Green Options

“The United States is in a sense climate illiterate still,” Hans Schellnhuber, the director of Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said earlier this week.

He wasn’t just comparing the US to the EU, however. Even developing nations seem to know more about the issue and the potential results of inaction.

A paper recently published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates the exposure of the world’s port cities to coastal flooding due to storm surges, and damages from high winds. The study details the potential financial and human tolls that stand to be impacted — or lost — by the decade of the 2070s, due to climate change, and the cities’ and countries’ levels of ability to cope.

The 63-page study focused on 136 cities around the world, cities with current total population of approximately 40 million, that are considered at risk of a one in 100-year coastal flood event. By the 2070s, the population is expected to be as high as 150 million who will be affected by sea-level rise and storm dangers heightened by climate change.

Seed banks help out farmers in times of natural disasters; however, the Global Crop Diversity Trust is preparing for such a disaster on a global scale.  The Svalbard Global Seed Vault will store and preserve 4.5 million samples from other seed banks. The vault is located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. Conde Nast explains the purpose of this world seed bank:

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What will a future world shaped by accelerating climate change look like? Imagine this season’s Atlantic hurricanes and devastating flooding in India, and kick those up a notch or three, says the head of the United Nation’s Environment Programme (UNEP). As of this June, the world has already seen some 400 natural disasters (including the non-weather-related Sichuan earthquake in China) rack up damages of $82 billion. [...]

Before I write anything else, I want to unequivocally explain that I think natural disasters are terrible. They cause countless deaths and incredible human suffering. With that being understood, I often find myself believing that things happen in nature for a reason, and so I started to ponder what some of the good aspects to natural disasters might be. I’ve come up with three ideas about what might be some positive consequences of natural disasters.

While I’ve lived on the Gulf Coast for just a little over 10 years, I’ve already endured a more-than-fair share of hurricanes: Georges, Ivan, Dennis, Katrina, Wilma.

I’ve been more fortunate than many, but my post-hurricane experiences have actually raised my awareness a great deal about the importance of sustainability. Because few things make you understand the challenges of sustainable living more than a few days or weeks in a disaster zone with no electricity, no drinkable running water, no passable roads.

And so, with another hurricane season once again looming (it starts June 1), here are some of the sustainability lessons I’ve learned over the years: