Search Results for: ntsb

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy (and even before), we’ve been posting about the need for an entity similar to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that would identify the root causes for natural disasters. Such an agency could develop … Continue reading →

“Any landing you walk away from is a good one.” – pilots’ adage. In the aftermath of the November 6th elections, Republicans are asking themselves what went wrong. Democrats don’t seem to be going through such an evaluation…at least not … Continue reading →

(For starters, I hope that all of you who read the previous LOTRW post on hazards will revisit that post and read John Plodinec’s thoughtful comments). Here are just a few examples of articles published this past week that shed … Continue reading →

(completing the thought of the previous LOTRW post) Humanity is far down the path to developing herd immunity with respect to covid-19 and derivatives. Time was, our paleo-forebears “invented” an artificial but similarly effective resilience with respect to weather, climate … Continue reading →

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that [is] it’s an opportunity to do things that you think you could not before.”– Rahm Emanuel (Wall Street Journal interview, November 19, 2008) Covid-19 … Continue reading →

Seven billion of us are co-piloting a 1.317 × 1025-lb, unpressurized, open-air planet through the hostile environment of space. You might not be impressed with this reality. You might even be tempted to dismiss it as no more than a … Continue reading →

“A river is made drop by drop.” – Afghan proverb. Last week, the 43rd Annual Natural Hazards Workshop ran July 8-11 in Broomfield, Colorado. Several features make the occasion unique. For example, though the meeting is largely invitational, every year … Continue reading →

Continuing the good-news theme of recent LOTRW posts, the flight safety story lit up yesterday’s internet. This report, from Fortune’s website, gives the flavor:  Airlines recorded zero accident deaths in commercial passenger jets last year, according to a Dutch consulting … Continue reading →

Prologue: The daily news from Puerto Rico is excruciatingly tragic. A week after Hurricane Maria’s passage, some 3.5 million people are still picking their way through 3000 mi2 of debris in a search for food and water, and despair mounts. … Continue reading →

“A banker lends you an umbrella when the sun is shining but takes it back when it starts to rain.” – (origin debated) Let’s get one thing straight: in the face of natural hazards, the individual- and the societal policy … Continue reading →