The pandemic proves we all should know ‘psychological first aid.’ Here are the basics.

COVID-19: Federal Efforts Could Be Strengthened by Timely and Concerted Actions . GAO-20-701: Published: Sep 21, 2020.

From the GAO Blog: How Can the Federal Government Strengthen Its Response to COVID-19?

Weary Gulf Coast mayors say hurricane season has changed for the worse, which many attribute to climate shifts.

“The storms that have reached the Gulf of Mexico have had some things in common: amazingly fast intensification, late shifts in path that have taken some communities off-guard, and massive storm surge and torrential rains that have inundated coastal towns with record flooding.”

From Scientific American: Hurricane Sally’s Major Flooding Exposes Flaws in FEMA Maps. Tens of thousands of homeowners face financial losses because they were not considered to be in a flood zone and were not required to have insurance

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is so intense, it just ran out of storm names – and then two more storms formed

The Department of Homeland Security’s plan to bring the leadership of component agencies under one roof and manage a sprawling network of office buildings in the Washington D.C. metro area has hit another snag.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is looking to stay in its leased office space for up to another 20 years, and expand its square footage by nearly 20%, effectively walking away from plans to relocate its headquarter to the DHS St. Elizabeths campus in Southeast D.C.

From Politico: 25 years wiped out in 25 weeks: Pandemic sets the world back decades, Progress on global health and the economy has regressed, Gates Foundation report finds.

From the NYTimes: How Climate Migration Will Reshape America Millions will be displaced. Where will they go?

From the NYTimes: Wildfires Are Worsening. The Way We Manage Them Isn’t Keeping Pace. The blazes scorching the West highlight the urgency of rethinking fire management policies, as climate change threatens to make things worse.

Another take on the topic: “Unprecedented”: What’s behind the California, Oregon, and Washington wildfires. The size, speed, and timing of the wildfires, coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic, have created a unique disaster. 

From Vox: California’s recurring wildfire problem, explained. The state’s weather is becoming warmer and more volatile due to climate change. And there are more people and buildings.

How forcing colleges to go online could change higher education for the better
A silver lining in a troubling time.