Search Results for: learn from experience

100 years ago last night, the passenger liner Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank two hours later. She carried over 2200 people – some of the world’s richest, and maybe 1000 of the poorest, the latter … Continue reading →

Viewed narrowly, Hurricane Sandy is a success story. Start with the forecast. Americans were given a week’s heads-up that Hurricane Sandy would track north, and then, instead of veering safely out to the Atlantic, would come ashore somewhere near New … Continue reading →

Readers of the previous post and related posts on the Weather-Ready Nation may be well aware of the work pioneered by the Community and Regional Resilience Institute (CARRI) over the past few years. If not, the CARRI February newsletter which … Continue reading →

It’s a privilege to be in Washington, DC, and to work on Earth observations, science, and services. Many people might find that hard to believe! News coverage, focusing as it does on what’s wrong and vexing, invites those outside Washington … Continue reading →

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” To those of a certain age, this line is iconic Bob Dylan, taken from his song “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” A radical left organization, the Revolutionary Youth Movement of … Continue reading →

To be human these days is to have a lot to worry about. News media play into this mindset. Joel Achenbach’s recent post, appearing in yesterday’s print edition of The Washington Post Magazine, provides a particularly thoughtful and comprehensive example. … Continue reading →

Huge areal extent. High winds at the core (at times, category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale). Slow-moving, featuring long dwell time over endangered areas. Strong, prolonged storm surge.   Observations, numerical weather prediction and subsequent dissemination equipped the world to … Continue reading →

“A river is made drop by drop.” – Afghan proverb. Last week, the 43rd Annual Natural Hazards Workshop ran July 8-11 in Broomfield, Colorado. Several features make the occasion unique. For example, though the meeting is largely invitational, every year … Continue reading →

Tragedy 1.a lamentable, dreadful, or fatal event or affair; calamity; disaster:stunned by the tragedy of so many deaths. 2.a dramatic composition, often in verse, dealing with a serious or somber theme, typically involving a great person destined to experience downfall … Continue reading →

The March3-9 print edition of The Economist had a great special report on autonomous vehicles. Actually “great” as a modifier to Economist special article is redundant; all their reports are worth the read and this one was no exception. Tom … Continue reading →