Originally posted on http://howonearthradio.org Marcus Moench, Institute for Social and Environmental Transition, Boulder LISTEN (20 Minutes) The Institute for Social and Environmental Transition does a lot of work globally regarding flooding and climate and environment protection. Speaking with Jim Pullen, their president, Marcus Moench, says Boulder has fared pretty well, though it faces challenges. “The main flood areas, the infrastructures through Central Boulder has functioned enormously well. The underpasses and things like that. We face, as everyplace does, a huge challenge particularly along minor streams, where it’s impossible to keep the vegetation clear, to keep culverts the
Since 2011, CCCO has organised various communications and awareness-raising programs for different communes, levels and sectors. Within the framework of ACCCRN, CCCO collaborated with DOET to organise the painting contest “We paint to act against climate change” at Ngo Quyen primary school on May 5th, 2014. It could be said that this is the first CCCO activity for pupils who are considered as the most vulnerable under climate change impacts. However, the contest left in us many happy and beautiful memories. While directly watching the pupils figuring out ideas and drawing, we think that this contest could help them to enhance their creativity and skills for climate change response. Although
Please view the full text of our current newsletter, in which we share the news about our most recent publication, Floods in Boulder: A Study of Resilience.
Given the severity of the recent floods in Boulder, current conversation at the city and county levels is centered on flood mitigation. However, Boulder is subject to multiple climate hazards, including droughts, winds, and severe snow storms[1]. This broad spectrum of hazards has always been addressed in disaster planning and continues to be discussed post-flood, particularly by those thinking about broader resiliency. A recent and particularly severe disaster was the Fourmile Fire in 2010. Between September 6 and September 16, the fire burned 6,200 acres of land and destroyed 169 homes[2] in the foothills above the city. After the fire, disaster mitigation and recovery policies and process
We are pleased to share our most recent publication Floods in Boulder: A Study of Resilience. The focus of this study is our hometown Boulder, Colorado. This case study provides concrete examples of what makes a city “resilient” through the analysis of built infrastructure, human systems, and legal and cultural norms. This study diagnoses why the county came through unscathed in some areas while encountering massive damages in others. Selected findings of the case study include: Built Infrastructure: Six of the seven roads into the mountains failed because they were all next to rivers; systems are not redundant if they have the same point of failure. Human Systems: Lessons and response from
