Wednesday, April 3, 2013

UN: Haitians aren't getting enough food

NOTE:
It's not a matter of just shipping off food supplies to assist Haiti.  This is a prevaling problem since the devastating earthquake.  Were long term risk assessments, rapid environmental, and rapid health assessments conducted to foresee problems that have affected Haiti since the earthquake (dysentery, sanitation, food supply, etc.).  This does not involve a national level planning by the Haitian government, but local\division planning for all the divisions of Haiti.
     Charles D. Sharp.  CEO.  Black Emergency Managers Association.

http://news.yahoo.com/un-haitians-arent-getting-enough-food-000739149.html



UN: Haitians aren't getting enough food



PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The United Nations said Tuesday that a growing number of people in Haiti are not getting enough to eat following a heavy storm season that damaged food crops.
The humanitarian department of the U.N. mission in the Caribbean nation of 10 million people said in its monthly bulletin that a spike in malnutrition has been recorded in some areas since October. At least one in five households faces a serious food deficit and acute malnutrition despite efforts to reduce hunger, the study said.
Malnutrition is worst in Haiti's far western corner in the administrative department of Grande-Anse, the U.N. said. There have also been reports of acute malnutrition in southeastern Haiti.
Widespread flooding damaged crops in the country's south when Hurricane Sandy and Tropical Storm Isaac brushed Haiti last year.
The U.N. said that more than more than 1.5 million of Haiti's people are at risk of malnutrition because of crops lost in the hurricane. As much as 90 percent of Haiti's harvest season, much of it in the south, was destroyed in Sandy's floods.

New York Plans a High School of Emergency Management


BEMA Network Members and Non-Members: 

Does Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York have to lead the country in foreseeing the future of what's right for their communities.  

There is a paradigm shift in all areas, and communities have to address issues that our elected officials and governments cannot fulfill for all.  To ensure to eliminate disparity in communities out-of-box thinking has to occur.

Great job!

Charles D. Sharp
CEO.  Black Emergency Managers Association
Washington, D.C.

New York Plans a High School of Emergency Management

Among the 78 new city schools Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced would open next fall will be the nation's first public high school of emergency management, one of the city's longer-term responses to Hurricane Sandy. According to NY1, the city worked with FEMA to plan the Urban Assembly School of Emergency Management, in which students will study things like meteorology, changes in flood zones, management, and communications. Not by coincidence, the school will open in a Manhattan school building that served as a shelter during the storm.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Webinar: Financial Preparation for Disasters and Emergencies. Tuesday, April 9


***Save the Date: New Upcoming Webinar ***
Starting Early: Financial Preparation for Disasters and Emergencies 
Tuesday, April 9
3:00 p.m. EDT

Do you have your finances ready in case a disaster strikes your family, community or business? Starting early to protect your finances is an important step in all financial elements of your life; preparing for emergencies is no different. FEMA has been working with its federal partners and whole community organizations to bring you new and revamped tools to be financially prepared.

FEMA, the Ready Campaign, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Operation Hope are collaborating to bring you a free webinar on financial preparedness for disasters and emergencies. This is one of many efforts happening to support “Financial Capability Month” in April and promote American’s starting early in financial literacy.

This webinar will focus on local tools, services and assistance available to individuals, faith-based and community based leaders, private sector organizations and emergency managers. Presenters will provide information on how to incorporate current and upcoming financial preparedness tools into local disaster preparedness education efforts and how to get the community involved in an effort for communities to start preparing for emergencies early.

In addition, attendees will learn more about tools and guidance that protects the consumer rights of disaster survivors. There will also be updates on new and revamped tools and resources to make being financial prepared easy, including new Ready.gov and MyMoney.gov web pages, an updated version of the Emergency Financial First Aid Kit and previews of additional financial preparedness tools under development.

Please register if this is your first time joining the Community Preparedness Webinar Series.

Simply log in if you have already registered for this webinar, have registered for a previous webinar or if you're a HSIN.gov user.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Addressing Inequalities and Fostering Inclusive Growth Monday, April 8, 2013



You are cordially invited to attend

The
You are cordially invited to attend

The Post-2015 Global Development Agenda:
Addressing Inequalities and Fostering Inclusive Growth

Monday, April 8, 2013 • Noon-1:30 p.m. ET

To attend in person in Washington, D.C., register at:
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5853304391#. (Registration is required.)

To watch the video webcast or a recording, go to
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/urban-institute-events. (No registration is necessary.)
What will replace the Millennium Development Goals after their 2015 deadline? Growing global inequality has been highlighted as a key policy challenge, but there are both practical and political obstacles to targeting inequality with an actionable agenda. Please join the Urban Institute for a presentation and discussion on the current state of the post-2015 global development agenda, and the importance of equity and inclusiveness in the formulation of new development targets.
Discussion will be led by
Mr. Nicola Crosta,
Head of Knowledge, Policy and Advocacy
United Nations Capital Development Fund 
Nicola Crosta joined the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) in 2008 as representative and chief technical advisor in Cambodia. Prior to working with UNCDF, Crosta spent over a decade working on development policy issues at the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) in Paris.
Mr. Crosta will be joined in discussion by
  • Steven Feldstein, director of the Office of Policy in the Bureau for Policy, Planning and Learning at the United States Agency for International Development
  • Michael Klosson, vice president for policy and humanitarian response for Save the Children
  • Charles Cadwell, director, Urban Institute Center on International Development and Governance, (moderator)
At the Urban Institute2100 M Street N.W., 5th Floor, Washington, D.C.
Please bring your lunch; light refreshments will be provided. The forum begins promptly at noon.



:
Addressing Inequalities and Fostering Inclusive Growth

Monday, April 8, 2013 • Noon-1:30 p.m. ET

To attend in person in Washington, D.C., register at:
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5853304391#. (Registration is required.)

To watch the video webcast or a recording, go to
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/urban-institute-events. (No registration is necessary.)
What will replace the Millennium Development Goals after their 2015 deadline? Growing global inequality has been highlighted as a key policy challenge, but there are both practical and political obstacles to targeting inequality with an actionable agenda. Please join the Urban Institute for a presentation and discussion on the current state of the post-2015 global development agenda, and the importance of equity and inclusiveness in the formulation of new development targets.
Discussion will be led by
Mr. Nicola Crosta,
Head of Knowledge, Policy and Advocacy
United Nations Capital Development Fund 
Nicola Crosta joined the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) in 2008 as representative and chief technical advisor in Cambodia. Prior to working with UNCDF, Crosta spent over a decade working on development policy issues at the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) in Paris.
Mr. Crosta will be joined in discussion by
  • Steven Feldstein, director of the Office of Policy in the Bureau for Policy, Planning and Learning at the United States Agency for International Development
  • Michael Klosson, vice president for policy and humanitarian response for Save the Children
  • Charles Cadwell, director, Urban Institute Center on International Development and Governance, (moderator)
At the Urban Institute2100 M Street N.W., 5th Floor, Washington, D.C.
Please bring your lunch; light refreshments will be provided. The forum begins promptly at noon.



Men Aiming Higher. Health Walk. Saturday, May 18, 2013. Maryland




2013 Men Aiming Higher Health Walk (3rd Annual)

When
Saturday May 18, 2013 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Add to Calendar


Where
Largo High School
505 Largo Rd
Upper Marlboro,, MD 20774
Driving Directions

Help us in our mission to curb obesity and strengthen families!
Have a health & wellness focused business or organization?


Sincerely,

Men Aiming Higher - Health And Wellness
Men Aiming Higher
301-383-1690

Scientists Say Oil Industry Likely Caused Largest Oklahoma Earthquake

NOTE:  Before my participation in the Kuwait Oil & Gas Summit, March 2013, I had submitted a question to the U.S. Geological Survey regarding the possibility of the removal of sub-surface material contributing to the number of earthquakes worldwide.                             Charles D. Sharp.  CEO.  Black Emergency Managers Association


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/03/130329-wastewater-injection-likely-caused-quake/?goback=%2Egde_95914_member_227618106

Joe Eaton
Published March 29, 2013
The largest recorded earthquake in Oklahoma history was likely triggered by the injection of wastewater from oil production into wells deep beneath the earth, according to a study published Tuesday in the scientific journalGeology.

The magnitude 5.7 earthquake, which struck in 2011 near Prague in central Oklahoma, is the largest and most recent of a number of quakes scientists have tied to wastewater injection from oil and natural gas production, raising new concerns about the practice.

Advanced methods of oil and gas drilling create massive amounts of toxic wastewater. For example, hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, uses high-pressure water to unlock natural gas from shale formations. Drillers also use water to force oil from wells that cannot be captured through traditional methods, part of a practice known as "enhanced oil recovery." (See related interactive: "Breaking Fuel from the Rock.")

The use of such methods has exploded in the United States in recent years, contributing to the domestic boom in shale gas and oil production. Much of the wastewater that emerges as a byproduct is pumped into wells beneath the earth's surface for disposal.

Although the controversial practice of fracking has been directly linked to at least two seismic events (small tremors in Garvin County, Oklahoma and Lancashire, England), the wastewater injection that follows fracking is much more likely to set the earth shaking. That's because injection wells receive far more water than fracking sites, said Katie Keranen, lead author of the Geology study. And unlike at fracking sites, the water is not removed. As pressure builds in these disposal wells, it pushes up against geological faults, sometimes causing them to rupture, setting off an earthquake. (See related blog post: "Tracing Links Between Fracking and Earthquakes.")

This is what most likely triggered the 2011 Oklahoma quake, according to the study. At the time of the earthquake, which damaged 14 homes and was felt as far away as Texas, there were three active wastewater injection wells—abandoned oil wells used for storage after oil drilling operations—within 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) of the site.

Keranen, an assistant professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Oklahoma, was at home at the time of the quake. Soon thereafter, she installed seismometers that recorded more than 10,000 aftershocks, which helped scientists estimate the area of the ruptured faults. The data showed that the initial rupture reached incredibly close to an active well—within 660 feet (200 meters)—and the majority of the aftershocks were located within the same level of sedimentary rock as the wastewater injection wells.

The study contends that the proximity of the quake to the active well, combined with rising wellhead pressure before the tremors and the relative lack of seismic activity preceding the event, suggest injection caused the quake. But it also says it is impossible to prove without a doubt. "Without question there is a strong likelihood that [the quake] was induced," Keranen said.

Luckily, the area is rural, and only two people were injured. "If this happened in a high-population center, we would expect a lot more damage," Keranen said. "This is something we should take seriously and help mitigate the risk of it happening again."

In addition to recording the largest quake linked to wastewater injection, theGeology study also shows that it can take decades for an injection well to spark an earthquake. In most documented cases, seismic activity begins within months after workers begin injecting wastewater into a well, and stops when the injection pressure is released, the study says. The 2011 Oklahoma earthquake, however, took place after wastewater injection had been occurring at the wells for more than 17 years.

Large earthquakes are rare in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. However, the number increased dramatically after 2008, according to the study. The reason is unclear. However, a 2012 report by the National Academies of Science found the energy industry may be increasing the risk of earthquakes by injecting wastewater underground. (See related blog post: "Report Links Energy Activities to Higher Quake Risk.")

Fracking is one major cause of the increase in energy production wastewater. Although the process may not be the direct cause of the quakes, each drill site requires between 3 to 5 million gallons of water per frack, much of which is later disposed of underground. (See related story: "Water Demand for Energy to Double by 2035")

John Bredehoeft, a geological expert at the Washington State research firmHydrodynamics Group, said scientists have long known that wastewater injection cause earthquakes. "There is no question about that anymore," he said.
But Bredehoeft, who held research and management positions during a 33-year career at the U.S. Geological Survey, said the overwhelming majority wastewater wells in the United States appear to be safe. The problem, he said, is scientists have no way of determining which of the roughly 30,000 wells are likely to trigger earthquakes.

"We don't know enough about the earth's crust to know where it will happen," Bredehoeft said. "Almost nowhere do we have enough data to do that."

Heather Savage, a research professor of geophysics at Columbia University, and a co-author of the Geology study, said increased data collection about wells could help prevent future earthquakes like the one that shook Oklahoma in 2011. "[The occurrence of human-induced earthquakes is] rare, but it is increasing. It's something we need to get ahead of," Savage said.

Despite the study's findings, some experts remain skeptical that wastewater injection caused the Oklahoma earthquake. A statement released by the Oklahoma Geological Survey in advance of Tuesday's study said its data show the earthquake was likely "the result of natural causes."

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visitThe Great Energy Challenge.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Emergency Readiness Workshop for Youth-Serving Organizations


Calendar event Emergency Readiness Workshop for Youth-Serving Organizations
Ilyssa Plumer (Mar 30th 2013 11:24 am)
Are you part of a youth-serving organization and interested in integrating emergency preparedness into your existing programs?! In May, FEMA Region X and the American Red Cross, Western Washington Chapters, will be co-sponsoring free workshops on these very topics. Please see the attached announcement about this exciting opportunity! Here is the link to register (can be found on the flyer as well): https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/readinesswkshp. Please find the Workshop Flyer attached and share it with anyone who may benefit from attending; email it, share it on your website, post it on community boards, etc. Thanks! Ilyssa Plumer, FEMA Region X; Email: ilyssa.plumer@fema.dhs.gov

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