(Press-News.org) Recent projects in two Minnesota cities demonstrate how communities can protect themselves from worsening storms. These projects continue a ten year program in New England and the Midwest providing practical and affordable plans tailored to local conditions.
"Our goal is to help communities begin the steps to protect themselves," said program co-leader Latham Stack, of Syntectic International, Portland, OR. "It's important because storms have already worsened. We help communities move beyond feeling paralyzed from the lack of local information and the sense that the problem is overwhelming."
Recent news stories and White House actions cite the need to adapt to changing conditions. Minneapolis and Victoria, MN, through the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, took this to heart and asked to be project sites. At these and previous sites in New England, program results consistently show that portions of existing drainage systems are already undersized. At the same time, significant portions of these systems should be adequate for even pessimistic mid-21st century projections.
"Uncertainty in climate projections is not a show-stopper," said Michael Simpson, program co-leader and Chair of Environmental Studies at Antioch University, Keene, NH. "For over a century, engineers have designed drainage systems using models and data that are more uncertain than is generally acknowledged. Preventing loss of life and flood damage was more important than waiting for perfect knowledge that never came anyway. In spite of the uncertainty, these systems perform remarkably well."
According to the Government Financial Officers Association, planning for the future is especially critical when projections are uncertain. By starting to adapt now, communities can spread costs over a number of years. This is easier to afford, especially because significant portions of systems should not require upgrading.
"The decision of how large to build a drainage system has always been a gamble, even ignoring the uncertainty in methods", said Stack. "Designing systems for a certain sized storm is a gamble that the damage from storms exceeding design will cost less than building a system with larger capacity."
For many communities, extreme storms are already exceeding designs more frequently than intended. This is reflected in rising flood insurance costs. Public works departments, emergency responders, and financial resources are stressed beyond capacity. Communities are not always able to recover.
"So the question becomes, how do we respond, as individuals, as communities, and as a nation?" asks Simpson. "Do we use common sense and take responsible steps now, or do we ignore what's in plain sight? We're saying that communities need to act now."
INFORMATION:
A conference on local solutions for climate change, May 19-21 in Manchester, NH, sponsored by Antioch University, is open to anyone interested.
Minnesota projects offer hope and practical help to communities facing more extreme storms
The NOAA-funded projects are models for other communities nationally and internationally
2014-04-22
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
False-positive mammogram anxiety has limited impact on women's well-being
2014-04-22
(Lebanon, NH, 4/22/14). Dartmouth researchers have found that the anxiety experienced with a false-positive mammogram is temporary and does not negatively impact a woman's overall well-being. Their findings are reported in "Consequences of False-Positive Screening Mammograms," which was published online in the April 21, 2014 JAMA Internal Medicine
Anywhere from 40 to 60 percent of women who undergo routine screening mammography during a ten-year period will experience a false-positive mammogram. Such mammograms require additional testing, sometimes involving a biopsy, ...
Cannabis chemistry: How scientists test pot for potency and safety (video)
2014-04-22
WASHINGTON, April 22, 2014 — Marijuana is in the headlines as more and more states legalize it for medicinal use or decriminalize it entirely. In the American Chemical Society's (ACS') newest Reactions video, we explain the chemistry behind marijuana's high, and investigate what scientists are doing to ensure that legalized weed won't send users on a bad trip. The video is available at http://youtu.be/4ukdUDCE56c
Subscribe to the series at Reactions YouTube, and follow us on Twitter @ACSreactions to be the first to see our latest videos.
INFORMATION:
The American ...
Researchers identify a mechanism linking bariatric surgery to health benefits
2014-04-22
Bariatric surgery has positive effects not only on weight loss but also on diabetes and heart disease. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy and University of Cincinnati have shown that the health benefits are not caused by a reduction in the stomach size but by increased levels of bile acids in the blood. These findings, reported in Nature, indicate that bile acids could be a new target for treating obesity and diabetes.
Previous research from the Sahlgrenska Academy has demonstrated that obesity surgery is the only effective treatment for obesity and obesity-related ...
NeuroPhage discovers GAIM-changing molecules to combat Alzheimer's and related diseases
2014-04-22
Cambridge, MA, April 22, 2014 – Researchers from NeuroPhage Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have engineered a series of molecules with the potential to treat most neurodegenerative diseases that are characterized by misfolded proteins, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. These molecules are based on what the Company calls a general amyloid interaction motif, or GAIM, which recognizes a characteristic common to many toxic, misfolded proteins, not just one type of misfolded protein. This approach provides NeuroPhage with an array of therapeutic targets, so that ...
Sleep disorder linked to brain disease
2014-04-22
Researchers at the University of Toronto say a sleep disorder that causes people to act out their dreams is the best current predictor of brain diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
"Rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is not just a precursor but also a critical warning sign of neurodegeneration that can lead to brain disease," says associate professor and lead author Dr. John Peever. In fact, as many as 80 to 90 per cent of people with RBD will develop a brain disease."
As the name suggests, the disturbance occurs during the rapid-eye-movement (REM) ...
Mysteries of a nearby planetary system's dynamics now are solved
2014-04-22
Mysteries of one of the most fascinating nearby planetary systems now have been solved, report authors of a scientific paper to be published by the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in its early online edition on 22 April 2014. The study, which presents the first viable model for the planetary system orbiting one the first stars discovered to have planets -- the star named 55 Cancri -- was led by Penn State University graduate student Benjamin Nelson in collaboration with faculty at the Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds at Penn State and ...
Protein expression gets the heart pumping
2014-04-22
HOUSTON – (April 22, 2014) – Most people think the development of the heart only happens in the womb, however the days and weeks following birth are full of cellular changes that play a role in the structure and function of the heart. Using mouse models, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have now been able to categorize the alternative splicing (the process in which genes code proteins, determining their role) that takes place during these changes and what mechanisms they affect.
The findings, which appear in Nature Communications, also helped to identify a ...
First brain images of African infants enable research into cognitive effects of nutrition
2014-04-22
Brain activity of babies in developing countries could be monitored from birth to reveal the first signs of cognitive dysfunction, using a new technique piloted by a London-based university collaboration.
The cognitive function of infants can be visualised and tracked more quickly, more accurately and more cheaply using the method, called functional near infra-red spectroscopy (fNIRS), compared to the behavioural assessments Western regions have relied upon for decades.
Professor Clare Elwell, Professor of Medical Physics at University College London (UCL), said: "Brain ...
Scientists discover a new way to enhance nerve growth following injury
2014-04-22
New research published today out of the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) uncovers a mechanism to promote growth in damaged nerve cells as a means to restore connections after injury. Dr. Doug Zochodne and his team have discovered a key molecule that directly regulates nerve cell growth in the damaged nervous system. His study was published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications, with lead authors Drs. Kim Christie and Anand Krishnan.
"We made the surprising discovery that a protein called Retinoblastoma (Rb) is present in adult neurons," ...
Trio @ Sam Leong Road Preview 2nd Preview 2nd Quarter 2014
2014-04-22
Trio @ Sam Leong is a 4 story commercial development that consists of retail shops, entertainment outlets and restaurants. Developed by Singapore listed developer Tee Land, this development is strategically located behind Mustafa and is expected to draw traffic with its city fringe location.
The nearest MRT is Farrer Park MRT station within a 5 minute walk. A Central Business District (CBD), Orchard Road, Marina Bay Sands is only 10 minutes via train or drive.
Trio @ Sam Leong road has a good unit mix of retails shops and restaurants targeted to individual business ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
A third of licensed GPs in England not working in NHS general practice
ChatGPT “thought on the fly” when put through Ancient Greek maths puzzle
Engineers uncover why tiny particles form clusters in turbulent air
GLP-1RA drugs dramatically reduce death and cardiovascular risk in psoriasis patients
Psoriasis linked to increased risk of vision-threatening eye disease, study finds
Reprogramming obesity: New drug from Italian biotech aims to treat the underlying causes of obesity
Type 2 diabetes may accelerate development of multiple chronic diseases, particularly in the early stages, UK Biobank study suggests
Resistance training may improve nerve health, slow aging process, study shows
Common and inexpensive medicine halves the risk of recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer
SwRI-built instruments to monitor, provide advanced warning of space weather events
Breakthrough advances sodium-based battery design
New targeted radiation therapy shows near-complete response in rare sarcoma patients
Does physical frailty contribute to dementia?
Soccer headers and brain health: Study finds changes within folds of the brain
Decoding plants’ language of light
UNC Greensboro study finds ticks carrying Lyme disease moving into western NC
New implant restores blood pressure balance after spinal cord injury
New York City's medical specialist advantage may be an illusion, new NYU Tandon research shows
Could a local anesthetic that doesn’t impair motor function be within reach?
1 in 8 Italian cetacean strandings show evidence of fishery interactions, with bottlenose and striped dolphins most commonly affected, according to analysis across four decades of data and more than 5
In the wild, chimpanzees likely ingest the equivalent of several alcoholic drinks every day
Warming of 2°C intensifies Arctic carbon sink but weakens Alpine sink, study finds
Bronze and Iron Age cultures in the Middle East were committed to wine production
Indian adolescents are mostly starting their periods at an earlier age than 25 years ago
Temporary medical centers in Gaza known as "Medical Points" (MPs) treat an average of 117 people daily with only about 7 staff per MP
Rates of alcohol-induced deaths among the general population nearly doubled from 1999 to 2024
PLOS One study: In adolescent lab animals exposed to cocaine, High-Intensity Interval Training boosts aversion to the drug
Scientists identify four ways our bodies respond to COVID-19 vaccines
Stronger together: A new fusion protein boosts cancer immunotherapy
Hidden brain waves as triggers for post-seizure wandering
[Press-News.org] Minnesota projects offer hope and practical help to communities facing more extreme stormsThe NOAA-funded projects are models for other communities nationally and internationally