FEMA has changed the name of its Leadership Academy to National Emergency Management Advanced Academy. I cannot say I like the new name, but no one asked me for my opinion!! Anyway, this site offers details about their offerings.
In a blog by conservative pundit Michael Gerson in the Washington Post today:
Our Large but Puny Government. He comments on a recent book titled Bring Back the Bureacrats. There are lots of interesting facts in there, like:
Since the 1960s, the federal government spending has increased by more than five times in real terms, but the number of federal bureaucrats in 2014 was smaller than at any time since Dwight Eisenhower was in office.
Gerson welcomes better public administration and supports the book’s advocacy for fewer contractors and more public servants. He takes a swipe at FEMA, which I do not agree with. But on the whole his points are interesting and provocative.
There is no explaining the stupidity and fecklessness of Congress. The Republican-led Congress went on vacation without dealing with the budget for the Dept. of Homeland Security. See: Republicans: We will get blamed for DHS shutdown.
The agency’s budget runs out at the end of this month.
From the Washington Post: Today’s drought in the West is nothing compared to what may be coming.
The long and severe drought in the U.S. Southwest pales in comparison with what’s coming: a “megadrought” that will grip that region and the central plains later this century and probably stay there for decades, a new study says.
Thirty-five years from now, if the current pace of climate change continues unabated, those areas of the country will experience a weather shift that will linger for as long as three decades, according to the study, released Thursday.
Red Cross trailer would serve stranded animals in disasters
The American Red Cross wants to make sure pets don’t get stranded if the New York area goes through another disaster like Superstorm Sandy.
The Red Cross and the Westminster Kennel Club unveiled a trailer Saturday that would make it easier to rescue animals in the aftermath of tornadoes, floods, wildfires and other natural or civil disasters.
A reminder that the Diva has developed another website, one on Disasters and Faith-Based Organizations for a project she is doing that entails outreach to houses of worship locally. She welcomes your suggestions re resources and improvements.
She is toying with a new Diva moniker for that blog. One thought is The Divine Diva — just joking!!
Evidence of extreme hurricane activity may forebode stormier future for Northeast.
Since I used to be a New Englander, I feel really sorry for the folks now suffering through 3 major snowstorms. And now the news comes that hurricanes in that area may be both stronger and more frequent.
The Risks of Climate Engineering. This article in the NY Times talks about a new report from the NAS.
Here is the direct URL to the NAS reports.
See this article on resilience in the new issue of HSAJ: Resilience Redux: Buzzword or Basis for Homeland Security, by Jerome H. Kahan.
I guess you could consider three major snowstorms in three weeks a slow onset disaster for Boston at the present time. See: Blizzard 2015: New England buried in snow as coastal towns fear flooding – as it happened.
It you want additional details, go the the Boston Globe website.