disasters, resilience, and the environment
TRANSCRIPT
Disasters, Resilience, and the Environment
Keely MaxwellU.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research & Development
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not
constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. All photos EPA unless specified.
• EPA’s Homeland Security Research Program
• Applied research on• Water infrastructure security• Detecting & cleaning up
contaminants released in an incident
• Managing incident waste
• Anthropologist• Community resilience
My standpoint
Today’s Talk
• Environmental impacts of disasters
• Community resilience to disasters- science & policy
• Building resilience to current & future disasters
Joplin, MO
Disaster Impacts- Ecosystems
Coastal wetlands before & after Hurricane Katrina (USGS)
Oil-covered sea turtle after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (NOAA)
Disaster Impacts- Critical Infrastructure
• Critical environmentalinfrastructure includes• Drinking water
• Wastewater
• Energy
• Direct & indirect impacts
• Interdependencies
Missouri River floodwaters surround a power station
Drinking water & wastewater treatment plants are often in low-lying areas
Disaster Impacts- Waste & debris
• Post-disaster waste streams• Hazardous waste• Recyclables• E-waste• White goods
• Debris• Construction, vegetation,
livestock carcasses
• Huge cost, time to manage disaster waste & debris
Household hazardous waste collection after Hurricane Maria, St. Croix, Virgin Islands
Orphan barrels amidst debris after Hurricane Katrina
Disaster Impacts- Risks to Human Health
• Indoor & outdoor air quality
• Potential release from contaminated sites
• Combined sewer overflows
• Drinking water quality
Mold in flooded
buildings after Hurricane
Sandy (FEMA)
Watering debris to reduce dust. An EF-5 tornado hit part of the Jasper County Superfund site, Joplin, MO (FEMA)
In the US, up to 40% of fine particulate matter air pollution originates with wildfire smoke (USGCRP)
Disaster Impacts- Environmental Justice
• Existing vulnerabilities increase exposure & sensitivity to disasters• Socioeconomic
• Health
• Disproportionate impacts• Communities of color
• Tribal lands & indigenous rights holders
What is community resilience?
“the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse events” (National Research Council
2012)
Resilience…
Of what?
To what?
For whom?
(FEMA)(FEMA)
Environmental factors that affect community resilience
Infrastructure condition
Ecosystem health
Waste management
systems
Social factors that affect community resilience
11
Sense of Place & Identity
Social networks & collective action
Governance & planning
Demographics & Economy
Resilience policy: homeland security, disasters, climate change
PDD-63
HSPD-7
NationalStrategy for Homeland Security
National Security Strategy
PPD-8 National Disaster Recovery Framework
E.O. 13632
Sandy Suppl.PPD-21E.O. 13653
20031998 2007 2010 2011 20132012
Resilience policy- role of EPA
• Environmental & disaster laws & policies• Oil & hazardous materials response
• Clean up oil spills in inland waters
• Mission assignments from FEMA• Household hazardous waste, Hurricane Maria
• Homeland security policies• Critical infrastructure protection
• Drinking water & waste water systems
• Biodefense & biosecurity
Why is resilience important? Trends in disasters
Source: NOAA-NCEI
Why is resilience important? Disasters involve
Source: 4th National Climate Assessment
Extreme rainfall, higher sea levels, and high tide flooding affected Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015
Cascading Consequences Compound stressors
My research- measuring community resilience
Community Waste Resilience Indicator Factor
Invasive species Environmental & ecological
Landfill capacity Infrastructure & built environment
Predesignated waste staging sites Disaster governance & planning
Rate of clean-up of key local places (park, school)
Sense of place & identity
Environmental hazards per sq mi Health & well-being
Race, class, ethnicity (in disaster & disposal sites)
Demographic
Contracts in place (recycling, waste haulers) EconomicMaturity of curbside recycling Social networks & collective action
Social science critiques of community resilience
• What does a community have control over, & what not?
• Who speaks for ‘the community’- who is left out?
• Is being resilient enough to overcome systemic vulnerabilities & increasingly frequent & intense disasters?
• What are the unintended social consequences of resilience?
Of what?To what?
For whom?
Building community resilience- general considerations• Planning for
environmental impacts of disasters
• Learning from one incident to the next
• Social equity is a central concern
• Multiple sectors involved
• Participation & voicePlanning for post-disaster waste management alone is very complicated!
Building community resilience- campus considerations
• Forward-looking design for campus planning
• Practice with scenarios, tabletops
• What is your campus’s critical infrastructure?
• Who are your campus’s vulnerable populations?
Source: 4th National Climate Assessment
