The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy

June 13, 2014

Go Local or Go Home

By Beth Bartel, Outreach Specialist, UNAVCO Okay, maybe that title is a bit harsh. When it comes to delivering a message about hazards and risk, there’s certainly benefit in delivering broad messages, to a broad public. But what I’d like to focus on is the power of targeting communication about natural hazards and risk to a local audience, and connecting with your audience through stories. So let’s start with one. …

June 10, 2014

Hypothetically Speaking: Using Scenarios to Anticipate the Unanticipated

Kris Ludwig, Staff Scientist, US Geological Survey Natural Hazards Mission Area We all use some form of hypothetical situations to plan our daily lives: What if it rains? Bring an umbrella. What if you’re in an accident? Buy insurance. What if there’s traffic? Learn alternate routes. On some level, we understand and accept the risk of discrete events like a storm, an accident, or a travel delay that may adversely …

June 2, 2014

The Challenges of Seismic Mitigation in Oregon: Where Science and Policy Meet

By Jeff Rubin, Emergency Manager, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Tigard, OR We’re justifiably concerned about terrorism, but natural hazards still generate far greater risk in terms of number of incidents, geographic spread, casualties, and economic impact. On the positive side, Mother Nature is not an adaptive opponent (Gaiaism notwithstanding), which means that our actions to reduce natural-hazard impact can actually yield useful results. Earthquake Country has a distinctly different …

May 9, 2014

Tornadoes and Climate Change: Challenges in Interpreting the Record and Looking Forward

By Harold E. Brooks, Senior Research Scientist, NOAA/National Severe Storms Laboratory With the release of the new National Climate Assessment, the scientific community has put forward our best understanding of the changes that have occurred and are expected to occur as the planet continues to warm. Noticeably, little is said about tornadoes in this document. There’s good reason for this absence. Despite a wide variety of speculation in the online …

September 19, 2013

Resilient Communities Move Forward with the Help of Science

September marks the 10th annual National Preparedness Month. The President, FEMA, and disaster organizations encourage communities to prepare for and become more resilient to emergencies. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate recognizes that preparedness seems difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. “Preparedness is more about a state of mind than a stack of supplies,” he suggested during a recent National Academies meeting on Disaster Resilience in America. This includes using the information around us …

June 14, 2013

Asteroids and Tsunamis and Space Weather, Oh My!

What are the odds that tomorrow you walk out of your home to see a meteor burning up in Earth’s atmosphere as it hurtles toward our planet at breakneck speed? Luckily, chances are pretty low. But, as evidenced by the recent large fireball – or “superbolide” if you speak Astrophysics – seen by many (and captured by many video cameras) near Chelyabinsk, Russia, this does happen. That relatively small meteor …

June 10, 2013

Risky Business

We only have to turn on the news to see the need for better risk reduction in the United States and worldwide. Recent tornadoes in Oklahoma have killed dozens, and many people across the country were surprised to learn that sometimes local policy does not require tornado shelters in areas known for tornado outbreaks. Natural disasters can destroy livelihoods as well. On average, extreme weather events, including hurricanes, tornadoes, …