A Tale of Two Leaks: Fixed in California, Ignored in Alabama

http://insideclimatenews.org/news/16032016/mercaptans-eight-mile

Neela Banerjee

Inside Climate News

17 March 2016

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Eight years after a mercaptan spill in Eight Mile, Alabama, its mostly black and working class residents still suffer from respiratory issues, rashes and headaches.

How NASA accidentally found a way to make buildings safer during earthquakes

http://qz.com/621038/how-nasa-accidentally-found-a-way-to-make-buildings-safer-during-earthquakes

Margo Pierce

Quartz

22 February 2016

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NASA developed a new stabilizing technology, known as the LOX Damper, in 2013 after working on a violently shaking rocket. Testing revealed that the technology could help design earthquake-proof buildings.

Bangladesh volunteers learn to make a life-or-death difference in a disaster

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jul/14/volunteers-bangladesh-learn-life-or-death-difference-disaster-rana-plaza

Amy Yee

The Guardian

14 July 2015

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In the wake of the Rana Plaza collapse, Bangladeshi civilians—often first on the scene of disasters in poorer countries–are being trained to support emergency teams.

Help the Nepal Aid Effort By Making a Map

http://www.citylab.com/weather/2015/04/another-way-to-help-humanitarian-efforts-in-nepal-start-mapping/391523/#b05g04t20w15

Laura Bliss

CityLab

27 April 2015

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Citizen cartographers around the globe are tracing and checking roads, buildings, and open spaces to assist people on the ground. You can help.

They survived the earthquake. Now they're determined to keep their village healthy.

http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-04-25/they-survived-earthquake-now-theyre-determined-keep-their-village-healthy

Sonia Narang

Public Radio International (PRI)

25 April 2016

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For one village in Nepal, there's a silver lining to the earthquake: A year later, a new and better health clinic is rising from the rubble of the old. And it includes a birthing center.

For Refugees, the Price of Dignity

https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/for-refugees-the-price-of-dignity

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

1 September 2011

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American humanitarian aid and programs by the United Nations have proved beneficial to equip Middle Eastern refugees with resources for self-settlement outside of camps. The self-settlement model has empowered refugees to become more productive members of society when they return home.

After the floods: York and Nijmegen - a tale of two cities

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-35472936

Allan Urry

BBC

9 February 2016

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After record-breaking rainfall and flooding, the city of York was at a loss for relief and reconstruction ideas. They turned to the Dutch city of Nijmegen, which had experienced similar flooding and found a solution in building a relief channel.

How to Build a Perfect Refugee camp

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/magazine/how-to-build-a-perfect-refugee-camp.html

Mac McClelland

The New York Times

13 February 2014

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Refugee camps typically look like a prison with squalid conditions and barbed wire tops. By contrast, the Kilis refugee camp in Turkey is orderly, secure, and clean; has schools for children; has grocery stores, and is powered with electricity. The camp is not run by the United Nations, but rather it is Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency that oversees every detail and pours billions of dollars into maintaining it every year.

Preparing for Disaster by Betting Against It

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/preparing-for-disaster-by-betting-against-it

Georgia Levenson Keohane

The New York Times

12 February 2014

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In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, necessity has bred an interesting kind of financial invention for the New York MTA: the world’s first “catastrophe” bond - a reinsurance for the insurer - designed to protect public transportation infrastructure, specifically against storm surge. These bonds privatize risk for public gain, creating a kind of tool that may protect economic development against all kinds of natural and man-made disasters around the world.

In Bangladesh, More Shelter From the Storms

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/24/in-bangladesh-more-shelter-from-the-storms

Amy Yee

The New York Times

24 July 2013

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In a country of limited resources — and perhaps for that very reason — preparing for natural disasters is top of the agenda in Bangladesh. Various grassroots, collaborative programs have been put in place over the years to help address many facets of the calamities caused by cyclones, from improved emergency shelters to long-term support for those who lose their livelihoods in the storms.