In Case of Emergency, Read This Blog

In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

A Citizen’s Eye View of Public Preparedness

After President Obama Swims To Support Gulf Recovery, Next He Should Do A Similar High Profile Activity To Promote National Preparedness Month In September; My Suggestion: Create A First Family Emergency Communications Plan To Encourage Other Americans To Do The Same

August 16th, 2010 · 1 Comment

President Obama and his family travelled to the Gulf Coast on Saturday to take a dip in support of the area’s recovery from the oil spill disaster. The willingness of the swimmer-in-chief to jump in literally and figuratively and even take his family in sent a strong message, amplified by the huge media coverage, to [...]

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Tags: President Obama

Was BP Explosion (& Other Recent Accidents) The Result Of “Alarm Fatigue”?

August 1st, 2010 · 3 Comments

In today’s New York Times, there’s an interesting article by Matthew Wald that raises the question whether “alarm fatigue” has led to major accidents, such as the BP Deepwater Horizon incident.
According to the piece, “For No Signs of Trouble, Kill the Alarm,”:
When an oil worker told investigators on July 23 that an alarm to warn [...]

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Tags: Emergency Alerts

Time Magazine Asks: “The BP Spill: Has the Damage Been Exaggerated?”

July 29th, 2010 · 1 Comment

The well-respected environmental writer, Michael Grunwald, offers a provocative article today in the current issue of Time magazine asking whether the damage from the Gulf Coast oil spill has been exaggerated by politicians, non profit groups and the media.
It’s an interesting piece which I wanted to post in part because it is offers a good case [...]

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Tags: Media

Citizen Tech Mavens Gathering In D.C. For Inaugural International CrisisCommons To Discuss Innovative Disaster Relief Approaches

July 14th, 2010 · 1 Comment

There are a couple very exciting disaster preparedness and response events occurring in Washington, D.C. at the end of this week — the CrisisCommons Roundtable and the First International CrisisCommons. (I was hoping to attend but my medical treatment prevents me from traveling right now.) The good news that if you cannot make it to the [...]

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Tags: International · Preparedness 2.0 · Preparedness Events

Administration’s Serve.Gov Site Offers Search Tool/Widget For Volunteer Opportunities To Help In Oil Spill Recovery

July 3rd, 2010 · No Comments

Through Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson’s Twitter feed, I learned that the federal government’s Serve.Gov website for volunteer opportunities has set up a search page for citizens interested in helping on the Gulf oil spill recovery.
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Get the Oil Spill Cleanup: Volunteer widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a [...]

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Tags: Volunteer Opportunities · Volunteering

Senators Ask President Obama For “National Call For Service” To Recruit Citizens To Help On Gulf Oil Spill Response

June 30th, 2010 · No Comments

Three U.S. Senators have asked President Obama to launch a “National Call to Service” aimed at engaging volunteers to assist in Gulf Coast oil spill recovery efforts.
U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Robert Casey (D-PA), wrote the President yesterday requesting that he fully utilize the Corporation for National and Community Service [...]

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Tags: Volunteer Opportunities · Volunteering

“Disaster In The Gulf: How You Can Help” Telethon Monday Night On CNN Will Benefit Three Groups Working In The Gulf

June 20th, 2010 · No Comments

“Disaster in the Gulf: How You Can Help,” a Larry King Live two-hour telethon, starts at 8pm ET. It will go towards supporting the work being done by three groups in the Gulf:
*The Nature Conservancy has launched their Fund for Gulf Coast Restoration, expanding their efforts for long term recovery for the Gulf of Mexico [...]

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Tags: Media · Volunteer Opportunities

11-Year-Old Girl Paints Watercolors Of Birds To Raise Money ($100,000!) For Animals In Gulf

June 15th, 2010 · 1 Comment

Last night, on the CBS Evening News, Steve Hartman told the touching and inspiring story of 11-year-old Olivia Bouler who decided to paint watercolors of birds as a way to raise money to support animal relief efforts on the Gulf Coast. Amazingly, she has raised $100,000 in donations from the paintings through an internet site. She [...]

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Tags: Volunteering

WWW.DisasterAssistance.Gov: One Stop Location For Citizens To Apply For Aid Whether It Be For Oil Spill, Weather Or Other Calamities

June 12th, 2010 · No Comments

CraigAtFEMA (a.k.a. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate) tweeted a reminder this week: “www.DisasterAssistance.gov info how you might be able to get help from the US Gov’t before, during & after a disaster.” Though it mostly handles natural disaster aid, citizens can go there to file a claim with BP due to the oil spill.
The aim of the [...]

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Tags: Federal Emergency Management Administration · Government Web Sites

Would Creating A Social Networking Game — “Coastal Cleanup” — Be Helpful In Recruiting Volunteers For Gulf Oil Spill Response?

June 4th, 2010 · 1 Comment

I have written several posts about ways citizens could be involved the Gulf Oil Spill cleanup. In an article on PRNewsOnline.com, David All, recommends drawing upon the popularity of games on social networking sites to recruit volunteers:
“…imagine a game — call it “Coastal Cleanup” — that connects people online for a good cause in their local [...]

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Tags: Preparedness Ideas · Volunteering