019-05-20 20:59 — Kathy Gilbeaux

World Bank Director for the Caribbean Tahseen Sayed and Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit signed the US$27 million

caribbeannewsnow.com - May 19, 2019

Dominica reached a new milestone in its feat to become “the world’s first climate-resilient nation,” when prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit and the World Bank regional director Tahseen Khan signed a financing agreement earlier this month worth US$27 million.

The World Bank funding, along with sponsorship from the citizenship by investment programme (CBI), Dominica Housing and others, will go towards developing a 7MW geothermal plant on the island.

This will help Dominica diversify its energy mix, increasing its renewable energy share from an already impressive 25 percent to 51 percent.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Read more about World Bank Offers Dominica $27 Million for Geo-Energy
Log in or register to post comments

How Climate Change Is Fuelling the U.S. Border Crisis

Wed, 2019-04-10 10:08 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Outside the small village of Chicua, in the western highlands, in an area affected by extreme-weather events, Ilda Gonzales looks after her daughter.

newyorker.com - by Jonathan Blitzer - Photography by Mauricio Lima - April 3, 2019

. . . In most of the western highlands, the question is no longer whether someone will emigrate but when. “Extreme poverty may be the primary reason people leave,” Edwin Castellanos, a climate scientist at the Universidad del Valle, told me. “But climate change is intensifying all the existing factors” . . . Farming, Castellanos has said, is “a trial-and-error exercise for the modification of the conditions of sowing and harvesting times in the face of a variable environment.” Climate change is outpacing the ability of growers to adapt.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

CLICK HERE - Small island developing states and their suitability for electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid services

Read more about How Climate Change Is Fuelling the U.S. Border Crisis
Log in or register to post comments

Small Island Developing States and Their Suitability for Electric Vehicles and Vehicle-to-Grid Services

Thu, 2019-03-07 10:45 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Gay, Destine & Rogers, Tom & Shirley, Rebekah, 2018. "Small island developing states and their suitability for electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid services," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 69-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2018.09.006

sciencedirect.com - 19 September 2018

Abstract

Small Island Developing States (SIDS), while at the forefront of international climate action, face a number of development challenges linked to their historic, geographic and socio-economic characteristics. Small populations and limited energy demand cap the penetration of renewable energy technologies. Electric vehicles (EVs) offer solutions for electricity storage, grid services, reduced fuel imports, and reduced pollution with associated health benefits. This paper provides a comprehensive review of literature on island applications of electric vehicles, making the case for SIDS as an area of opportunity for further exploration, and presenting the southern Caribbean island of Barbados as a case study.

Country / Region Tags:

Global

General Topic Tags:

Renewables

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

CLICK HERE - RESEARCH - Marine heatwaves threaten global biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services

Heatwaves Sweeping Oceans ‘Like Wildfires’, Scientists Reveal

Tue, 2019-03-05 09:21 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Ocean heatwaves destroy kelp forests, which provide food and shelter for many other species. Photograph: Thomas Schmitt/Getty Images

Extreme temperatures destroy kelp, seagrass and corals – with alarming impacts for humanity

theguardian.com - by Damian Carrington - March 4, 2019

The number of heatwaves affecting the planet’s oceans has increased sharply, scientists have revealed, killing swathes of sea-life like “wildfires that take out huge areas of forest”.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Read more about Heatwaves Sweeping Oceans ‘Like Wildfires’, Scientists Reveal
Log in or register to post comments

Most U.S. Companies Say They are Planning to Transition to a Circular Economy

Wed, 2019-02-06 08:54 — Kathy Gilbeaux

But the definition of circular economy remains unhelpfully broad.

fastcompany.com - by Adele Peters - February 5, 2019

When Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport remodeled a terminal, it didn’t buy light bulbs; instead, the company signed a contract for “light as a service” from Signify, the company formerly known as Philips Lighting. Signify owns the physical lights, giving it the incentive to make products that last as long as possible and that can be easily repaired and recycled if anything breaks.

The service is one example of a shift to a circular economy model. Rather than just mining materials and manufacturing products that ultimately end up in landfills, companies are increasingly trying to figure out how to use resources in closed loops.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ0j6kr4ZJ0

Read more about Most U.S. Companies Say They are Planning to Transition to a Circular Economy
1 comment
Log in or register to post comments

Kiribati: a Drowning Paradise in the South Pacific

Mon, 2018-12-17 10:13 — Kathy Gilbeaux

DW Documentary - November 8, 2017

Climate change and rising sea levels mean the island nation of Kiribati in the South Pacific is at risk of disappearing into the sea.

But the island’s inhabitants aren’t giving up. They are doing what they can to save their island from inundation.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Read more about Kiribati: a Drowning Paradise in the South Pacific
Log in or register to post comments

One Concern Uses AI to Streamline Disaster Relief Efforts

Sat, 2018-11-17 00:25 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Image: One Concern

fastcompany.com - by Katharine Schwab - November 15, 2018

. . . One Concern is launching a machine learning platform that provides cities with specialized maps to help emergency crews decide where to focus their efforts in a flood. The maps update in real-time based on data about where water is flowing to estimate where people need help the most. It’s the latest in a wave of AI-powered tools aimed at helping cities prepare for an era of severe, and increasingly frequent, disasters.