Disasters

"Nuclear Rules in Japan Relied on Old Science"

"In the country that gave the world the word tsunami, the Japanese nuclear establishment largely disregarded the potentially destructive force of the walls of water. The word did not even appear in government guidelines until 2006, decades after plants — including the Fukushima Daiichi facility that firefighters are still struggling to get under control — began dotting the Japanese coastline."

Source: NY Times, 03/28/2011

"Undocumented People Are Among Most Vulnerable To Climate-Fueled Disasters"

"Carmen, her husband and three children were sound asleep in their western North Carolina home when she heard her phone ring that late September morning. It was her brother-in-law alerting the family to downed trees, powerlines and homes destroyed by historic rain and strong winds from Hurricane Helene."

Source: NPR, 01/03/2025

Calif. Will Require Insurers To Increase Home Coverage In Fire-Prone Areas

"Insurance companies that stopped providing home coverage to hundreds of thousands of Californians in recent years as wildfires became more destructive will have to again provide policies in fire-prone areas if they want to keep doing business in California under a state regulation announced Monday."

Source: AP, 01/02/2025
January 31, 2025

DEADLINE: IJNR Southern California Wildfire Institute

From March 2-8, 2025, the Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources will conduct a training program in San Diego and locations across southern California for ~15 professional journalists to advance their reporting on a range of wildfire-resilience topics. Apply by Jan 31.

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January 6, 2025

DEADLINE: Extreme Heat Reporting Training in West Africa

Join Climate Resilience for All for a three-day in-person training course in Accra, Ghana on February 10-12, 2025, designed to improve your reporting on the impacts of extreme heat, giving you new sources, story angles and ideas on how to cover the mounting impacts of this climate threat. Apply by Jan 6.

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WH Scientists Call For National Effort To Curb Groundwater Depletion

"Even as groundwater levels have rapidly declined in farming regions from California’s Central Valley to the High Plains, the federal government has mostly taken a hands-off approach to the chronic depletion of the nation’s aquifers. But in a new report for the White House, scientists say the country is facing serious and unprecedented groundwater challenges that call for the federal government to play a larger role."

Source: LA Times, 12/23/2024

UN Talks Fail To Agree On Dealing With Rising Risk Of Global Drought

"Despite two weeks of U.N.-sponsored talks in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, the participating 197 nations failed to agree early Saturday on a plan to deal with global droughts, made longer and more severe by a warming climate."

Source: AP, 12/17/2024

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