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Web Tool, Phone App Pinpoint Tsunami Dangers, Quick Getaway Routes

By Guest PostMarch 23, 2012Environment, Technologyalaska, android, cascadia subduction zone, flood, iTunes, jan newton, Japan, jonathan allan, magnitude, megathrust earthquake, mynanoos, oregon, oregon coasts, pacific northwest, phone application, quake, smartphone app, tohoku, tool, tribal oral histories, tsunami, tsunami inundation, tsunami warning center, tsunami warnings, tsunamievac n, Washington, west coast, zones

A new online portal and smartphone app lets Washington and Oregon residents enter the addresses of their homes, schools, workplaces or kids’ day care centers to check if they’re in harm’s way should a tsunami hit.

Materials available via the tool or phone application can be used to map out evacuation routes for you, your family, employees or students so everyone is ready when danger arises. There’s a way to create a free account so users can map and save multiple locations and evacuation routes in one place. (more…)

One Year Later: Japan Quake, Tsunami a Cautionary Tale for Pacific Northwest

By Guest PostMarch 8, 2012Environment, Generalalki, british columbia, cascadia subduction zone, earthquakes, hokkaido university, Japan, jody bourgeois, john vidale, long beach peninsula, magnitude 9, northern california, ocean shores, one year anniversary, oregon, pacific northwest, prediction, puget sound, sapporo, seattle fault, seismometer readings, sunday, tohoku earthquake, tsunami, tsunami evacuation, united states, university of washington, Washington

Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan, killing more than 16,000 people and causing billions of dollars in damage.

University of Washington scientists say the event has some important lessons for the Pacific Northwest – most notably, not that a similar event can happen here but that it WILL happen here, and that this region is still much less prepared than Japan was a year ago. (more…)

UMD Poll: Israelis Wary of Striking Iran Nuclear Facilities

By Guest PostMarch 2, 2012Politicsairstrike, american punishment, Barack Obama, benjamin netanyahu, dahaf institute, hezbollah, iran, Israel, israeli jews, israeli prime minister, israeli public, mitt romney, newt gingrich, nuclear program, nuclear weapons, presidential race, public opinion, ron paul, santorum, shibley telhami, university of maryland, us president, Washington

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland – The Israeli public is wary of launching airstrikes aimed at disrupting Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons, reports a new public opinion poll by researchers at the University of Maryland.

Only 19 of percent of all Israelis favored a go-it-alone strike by Israel, while 42 percent supported a strike only with U.S. backing, and 34 percent opposed any strike. Survey findings for Israeli Jews closely paralleled the results for the entire population of the nation. (more…)

Economic Forecast

By Guest PostFebruary 19, 2012Economy2012, americans, bruce weber, ceee, charles i plosser, clayton hall, david lyons, economic forecast, economic growth, Economy, evan krape, fiscal policy, government treasuries, jay fishman, jim o neill, joan woodward, john f kennedy, jon hilsenrath, kathryn meier, lyons companies, media experts, michael k farr, monetary policy, overdraft, philadelphia federal reserve, president bill clinton, public policy, the arrogance cycle, travelers insurancy company, unemployment, university of delaware, us debt, Wall Street Journal, Washington

*No silver bullet but hope for economy remains, experts tell audience at UD*

Analogies abounded at the 2012 Economic Forecast, where speakers compared monetary policy to turnpike driving, fiscal policy to an empty toolbox and investing to “finding the least worst house on an unstable block.”

Charles I. Plosser, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, was one of three featured speakers at the annual event, which was sponsored by Lyons Companies and the University of Delaware’s Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship (CEEE) and held Tuesday, Feb. 14, at UD’s Clayton Hall. (more…)

Five U.S. Urban Counties Lead ‘Terror Hot Spots’ List, but Rural Areas Not Exempt: Research

By Guest PostJanuary 31, 2012General, Politicsarizona, bianca bersani, domestic actors, extreme right wing, gary lafree, homeland security, hot spots, left wing terrorism, los angeles, lubbock county, manhattan, maricopa, massachusetts, metropolitan, miami dade county, nebraska, new york, perpetrator, profile, radical environmental groups, religious, rural areas, san francisco, start, terrorism, terrorist attack, texas, university of maryland, us counties, Washington

*N.Y., L.A., Miami, San Francisco, D.C. Top List; Maricopa, Ariz. Rising*

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Nearly a third of all terrorist attacks from 1970 to 2008 occurred in just five metropolitan U.S. counties, but events continue to occur in rural areas, spurred on by domestic actors, according to a report published today by researchers in the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), a Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence based at the University of Maryland.

The research was conducted at Maryland and the University of Massachusetts-Boston. (more…)

Pine Island Glacier: A Scientific Quest in Antarctica to Determine What’s Causing Ice Loss

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2011EnvironmentAntarctica, bismarck, cold, glacier, glacier melt, global sea level rise, harsh, hazards, ice shelf, international polar year, ipy, logistics hub, mcmurdo station, models to predict glacier acceleration, NASA, national science foundation, north dakota, nsf, ocean cavity shape, ocean currents, oceanographic instruments, pine island glacier, pine island glacier ice shelf, project, ross island, scott borg, sea-level rise, stormy climate, united states antarctic program, warmer ocean water, Washington

*Researchers study heat delivered by ocean currents to bottom side of glacier that releases more than 19 cubic miles of ice each year*

An international team of researchers, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA, will helicopter onto the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf, one of Antarctica’s most active, remote and harsh spots, in mid-December 2011–weather permitting.

The project’s mission is to determine how much heat ocean currents deliver to the underside of the Pine Island Glacier as it discharges into the sea. Quantifying this heat and understanding how much melting it causes is key to developing reliable models to predict glacier acceleration and therefore predict how much ice will be delivered from land into the ocean thus contributing to sea level rise. (more…)

Personal Relationships Key to Successful Diplomacy: Mulroney

By Guest PostOctober 15, 2011Politicsacid rain accord, alan gotlieb, brian mulroney, canada, canadian prime minister, collapse of communism, george bush, influential player on global security, north american free trade agreement, ottawa, peter munk, prime minister, ronald reagan, second world war, united states, university of toronto, us president, Washington

*Former prime minister’s speech honours Alan Gotlieb, former ambassador to U.S.*

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney, the man entrepreneur Peter Munk described as “one of our greatest statesmen,” attributed much of his success – and Canada’s under his leadership – to the personal relationships he and his ambassador cultivated with leaders south of the border.

Mulroney spoke at a University of Toronto conference, Diplomacy in the Digital Age, Oct. 13, an event held in honour of Alan Gotlieb, the former ambassador to the United States who served three prime ministers. (more…)

Politicians Have Less Influence Through News Media

By Guest PostSeptember 11, 2011Media, Politicsamerican public, corwin smidt, gun control in 2000, health care reform, media coverage, michigan state university, million mom march, news media, public agenda, public opinion, Washington, washington politicians

EAST LANSING, Mich. — News coverage of Washington politicians and their rhetoric appears to have less influence on the American public compared to other news coverage, according to a study by a Michigan State University political scientist.

Instead, citizens are more apt to be swayed by news stories about grassroots protests and local events, said Corwin Smidt, assistant professor of political science. His study appears in the research journal Public Opinion Quarterly. (more…)

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