CAKE: The Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange
Climate adaptation might be the last situation you could expect to have your cake and eat it too, but maybe this new website will help. CAKE is working to make useable, vetted information on climate change easily available and easy to understand. The site features case studies of how communities are addressing adaptation needs, a virtual library of resources, tools to help in making climate decisions, and a directory of members interested in making a difference. Stop by the site today and see what it has to offer you—or vice versa.
The Sphere Project
The Sphere Project has long worked to create guidelines on how humanitarian groups can respond to disasters effectively and with tact and respect. This guidance, the Sphere Handbook, is undergoing a revision for the first time in seven years. Although the new handbook isn’t expected to be released for a few months, visitors can get a peek at coming changes, download training materials, or watch humanitarian videos on the project website.
Virtual Community Reception Center
In real life, community reception centers monitor community members for radiation contamination and exposure following a nuclear incident, tracking health impacts and arranging for medical care. This virtual version will help prepare public health officials to run a reception center when they need to. Using avatars to set the scene, the Virtual Community Reception Center walks the user through a decision-making flow chart that provides informative videos, staging descriptions, and resources along the way.
Emergency Preparedness Calculator
Whether you need to know how many beans it will take to get your family through 72 hours or are thinking of setting up your own prep calculator, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has an excellent example of how residents can easily individualize their preparedness kits. Site visitors simple enter the number of family members by age range and the calculator tells them how much food and water to store—and gives them a check list of other needs as a bonus.
EPA Local Climate and Energy Webcasts
The Environmental Protection Agency is offering a series of webcasts for local officials trying to get a handle on adapting to climate change and related issues. The webcasts, which will offer practical action plans, begin today and can be downloaded as podcasts. For more information, visit the EPA website linked above or check out the excellent synopsis of upcoming broadcasts by our friends at StormSmart Coasts.
Ask a Firefighter
Kids can be a powerful ally in making homes fire safe, and kids are often fascinated by firefighters. Ask A Firefighter works both those angles by letting children pose their fire related questions to real firefighters Kevin, Ashleigh, and Bill. Kids will get a reply—possibly even a video reply if their question is really important—and teachers will get students enthusiastic about fire safety.