World at Risk
1.1 GLOBAL HAZARDS
Terms and definitions : a good starting place, just so that you know what you’re talking about.
Here is a typology of hazards in pdf fromat, from a U.N. source.
Remember, the BBC web site is great resource on hazards, and a search will yield information about the most recent events. Currently, the May 12th 2008 Earthquake in China and Cyclone Nargis in Burma in April 2008 are detailed and useful examples of natural hazards with specific human dimensions.
Disaster maps - probably as you’ve never seen them before, from the University of Sheffield. The Maplecroft web site provides some excellent research and reports on risk and hazards, though not all are freely available. They have an interactive map of natural hazards. Register for a free - limited - account.
Here is an Excel file of a list of words which you will come across in studying this strand. You will need to add the definitions and examples. The list is probably not complete. Print a copy for your file.
The USGS Natural Hazards Gateway is an excellent collection of media of different types to help with research.
Redoubt Volcano, near Anchorage, Alaska, has erupted recently and the Alaska Volcano Observatory’s web site has lots of information about this - some stunning images of this beautiful volcano, as well as more of the technical stuff.
Going a little further...
A complete set of links about plate tectonics, organised under specific headings with a variety of sources.
Comparing events - a tale of two hurricanes.
1: Cyclone Sidr: Bangladesh 2007 (or follow the links for Cyclone Nargis in Mayanmar in 2008)
The Guardian newspaper’s interactive report.
The BBC’s special disaster report.
Swiss Re’s details of 2007’s disasters, fatalities and insured losses.
ReliefWeb’s appeals and updates page for Bangladesh and here.
2: Hurricane Katrina: USA 2005
The BBC’s Katrina In Depth report, and The Guardian’s interactive report.
1.2 GLOBAL HAZARD TRENDS
Earthquakes
From the USGS: real time earthquake world map; significant earthquakes from the past 1200 years. At the same time, the Southern California Seismic Network will provide you with near real-time information about earthquakes in that part of the USA - one of your case study areas.
Geophysical hazard risks in the Philippines from the Philippines Observatory another case study area.
The National Geoscience Database of Iran web site has a remarkable collection of photographs of the 26th December 2003 Bam earthquake. Iran is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries - a bit of a disaster hotspot.
Volcanoes
The Cascades Volcano Observatory - volcanic activity in the states of Oregon and Washington, with flickr pictures of Mt St Helens here, and . There is also an Alaskan Volcano Observatory, but if you want something more exotic, then try The Kamchatka Volcano Observatory, with details of recent current activity to be accessed here (click on the pictures - unless you can follow the Russian).
Worldwide volcano observatory links - if you have time to do some surfing. This is another set of links to volcano observatories, though some of the links may not work.
The Montserrat Volcano Observatory’s web site has a record of volcanic activity, and there are some recent pictures on their flickr pages.
Hurricanes
For information about Atlantic tropical cyclones (hurricanes) visit the National Hurricane Center’s Season’s Archives sections for maps, tracks and full details of each Atlantic season. You’ll need to select a year and then the page jumps to the one selected.
Hurricanezone brings together lots about tropical cyclones, SSTs, and interesting real time information. Search by region.
1.3 GLOBAL HAZARD PATTERNS
Natural Hazards
Munich Reinsurance’s Geo Risks annual reviews of natural hazards and their impacts are authoritative, detailed and will allow you to research and add depth to any case studies you may wish to develop and update - such as the California and Philippines hot spots. Organised by year, these are pdf files. (If they fail to download you can access them from this page, where you can find them by scrolling through the list for the title: “Topics Geo Natural catastrophes” followed by the year.) They are added here so that you can describe hazard trends and patterns, while also noting the different types of impacts hazards may have.
2002 European summer flooding; typhoons and hurricanes.
2003 European heat wave; Bam, Iran earthquake; tornadoes and hurricanes in the US.
2004 Indonesian tsunami; Niigata, Japan, earthquake; Hurrianes Charlie, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne in the Atlantic.
2005 Kashmir earthquake; Atlantic hurricane season - Katrina and Wilma; European windstorms and floods.
2006 European snow; Australian cyclone Larry; tsunami in Java.
2007 British Floods, various earthquakes, Kyrill windstorm in Europe.
2008 China earthquake, Cyclone Nargis, Hurricane Ike.
From EM-DAT, the Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2007.pdf (pdf).
A UK site of hazards links and resources selected by a consortium of UK universities and others.
Flooding
The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology’s report Summer 2007 Floods - A Very Singular Event on the 2007 floods in the UK, is a synthesis of all of the factors which created such widespread flooding. It is a good read, and shows clearly the interactions between the physical environment and humans’ attempts to manage it.
The Environment Agency has web pages on flooding, and a page where you can call up a flood risk map for a given post code in England and Wales.
The River Stour in Dorset floods frequently, and much information about the river can be found here.
Philippines and California hazard hotspots [REQUIRED case studies]
California: hazard resources
Earthquakes and earthquakes with fault lines from the United States Geological Survey. California Geological Survey’s pages on:
Earthquakes from the Southern California Seismic Network.
Tsunamis (and the Government of California’s page on the same topic)
Coastal erosion from El Niño related winter storms
Wildfires from the Sate of California, with more detail here from the USGS, and here on shrub land fires.
Philippines hazard resources [Some of these resources are at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph) and seem to work intermittently.]
Composite map showing all risks from natural hazards for the Philippines, produced by the WHO.
Earthquakes
Volcanic hazards with information about recent volcanic activity.
Tsunami bulletins may be accessed.
The Vulnerability of the Philippines to Natural Hazards and the Disaster Risk of Metro Manila a short article by Raymundo S. Punongbayan of Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
Volcanoes here and here. This page has movies of different types of lahars, while this one (from the USGS) has a detailed history of Pinatubo and other Philippine volcanic activity and hazards. This page has photographs of the Pinatubo eruption and the resulting lahars, and destruction.
Tropical cyclone activity impacting on the Philippines.
1.4 CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS CAUSES
Just to get your started, here is a very good topic by topic introduction to climate change. A site called breathingearth gives you an interactive map of population dynamics and carbon dioxide emissions - just so you can get a sense of scale.
The Climatic Research Unit at U. of East Anglia has a Causes of Climate Change page. However, if you want to go further, then you need to look at this hypertext history of climate change.
If you are really serious about this, then the US Environment Protection Agency is good place to start. They have provided three detailed sections with further links to more relevant topics and themes:
Past Climate Change
For the fullest technical account of our current state of knowledge then you should visit the web site of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This is a complex web site, with lots of resources of a highly technical nature, so if it makes your brain hurt, this may be more up your street.
You may find it useful to look at the Met Office’s web site which has news releases, with this one, about the global temperatures in 2008.
1.5 THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
The specification says you must study the impacts of climate change on two regions:
1. The Arctic
A detailed web site (with a lot of pdfs you’ll have to download) is that of the The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Scientific Report.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center’s Arctic Sea Ice summary report for 2007.
The possible consequences of climate change on Alaska’s society, economy and environment.
Far North Science has a number of links on changes in Alaska’s environment, while the Smithsonian Institute’s web site has a section on the Arctic, with resources on coastal erosion, arctic meltdown, and ecosystems (focus on caribou).
Natural Resources Canada has web pages on Climate Change and Communities, and Permafrost and Climate Change.
2. Africa
From the BBC, a clear report on the issues resulting from climate change.
From the Independent and Guardian newspapers, articles based on the same source - the Stern Review of the economic impacts of climate change, which you can find here.
“Why Africa’s climate change burden is greater” a report from a web site called Environmental Health Perspectives.
The issue with Africa is that in many regions its rapidly growing population is living on the edge of what is sustainable, so minor changes in the environment will push the population beyond sustainability. See my PowerPoint, which is liberally populated with the excellent UNEP graphics. Maplecroft have some very good Climate Change Risk scorecards and reports into various aspects of climate change (You may need to register for an account, but their maps and research are very detailed, so it’s worthwhile.). There are things happening in response to climate change, such as the plan to buy a homeland for the residents of the Maldives, islands in danger of being swamped by rising sea levels.
Here are some maps of projections of the impacts of sea level change in Britain, from the Benfield Hazards Research Centre. This Google map is interactive and allows you to see what the impacts of sea level change will be on Britain and the Netherlands (and other places if you choose), by selecting a value for sea level change. A 14m rise in sea level brings the sea to Wimborne!
1.6 COPING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE
There is a great deal of research and material in the public arena - so much in fact, that wading through it is difficult. I have tried to keep things to a minimum, but have linked to sites which have authority, and links to further informed sources.
International Agreements
The Kyoto Protocol - so far the “only show in town.” This page has links to a Clean Development Mechanism interactive map, where you can look at projects in developing countries. You can find information about Emissions Trading (and here for the EU) and Joint Implementation.
The New Scientist has articles about climate change, and if you search for mitigation and adaptation you’ll find more of relevance too.
Governments are key players in shaping attitudes and behaviours. The UK Government’s Act On CO2 site allows users to explore their impacts and options. There is much information from the UK Government concerning climate change and it can be accessed from here. The Canadian Government has a site which allows people to see what grants and rebates are available for being less polluting, while the US government has a similar site to the UK Directgov offering, showing what can be done to reduce impacts at home, in the office, at school and on the road. Taxation is a device which can be used to modify behaviour. Tax on road use can be seen as a strategy to mitigate, but it may also be seen in other ways too.
1.7 THE CHALLENGES OF GLOBAL HAZARDS FOR THE FUTURE
Identifying hazards is a key part of effective education, mitigation or adaptation. There are numerous locations on the “www” where you can find such information.
Climate change: climatehotmap (a site organised by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the World Resources Institute) shows global extreme weather events, and gives further written details too. The UK’s Meteorological Office has some detailed information about climate change projections. Scientific American has an interactive map of impacts of climate change. Political instability could be a result of climate change, and the media is only too happy to speculate on this: e.g. the New Statesman; the BBC; the New Scientist.
Science and technology can be seen as a fix, and these can work in number of ways.
Biofuels: an article from the Guardian newspaper, or BP’s biofuels information pages.
Wind energy: RES - a supplier of wind energy products; a Guardian article; British Wind Energy Association.
There are people who think that left to government, too little will be done to late, and this has been the spur to the transition towns movement in Britain and now globally.
