The immediate effects of floods are well known and frequently devastating. Lives are lost and homes and possessions destroyed or damaged by water, while crops can be ruined or washed away, affecting livestock as well as people. Workers and firms alike lose irreplaceable days of productivity, and they can incur crippling expenses in the absence of adequate insurance—a … [Read more...] about The Land May Be Dry, but the Flood Goes On
Environment and Climate Change
A Climate for Infant Health
Exposure to extremes in weather during childhood and adulthood has increasingly well-known effects. Since those extremes are becoming more frequent, researchers and policymakers are working on ways to ameliorate their effects. But what about the effects of weather extremes on human gestation and infancy? Although the womb provides a degree of protection from the outside world, … [Read more...] about A Climate for Infant Health
Too Warm for Growth?
When people think about climate change, what often comes to mind are rising temperatures. Indeed, for much of the world’s population higher temperatures most dramatically manifest themselves in an increasing frequency of heat waves responsible for hundreds and sometimes thousands of fatalities. Prominent examples include heat waves in Chicago in 1995, France and other European … [Read more...] about Too Warm for Growth?
Faced with a Water Shortage, a Flood of Ideas.
The US state of California is passing through a very serious drought, which has resulted in serious problems of water availability. Experts have not been able to agree on the reasons for the extreme situation and why preventive measures were not taken, nor have they been able to agree on the best possible solutions. Nevertheless, it seems that the measures they have taken up … [Read more...] about Faced with a Water Shortage, a Flood of Ideas.
Quake’n and Shake’n…Forever!
The aftershocks of earthquakes can go on for months and even years in the ground. But how long do the aftershocks go on in human lives? Disruptions in living conditions and income seem likely to have major impacts on individuals and families over time, particularly in developing countries, but until recently little work has been done to test that intuition against hard data. A … [Read more...] about Quake’n and Shake’n…Forever!