Imagining the Role of the Research University Anew

The Diva has never done this before, but this appeal is special because several academic professionals who are longtime friends are involved. They are helping the First Nation Tribes in LA provide assistance to members experiencing massive damage after Hurricane Ida.

Here are the details of two essential organizations,  as provided by Prof. Laura Olson:

(1) Hurricane Ida brought catastrophic damage to the Bayou regions of Southern Louisiana. The Lowlander Center has been working with residents, volunteers and partner organizations to address urgent needs in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ida, and assist in facilitating long-term planning and recovery efforts. As residents transition to recovery efforts, help is needed to provide temporary shelter and to fund sustainable, resilient rebuilding that will provide long-term hurricane protection in the future. The Lowlander Center is a decade-old volunteer-centered 501c3 non-profit organization offering a “7th generation” (long-term, continually adding, expanding) problem-solving commitment. Your donation supports the Lowlander Center’s ongoing work to help create solutions to living with an ever-changing coastline and land loss while visioning a future that builds capacity and resilience for place and people.

Please support the Lowlander Center in the work to assist with Hurricane Ida response and recovery by donating here or with this link, https://www.gofundme.com/f/lowlander-hurricane-ida-response-fund. All donations will go directly towards a sustainable, justice-centered recovery for coastal families in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida and the continuing recovery of Southwest Louisiana from Hurricanes Laura and Delta, with recovery delayed by COVID. More information about the Lowlander Center and its collaborators can be found on their website here: Lowlander Center website.

(2) Hurricane Ida brought catastrophic damage to the member Tribes of the First Peoples Conservation Council of Louisiana (FPCC). The Category 4 hurricane made landfall directly in their communities. Many of the Tribal citizens from these communities have been left houseless or without protection from the elements and have no running water or electricity. As they transition to recovery efforts, help is needed to provide temporary shelter (e.g., used campers, trailers, large communal tents where we can gather to eat and be safe from insects/pests) and to fund sustainable, resilient rebuilding that will provide long-term hurricane protection in the future. Your donations support FPCC’s work, in leading the way as stewards of our lands and waters and voices that champion climate justice and climate-resilient futures. FPCC is an Association for Native American Tribes in Louisiana that identify and solve natural resource issues on their Tribal lands.

You may get more work done at home. But you’d have better ideas at the office.
Innovation — and productivity — would suffer if remote work became permanent for most employees

From the WashPost, this opinion piece: After Covid, we are all going to need some help

After Ida, Louisiana Struggles to Tally the Environmental Cost. Activists Say Officials Must Do Better,The state was still recovering from five named storms in 2020 when the Category 4 hurricane walloped the Gulf Coast with 150 mph winds.

From HSDL: Improving Florida’s Hurricane Resilience: Alternative Fuel Vehicles, Infrastructure

Federal Agency Programs Reference, thanks to NHMA.org

From the WashPost: U.S. agencies spent years testing pandemic responses. But many didn’t learn lessons for coronavirus, GAO finds.

Be sure to read the last three paragraphs of the article.

State of Public Health: Emergency Management in a World of Increasingly Complex Disasters

From the Guardian: ‘Ida is not the end’: Indigenous residents face the future on Louisiana’s coast – photo essay

Here is a related article from the Wall St. Journal.