From CNN: 40% of Australia’s entire population under severe weather warnings covering an area the size of Alaska

We wish our Australian readers the best of luck.

From the WashPost: EPA dismisses dozens of key science advisers picked under Trump. The Biden administration says it needs to restore trust in the agency by “resetting” membership on two key science advisory panels.

The Positive Position: From Bloomberg: What Does It Take to Build Back Better? Ask FEMA. The U.S. federal disaster response agency has inadvertently become a major funder of local infrastructure projects.

The Negative Position: From Bookings, a related but more critical assessment: Are Federal Disaster Policies Making the Harmful Effects of Climate Change Even Worse?

Thanks to Chris Jones for the citations.

From the WashPost: Seeing the Future. The U.S. Government is terrible at forecasting.

The author makes the case for improving strategic foresight throughout the federal government. “Strategic foresight… involves envisioning alternative futures to better sense, shape and adapt to the one that is emerging.”

From the WashPost, Former Trump officials offer stark assessment of previous administration’s coronavirus response/

What makes this especially interesting is the speakers were key actors and not journalists.

From the Congressional Research Service this 28 page report on the Community Development Block Grants: Funding and Allocation Processes

From Politico: Where we are now: New York City after a year in the grip of pandemic. Much of New York is still waiting to recover and bracing for what could be permanent changes to the biggest city in America.

From the Guardian: Ban on US water shutoffs could have prevented thousands of Covid deaths – study. Researchers say half a million infections might have been stopped if more states had suspended disconnections during pandemic

From the GAO: Earthquakes: Progress Made to Implement Early Warning System, but Actions Needed to Improve Program Management

Geo Policy: Social Media is Influencing our Political Behavior.

Thanks to Chris Jones for the citation.