Last week I talked about the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (British) new report which incorporated flood design guidelines they refer to as the “Englander 9-Box Matrix.” I want to dive a little deeper to explain this simple, yet radical new approach to flood design guidance. ...
November 19th, 2019 Category: Sea Level Rise
Today the British Institute of Mechanical Engineers, “IMechE”, issued guidelines for their 130,000 members to use when engineering for rising sea level. I am delighted that it is based upon a tool that I created a few years ago, the “9 Box Matrix.” The ...
November 11th, 2019 Category: Sea Level Rise
Last week a new scientific study made the news. The above illustration from the New York Times feature article shows the area of one city – Shanghai – that could flood by 2050. The article had a bold headline: Rising Seas Will Erase More Cities by 2050 They ...
November 4th, 2019 Category: Sea Level Rise
A few weeks ago, I heard the term “Flight shaming.” Although new to me, it’s meaning was instantly obvious: the social and ethical stigma attached to flying, due to its impact on climate change. Recently the CEO of Dutch airline KLM publicly recommended that ...
October 28th, 2019 Category: Sea Level Rise
If you’re on any of the Great Lakes, out of sight of land, they can seem like an ocean. Last week I was in Toronto and snapped this picture of a gorgeous sunrise from my hotel room overlooking Lake Ontario. (A sliver of Lake ...
October 21st, 2019 Category: Sea Level Rise
Typhoon Hagibis devastated Japan this weekend with record flooding as shown in this photo series from the Singapore Straits Times. The deluge arrived from all directions: as huge waves from the coasts, in the high elevations as torrential rain, flowing downhill as runoff. Rivers overflowed ...
October 14th, 2019 Category: Sea Level Rise
Having just returned from some meetings in Singapore, I can report that they are a real leader in planning for sea level rise. In his annual address to the nation on August 18th, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, very clearly said that their greatest single ...
October 7th, 2019 Category: Sea Level Rise
The polar view above helps to see the Arctic more clearly. To continue from my post two weeks ago about the recent trip to Greenland, here are some bullet points of what I think are the strategic issues. As context, it is the largest island ...
September 29th, 2019 Category: Sea Level Rise
Scoldings are usually not enjoyable for either party, nor even for most observers. If warranted however, and if delivered sharp and short, the sting is understood by both parties as a message that needed to be said and heard. With her 3-minute presentation Monday ...
September 23rd, 2019 Category: Sea Level Rise