My previous blog talks about the Black Swan effect and why it is better to be an “alarmist” when it comes to climate change. This blog discusses an event that justifies the need to be alarmist when it comes to climate change. The event is the earthquake in the Oceania… read more
Archives for December 2019
A Vulnerable Honiara
Honiara is Solomon Islands’ capital city situated along the Guadalcanal coastline. Much like other island cities in Oceania, Honiara is at risk of natural hazards heightened by climate change. But the stress on Honiara is aggravated since over ⅓ of its residents inhabit vulnerable informal settlements. That means, over ⅓… read more
Information imperialism and digital colonialism: Why we need to make sure we are building capacity in Oceanic countries
After attending the American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2019 Conference, I began to think a great deal about the role of science and scientific research in addressing global environmental changes. With nearly 30,000 attendees, this is consistently the second largest annual gathering of researchers in the world focusing on a vast… read more
Combating Climate Change with Infrastructure Investments: How Traditional Methods May Contribute to Risk
The negative effects of climate change are well documented, especially for small island developing states (SIDS) in Oceania. These threats include sea level rise, coastal erosion, and increased intensity of tropical storms (i.e. more dangerous storm surge, strong winds, and high rates of precipitation). Traditionally, there are common civil engineering… read more
Oceania from Space: Why remote sensing is vital for understanding the effects of climate change
Oceania is known for its low-lying island nations, with over 10,000 islands, represented by over 20 countries (including territories/dependencies), spanning an area approximately the size of the United States. Monitoring threats such as sea level rise, tropical storm paths, and water quality is impossible for these nations to do using… read more
Climate Change and Black Swan (1/2) – A Case for Alarmism
American people’s views on climate change can be broadly divided into three categories- the climate deniers – people who do not think that climate change is a concern, people who accept climate change as a phenomenon but downplay the threats associated with it, and finally, the alarmists – who think… read more
Disparate Data Sets: Information Challenges in Oceania
The purpose of our capstone course is to evaluate climate-change related disaster preparedness in a subset of Oceania to identify vulnerabilities and prioritize “action areas for the US to address climate-related risks.” Our ability to meaningfully identify areas of risk and opportunity, however, is limited by a lack of accurate,… read more
Comment dit-on le “climate change” en Français? (2/3)
(This blog post is part of my three-part series on France’s role as a stakeholder in our considerations of grand strategy in managing climate resilience and disaster risk in Oceania.) Here I’d like to consider French interests in the region in economic, security, and diplomatic/humanitarian terms. Firstly, I focus on… read more
Comment dit-on le “climate change” en Français? (1/3)
(This blog post kicks off my three-part series on France’s role as a stakeholder in our considerations of grand strategy in managing climate resilience and disaster risk in Oceania.) France is an important security and development actor in the Pacific region. Given its extensive colonial history and ongoing role in… read more