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In the Green Cross family there are currently 16 national organisations worldwide, and many countries preparing to join. All are linked to Green Cross International, founded by Mikhail Gorbachev in the wake of the Rio Summit and based in Geneva. Please see the Green Cross International Web site: http://www.gci.ch
Green Cross UK, established in 1994 and based at Kingston University, has chosen to focus on environmental damage and disasters - the prevention and mitigation of their effects.
One of our projects, the Green Cross Disaster Response Network, is funded by the European Commission LIFE programme (DG XI) and is being undertaken in partnership with Kingston University and in collaboration with others including the Oracle Corporation. The Disaster Response Network aims to prevent or mitigate environmental damage following any catastrophe.
When news of a disaster breaks, everyone's first concern is naturally humanitarian. It may be sometime before attention and funds turn to the impact on the environment, even though this impact could eventually cause more suffering than the original event.
The Disaster Response Network will offer accredited environmental experts to those responding in any disaster situation. The experts will go to the scene in the earliest stages, screen the impacts, point out the environmental risks and associated consequential humanitarian risks, assess the needs, and recommend actions to mitigate or prevent further damage. Our network will provide people who can also organise and execute those actions. The overall aim is to avert some of the unnecessary long-term damage to the environment.
Eventual service to users will be a system supplying experts to any customer wishing to ensure environmental impacts are minimised when acute or chronic disaster situations are being managed. It will consist of:
The experts will provide an enhanced capacity and quality of response to disasters that will help forestall long-term escalation of harmful environmental effects; specifically they will:
Although, for practical and economic reasons, in its development and trials the project will probably use experts from UK (or Western Europe) the aim is that it should provide a model for adoption globally and that it will thus be of value to other nations for use in developing their own disaster response processes. It is hoped that the network of Green Cross National Organisations will be able to help in this.
Experience and expertise such experts are likely to be required to have (in priority order) includes:
Any information, discussion points, or suggestions are welcomed and should be addressed to Nicholas Fickling, Green Cross UK, Kingston University-Reg Bailey Building, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, England KT1 2EE; tel: +44 181 547 8274; fax: +44 181 547 7980, e-mail: n.fickling@kingston.ac.uk and c.ireland@kingston.ac.uk.
The Tsunami Bulletin Board (TBB) is an e-mail discussion list for tsunami researchers. It was created following the Nicaragua tsunami of 1992 by the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) to disseminate news and information on tsunami events, to serve as a forum for discussion and ideas on tsunami research, and to encourage and facilitate data sharing. After more than four years at PMEL, the TBB has been turned over to the International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC). To subscribe to the TBB, send an e-mail message to listserv@itic.noaa.gov with "Subscribe Tsunami" as the body of the message. Subsequently, the ITIC Director will contact you for additional information. Note that the TBB is currently restricted to persons or offices actively involved in tsunami research; however, ITIC may host an e-mail list for a broader group of interested individuals in the future. For more information, contact ITIC, 737 Bishop Street, Suite 2200, Honolulu, HI 96813-3213; (808) 532-6422; fax: (808) 532-5576; e-mail: itic@itic.noaa.gov.
TGC is a start-up software company in Garland (a suburb of Dallas), Texas. We specialize in National Weather Service severe weather warning (via pager and the Internet) and would like to expand into the area of emergency management and critical incident management. I have seen, from time to time, requests for software on this list and would be interested in gathering specifications for such software. Because of budget constraints, I would imagine that most folks would prefer an "off the shelf" solution rather than a custom solution, but a custom solution could certainly be provided.
We would like to produce a suite of software that could possibly be provided as a bundle - covering manpower management, CAD, and all the other details that would be better left to the computer to manage, leaving an emergency manager free to do what they do best, instead of worrying about remembering a ton of details in the middle of a situation.
We can be contacted at (972) 496-2535 or via e-mail at starwind@ibm.net or ecarp@pobox.com.
Thanks,
Ed Carp, TGC
A reader sent the following note:
After much scrounging I finally found a site with ICS [Incident Command System] forms in the Acrobat format. This site also has an application developed by NOAA for completing and databasing ICS forms. Both are good stuff. Here's the URL: http://www.dot.gov/dotinfo/uscg/hq/g-m/nmc/response/forms/Default.htm
After receiving ICS training, finding master quality ICS forms was a real problem. Although some of the forms have been tailored for oil spill response (it is a Coast Guard site after all), the majority of the forms are the general NIIMS format.
Al Yelvington, USCGR
Alan Yelvington (alany@teleport.com)
The IRIS Consortium is seeking a geoscientist with expertise in seismology and education to coordinate the new IRIS program in education and outreach. The program coordinator will represent the geophysical community on educational issues and interact with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and professional educational and scientific organizations. He or she will work with the seismological and educational communities to develop and implement IRIS programs designed to enhance seismology and geoscience education in K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and through public outreach. In keeping with the NSF goal of integrating education with research, the program coordinator will also be responsible for developing mechanisms for adapting IRIS research programs and activities to the educational process at all levels. Applicants should have strong interest in educational reform and curriculum development, excellent interpersonal and communication skills, the ability to work effectively with diverse groups, and broad interest in the geosciences. Background should include a Ph.D. in geoscience or education with experience in seismology. Funded by NSF, IRIS is a university consortium that represents the seismological interests of 90 research institutions. Candidates should send a letter of intent, curriculum vitae, and the names of three references by June 30 to Ms. Susan Stain, IRIS Consortium, 1200 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005.
Research Planning for Spatial Evaluation of Geotechnical Earthquake Hazards, National Science Foundation, $17,774, 12 months. Principal Investigator: Ronaldo Luna, Civil Engineering Building, Room 214, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118- 5665; (504) 862-3252; e-mail: ronaldo.luna@tulane.edu.
Putting Ethics at the Heart of Environmental Design, National Science Foundation, $126,484, 36 months. Principal Investigators: Michael E. Gorman, Patricia H. Werhane, and William T. Schere. For information, contact Michael Gorman, Division of Technology, Culture, and Communication, School of Engineering and Applied Science, A 237 Thornton Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903; (804) 924-3425; fax: (804) 924-4306; e-mail: meg3c@virginia.edu.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Drought Response Strategies: A Knowledge-Based Approach, National Science Foundation, $18,000, 18 months. Principal Investigator: Anne Shepherd, Georgia Technical Research Corporation, College of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332; (404) 894-4885; e-mail: anne.shepherd@arch.gatech.edu.
Investigation of Building Damages of the 1997 Arkansas Tornado and Ways to Mitigate in the Future, National Science Foundation, $24,835, six months. Principal Investigator: R. Panneer Selvan, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701; (501) 575-5356; e-mail: rps@engr.uark.edu
Organizations-Based Post Disaster Sheltering and Housing of Low Income and Minority Groups, National Science Foundation, $278,860, 36 months. Principal Investigators: Brenda D. Phillips, Women's Studies Program, P.O. Box 425887, Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX 76205; (940) 898-2117; fax: (940) 898-2069; e-mail: F_Phillips@venus.two.edu; Benigno Aguirre, Texas A&M University; Department of Sociology, Campus MS 4351, College Station, TX 77843; (409) 845-0813; e-mail: aguirre@tamvm1.tamu.edu; and Dennis E. Wenger, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843- 3406; (409) 845-7813.
A tentative schedule for the University of California-Berkeley Extension Emergency Preparedness Planning and Management Program courses has recently been issued. Upcoming courses include:
Date Title
---- -----
July 16-19, 1997 Corporate/Public Agency Coordination
August 4-5, 1997 Critical Incident Stress Management:
Basic Training
September 3-6, 1997 Business Recovery for Your Organization
September 12-14, 1997 Introduction to Emergency Management
September 22-26, 1997 Strategic Planning/Implementation in
Emergency Management
October 6-7, 1997 Practicum in Emergency Preparedness
October 9-10, 1997 Land Use Planning and Emergency Management
October 14-17, 1997 Financial Support for Emergency Preparedness
Planning
October 29- Planning for the Human Element in
November 1, 1997 Emergency Preparedness
November 6-7, 1997 Critical Incident Stress Management:
Basic Training
December 8-9, 1997 Practicum in Emergency Preparedness
January 20-23, 1998 Corporate/Public Agency Coordination
and Interdependence
For information on this emergency management education and training
program contact: Diane Wolcott, Emergency Preparedness Planning and
Management Program, U.C.-Berkeley Extension, 1995 University Avenue,
Suite 300, Berkeley, CA 94704-4704; (510) 642-7537; fax: (510) 643-
8290; e-mail: dlw@unx.berkeley.edu.
The Australian Emergency Management Institute (AEMI) has the following courses scheduled in the upcoming months:
Date Title
---- -----
July 7-11, 1997 Community Emergency Risk Management:
Developing Strategies and Partnerships
Workshop
August 4-8, 1997 Community Personal Support Following Disaster
Workshop
September 8-12, 1997 Safe Crowd Management Workshop
October 6-10, 1997 Executive Briefing for Local Government
November 17-21, 1997 Legal Issues in Emergency Management
For more information contact: AEMI, Mt. Macedon, Victoria 3441,
Australia; tel: 61-3-54-215 100; fax: 61-3-54-215 273; e-mail:
aemi@ema.gov.au; WWW: http://www.ema.gov.au.
Below are recent conference announcements received by the Natural Hazards Center. Most previous issues of DR contain additional notices. For a comprehensive list of upcoming disaster-related meetings and training, see our World Wide Web page: http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/conf.html
Critical Incident Stress Management Workshops. Sponsors: International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF). Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada: July 10-13, 1997. Contact: ICISF, 4785 Dorsey Hall Drive, Suite 102, Ellicott City, MD 21042; (410) 730-4311; fax; (410) 730-4313.
Health Emergencies in Large Populations (H.E.L.P.). Sponsors: The International Committee of the Red Cross and others. Budapest, Hungary: September 1-19, 1997. Contact: International Committee of the Red Cross, Medical Division, H.E.L.P., 19 avenue de la Paix, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; tel: 022/730 28 10; fax: 022/733 96 74.
Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Disaster Management. Offered by: University of Wisconsin - Madison, Department of Engineering Professional Development. Madison, Wisconsin: September 3-5, 1997. Contact: Katie Peterson, Department of Engineering Professional Development, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 432 North Lake Street, Madison, WI 53706; (800) 462-0876; fax: (602) 263-3160; e-mail: custserv@epd.engr.wisc.edu; WWW: http://epdwww.engr.wisc.edu/.
Natural Disasters, Construction and Safety - Conference and Exhibition. Vladivostok, Russia: September 8-12, 1997. Contact: The Organizing Committee, DaINIIS, 14 Borodinskaya St., GSP, Vladivostok, 690049, Russia; tel: 7-4232-460-058 or 7-4232-460-077; fax: 7-4232- 460-058.
Utah Seismic Safety Commission Conference '97: Earthquakes - Mean Business. Salt Lake City, Utah, September 9, 1997. Contact: Janine Jarva, Utah Geological Survey, P.O. Box 146100, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6100; (801) 537-3386; fax: (801) 537-3400; e-mail: nrugs.jjarva@state.ut.us
Survive! Business Continuity Group 3rd Annual Southern Africa Conference. Johannesburg, South Africa: September 16-17, 1997. Contact: Survive! Southern Africa, P.O. Box 1618, Cramerview 2060, South Africa; tel: +27 11-463 4567; fax: +27 11-463 4606.
Application of Space Techniques for Hazard Management in the Mediterranean. Sponsors: Royal Centre for Remote Sensing - Morocco, and others. Rabat, Morocco: September 18-20, 1997. Contact: EURISY Association, Residence Seine Zola, 17/21 rue de Javel, 75015 Paris, France; tel: +33 1 45 75 00 07; fax: +33 1 45 79 90 08; e-mail: eurisy@micronet.fr.
48th International Astronautical Congress. Sponsors: International Astronautical Association and others. Turin, Italy: October 6-10, 1997. This conference will include a large section on natural disaster reduction. Contact: WWW: http://194.91.108.4/AIDAA; e-mail: ataverna@to.alespazio.it.
The Management of Emergencies and Disasters. Sponsor: The British Council. Stoke-on-Trent, England: October 12-17, 1997. Contact: International Seminars, The British Council, 1 Beaumont Place, Oxford OX1 2PJ, U.K.; tel: +44 (0) 1865 316636; fax: +44 (0) 1865 557368 or The British Council, P.O. Box 88, Edgecliff, NSW, Australia; (02) 9326 2022; fax: (02) 9327 4868.
Second Annual Conference for Crises and Disasters Management. Sponsor: Crisis Research Unit, Ain Shams University. Cairo, Egypt: October 25- 26, 1997. The deadline for submission of papers is July 31. Contact: The Crisis Research Unit, Faculty of Commerce, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt; tel: (202) 2619509; fax: (202) 4025905.
Health Emergencies in Large Populations (H.E.L.P.). Sponsors: The International Committee of the Red Cross and others. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: November 3-21, 1997. Contact: International Committee of the Red Cross, Medical Division, H.E.L.P., 19 avenue de la Paix, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; tel: 022/730 28 10; fax: 022/733 96 74.
Western States Seismic Policy Council (WSSPC) Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Symposium. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: November 4, 1997. (Held in conjunction with the WSSPC 1997 Annual Conference, November 4-7.) Contact: WSSPC, 121 Second Street, Fourth Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105; (415) 974-6435; fax: (415) 974-1747; e-mail: wsspc@wsspc.org; WWW: http://www.wsspc.org.
Survive! Business Continuity Group 9th Annual UK Conference. Bournemouth International Centre, U.K.: November 5-6, 1997. Contact: Survive! Secretariat, Survive! Ltd, The Chapel, Royal Victoria Patriotic Building, Fitzhugh Grove, London SW18 3SX, U.K.; tel: +44-181-874 6266; fax: +44-181-874 6446; e-mail: surviveuk@cityscape.co.uk
II Latin American Conference on Chemical Accidents. Buenos Aires, Argentina: November 19-21, 1997. Contact: Diego Gotelli, Chemistry Information Center for Emergencies, Av. San Pedrito 220, (1406) Buenos Aires, Argentina; tel: +54 1 612-6912 / 613-1100; fax: +54 1 613-3707; e-mail: dgotelli@impsat1.com.ar
Third International Conference on the Management of Droughts. Sponsors: Iberdrola Institute of Technology and others. Valencia, Spain: December 4-5, 1997. Contact: the Iberdrola Instituto Tecno- logico, Seminario Permanente 'Ciencia y Tecnologia de Agua, Edificio Albia-2, 7o E-48001 Bilbao, Spain; tel: 34-4-424.2400; fax: 34-4- 424.9648; e-mail: intec@iderdrola.es.
Modern Prediction and Response Systems for Earthquake, Tsunami, and Volcanic Hazards. Sponsors: International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI) and the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI). Santiago, Chile: April 27-28, 1998. Contact: Bruce A. Bolt, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720; fax: (510) 845-4816; e-mail: boltuc@socrates.berkeley.edu; - or - J. Gutierrez, Instituto Geografica Militar, Santiago, Chile: fax: 56-2-698-8278; e-mail: igm@reuna.cl.
Survive! Business Continuity Group 7th Annual Pacific Conference and Exhibition. Sydney, Australia: April 29-30, 1998. Contact: Survive! Australasia, 2 Frederick Street, Doncaster, Victoria 3108, Australia; tel: +61 3-9840 7330; fax: +61 3-9840 7331.
Second International Conference on Climate and Water. Sponsors: Helsinki University (HUT), World Meteorological Organization, and others. Espoo, Finland: August 17-20, 1998. Abstracts due June 30, 1997. Contact: Risto Lemmela, HUT/Water res. Eng., Huhtatie 12, FIN-04300 Tuusula, Finland; tel: +358 9 275 3835; fax: +358 9 451 3827; e-mail: rlemmela@ahti.hut.fi - or - Nea Helenius, HUT/Water Res. Eng, Tietotie 1, FIN-02150 Espoo, Finland; fax: +358 9 451 3827; e-mail: nheleniu@ahti.hut.fi; WWW: http://ahti.hut.fi/wr/caw2.
International Conference on the Spitak Earthquake of December 7, 1988. Sponsor: Armenian National Academy of Science. Yerevan, Armenia: October 1998. Contact: Boris Karapetian, Armenian National Academy of Science; e-mail: tarkh@acsci.armenia.su.
Eighth Canadian Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: June 13-16, 1999. Contact: R.G. Sexsmith; tel: (604) 822-6135; fax: (604) 822-6901; e-mail: sexsmith@civil.ubc.ca.
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