DOCSLIB.ORG

P V Preparedness

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
P V Preparedness A P R O J E C T B Y S I M O N E K R A M E R K I R S T E N H O L L A N D A L I C I A G O R E C K I S C O T T B E L D I N G P V P R E P A R E D N E S S Applying small scale solar solutions to disaster planning in the Caribbean BACKGROUND Caribbean islands are highly vulnerable to severe tropical storms and hurricanes. Such natural disasters can devastate existing electricity sources, as seen by the major disruptions in grid operations after Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico and Barbuda in the late summer and early fall of 2017. In Puerto Rico, Hurricane Irma destroyed 90 percent of the grid, leaving no means of communication between communities and centralized aid relief.1 While telecommunications companies were able to quickly establish emergency hotspots and repair cell phone towers, many communities did not have electricity to power their phones, and therefore were unable to access emergency communications and pertinent aid coming in from centralized locations.2 Furthermore, the primary method of backup generation in Puerto Rico consisted of fuel-based generators, which, along with diesel required to operate them, are largely imported.3 In the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, however, the island experienced significant shortages in both generator and fuel supply, leaving residents with few or no options for backup electrification. While Irma and Maria wreaked havoc primarily in Puerto Rico and Barbuda, other Caribbean islands are similarly vulnerable to potential catastrophe brought on by future storms. As storms continue to increase in frequency and intensity due to climate change, and threaten grid operations of islands throughout the Caribbean, vulnerable countries like the Dominican Republic must have off-grid electricity generation available to provide critical services in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Our objective was to assess potential methods of incorporating cost-effective, portable distributed solar power (referred to as pico solar) to meet these critical post-disaster needs by partnering with both the providers of solar products and the communities who could use them. PROJECT OBJECTIVE The project goal was to assess a means of preparing disaster-vulnerable communities in the Dominican Republic for energy challenges posed by future hurricanes. Pico solar products, particularly those produced by US-based company Goal Zero, have been used for disaster relief in the past in hurricanes Sandy and Harvey. It is important to note however, that rather than focusing our research and pilot program in Puerto Rico and other recently affected islands, we 1 Ferris, David. ”Puerto Rico’s Grid Recovery, By the Numbers.” Energy Wire, E&E News. February 20, 2018. https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060074219 2 Fiegerman, Seth, and Paul P. Murphy. “What Cell Phone Companies are Doing to Restore Service in Puerto Rico.” CNN Money. September 27, 2017. http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/27/technology/business/puerto-rico-cell-service/index.html. 3 Fausset, Richard, Frances Robles, Deborah Acosta. “Minus Electrical Grid, Puerto Rico Becomes Generator Island.” The New York Times. October 7, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/07/us/puerto-rico-power-generators.html 1 aimed to assess the means of proactively preparing other Caribbean islands to ensure they are adequately prepared in the face of future natural disasters that may damage the electric grid. WHY THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC? The Caribbean environment— namely its abundance of sun— led us to focus on pico solar products. The increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes, and the resulting solar variability increases after a storm, make solar generation a particularly good option. We began by connecting with Goal Zero, the company that had donated pico solar products to communities affected by hurricanes recovery efforts in the past. Through conversations with their staff, we assessed that the biggest challenges in the aftermath of natural disasters that caused power outages were the lack of lighting for rebuilding efforts and the inability to charge mobile phones for communication with family, friends, and local relief organizations. Specifically, Goal Zero mentioned that, in Puerto Rico, the island had no electricity backup plan in place in the case of a major grid outage. Goal Zero donated a large portion of its supply chain to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of the disaster, but noted that if communities had already had these products in place, they would have been able to connect and begin rebuilding more quickly. Furthermore, a donation model, they noted, is not sustainable due to supply chain constraints and lack of resources available in the long run. They stressed the need for electricity generation technologies to be included in pre-disaster mitigation plans. Therefore, rather than focusing on post-disaster grid rebuilding, we decided to address immediate post-disaster electricity needs such as communication and lighting and ways communities could better prepare in advance. We narrowed our scope to the Dominican Republic for several reasons. First, we had a personal connection to the country--one of our team members, Simone Kramer, is of Dominican descent and her grandmother lives in the coastal community of Boca Chica. This town is highly vulnerable to the effects of tropical storms and hurricanes, and her grandmother’s experiences offered anecdotal information about community energy access and disaster preparedness. Simone’s Dominican connections were also instrumental in helping us build out a network of contacts on the ground. Furthermore, the Dominican Republic is highly vulnerable to natural disasters. The country ranks 27th in the world in the United Nations’ World Risk Index, which indicates a country’s vulnerability to natural disasters.4 The country sustains substantial economic losses annually due to natural hazards (shown in table below). Therefore, there is an economic incentive to prepare. Given the risk and economic considerations, we felt there would be enough motive to garner interest from local stakeholders. 4 “World Risk Report 2016.” United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security. 2016. https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:5763/WorldRiskReport2016_small_meta.pdf. 2 Average Annual Loss (AAL) by hazard5 Hazard Absolute Capital [Million stock [%] US$] Earthquake 363.87 0.180 Wind 509.16 0.252 Storm 40.19 0.020 Surge Tsunami 0.24 0.000 Flood 100.83 0.050 Multi- 1,014.29 0.502 Hazard The Dominican Republic ranks among the top countries in the world in terms solar energy potential. One measure of solar potential is global horizontal irradiance( GHI). GHI measures the amount of radiation a horizontal surface on the ground receives from the sun. The higher the GHI, the more effective a photovoltaic solar installation will be at generating electricity. The average GHI in the Dominican Republic falls somewhere between 5 and 7 kWh/m2/day, with some regions approaching 8 kWh/m2/day6. Furthermore, GHI levels are consistent throughout the year, meaning solar photovoltaic installations can be used year-round. 5 “Dominican Republic: Disaster and Risk Profile.” Prevention Web. https://www.preventionweb.net/countries/dom/data/. 6 Solar GIS https://solargis.com/maps-and-gis-data/download/dominican-republic 3 We connected with local, regional, and multilateral stakeholders in a field research project that took place in Santo Domingo and Santiago (the two largest cities in the Dominican Republic) to raise awareness about portable solar technology opportunities and assess their utility in disaster preparedness. In each city, we brought together affected parties--including students, professors, business leaders, government employees, and engineers--to deliberate the means in which they could work to produce a resilient and proactive strategy for further incorporating and purchasing these products locally. Our pilot project followed a two-tiered approach, utilizing a partner university and their connections and resources as a base in both cities. The first tier entailed student trainings and community engagement and outreach, while the second tier comprised of convenings of stakeholders--students, professors, engineers, business leaders, and government officials--in both Santo Domingo and Santiago. 4 PARTNERSHIPS In order to centralize and streamline our project, we partnered with Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), a Catholic university with campuses in both Santo Domingo and Santiago, to enact this project. PUCMM was instrumental in helping us connect with key local constituencies and stakeholders in the electricity industry, the government, and disaster planning and preparedness. We hosted a technical training session with university students at each campus in an effort to both raise awareness of pico solar products and their potential use in disaster planning, while also learning from them about current practices in disaster planning in Dominican communities, and more generally about the state of electricity in the country. PUCMM in Santo Domingo also connected us with the rural community of San Antonio de Guerra about 40 minutes outside the city, where we had the opportunity to meet with leaders at the local school and community center, as well as community residents to discuss their thoughts on the incorporation of pico solar products into disaster planning and preparedness. The products used for the trainings and demonstrations were donated by Goal Zero, a U.S.-based pico solar producer, and we, in turn,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 2018 Ii Annual Report of the Office of the Special
    2018 II ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEAUR ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS 2018 “Working for the indivisibility and effective interdependence of all human rights for all people in the Americas” Special Rapporteur: Soledad García Muñoz CONTENTS Chapter I Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 A. Nature and Creation of the Mandate: adoption of the first Strategic Agenda and Work Plan. .................................................................................................................................. 1 B. Main Activities of the Special Rapporteurship for ESCER ....................................... 3 1. Participation in periods of sessions and public hearings of the IACHR ................. 4 2. System of Petition and Cases ................................................................................................. 6 3. Monitoring Activities ............................................................................................................... 7 4. Promotion Activities and Technical Assistance of the Mandate ............................... 9 5. Working Group of the Protocol of San Salvador of the OAS ..................................... 13 6. Thematic Reports .................................................................................................................... 13 7. Statements ................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Fish, Coral, and Sponge Assemblages Associated with Altiphotic and Mesophotic Reefs Along the Guánica Biosphere Reserve Continental Shelf Edge, Southwest Puerto Rico
    ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 10 September 2018 doi: 10.3389/fmars.2018.00303 Fish, Coral, and Sponge Assemblages Associated With Altiphotic and Mesophotic Reefs Along the Guánica Biosphere Reserve Continental Shelf Edge, Southwest Puerto Rico Jaaziel E. García-Hernández 1†, Phillip J. Sanchez 1,2†, Nicholas M. Hammerman 1,3† and Nikolaos V. Schizas 1* 1 2 Edited by: Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, Mayagüez, PR, United States, Department of 3 Yehuda Benayahu, Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX, United States, Gehrmann Laboratories, School of Tel Aviv University, Israel Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia Reviewed by: Darren James Coker, The benthic and fish communities of the central portion of the Guánica, Puerto Rico King Abdullah University of Science shelf edge were studied to determine species abundance, distributions and species and Technology, Saudi Arabia Jacob L. Johansen, overlap between two depth stratifications, 20 and 45m, at eight sites. A total of 67 fish New York University Abu Dhabi, species belonging to 21 families were identified. Similar species richness estimates were United Arab Emirates observed between depths, though fish assemblage composition differed significantly, *Correspondence: Nikolaos V. Schizas with observable changes in feeding guild contributions of herbivore and omnivore [email protected] (20 m) to a deeper assemblage composed of piscivores and planktivores (45 m). Coral †These authors have contributed assemblages consisted of 31 species at 20 m and 11 species at 45 m, accounting for equally to this work 17.0% (±1.76 SE) and 2.6% (±0.89 SE) benthic cover for the altiphotic and mesophotic surveys, respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • Outplanted Acropora Cervicornis Enhances the Fish Assemblages of Southeast Florida Ellen Dignon Goldenberg [email protected]
    Nova Southeastern University NSUWorks HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations HCNSO Student Work 5-3-2019 Outplanted Acropora cervicornis enhances the fish assemblages of Southeast Florida Ellen Dignon Goldenberg [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd Part of the Marine Biology Commons Share Feedback About This Item NSUWorks Citation Ellen Dignon Goldenberg. 2019. Outplanted Acropora cervicornis enhances the fish assemblages of Southeast Florida. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, . (507) https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd/507. This Thesis is brought to you by the HCNSO Student Work at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thesis of Ellen Dignon Goldenberg Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science M.S. Marine Biology Nova Southeastern University Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography May 2019 Approved: Thesis Committee Major Professor: David S. Gilliam, Ph.D. Committee Member: Joana Figueiredo, Ph.D. Committee Member: Tracey T. Sutton, Ph.D. This thesis is available at NSUWorks: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd/507 HALMOS COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND OCEANOGRAPHY OUTPLANTED ACROPORA CERVICORNIS ENHANCES THE FISH ASSEMBLAGES OF SOUTHEAST FLORIDA By Ellen D. Goldenberg Submitted to the Faculty of Halmos College of Natural Sciences
    [Show full text]
  • Franciscan Times Index
    July 1971 #1 (Helen Webb Editor) work as secretary; Father Baxter Liebler, Third Order Constitution, 9 Report from First Order Provincial Chapter by Corporation Meeting, 9, Warren Tanghe, 1 Books on Poverty, Br. Robert, 11 Let Us Pray (prayer list), 1 English Third Order Report Form Guidelines, 12 Congratulations: Professions, Marriages, Births, 2 On Meditation, Peter Funk, 12 San Francisco Fellowship, 2 Why Keep a Rule of Life?, Mona Hull, 14 Newsletter purpose and plans, 2 The Vocation of a “Professional”-al Religious, by Marie Hayes (Novice Director for Women) October 1971 #2 15 Report from Brooklyn’s Ascension Parish, 1 December 1972 #6 Poor Clares’s Retreat for Women, 1 Family News from Members of the Order: Births, Third Order Retreat and Reservation, 2 Marriages, Ordinations, and Professions, 1 Third Order General Chapter Redwood City CA, 2 Judith Robinson Bio, 2 Keynote Themes for General Chapter in England, 4 Kathy Klein Letter, 2 What is contemporary Franciscan The Church and Revolution by Peter Riga, review by spirituality? Ken Cox, 3 What should be the public stance of the Robert Bollman Letter on Brotherhood House in Fort Third Order today in its witness Wayne IN, 3 and outreach to the world? Br. Robert Hugh, The Work of a New Chapter, 4 How may we best understand the Third Sand Francisco (New Umbrian) Fellowship, 4 Order today as indeed an Order? Peter Funk, On the Jesus Movement, 4 Worldwide Meetings for First and Third Orders, 4 A Shocking Example: Invitation to Fellowship Never January 1972 #3 Answered by Peter Funk, 5 Family Notes: Wenonah McGhee on the Dedication of From the Sunny South (Florida Convocation) by St.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report 17 Informe Anual Contents Índice
    20 ANNUAL REPORT 17 INFORME ANUAL CONTENTS ÍNDICE Letter from the Executive Chairman .................................................................................. 1 Letter from the President & Chief Executive Officer ................................................. 2 25-Year Historical Financial Summary ..............................................................................6 Management & Board of Directors .....................................................................................8 Carta del Presidente Ejecutivo de la Junta de Directores ....................................... 9 Carta del Presidente y Principal Oficial Ejecutivo ..................................................... 10 Resumen Financiero Histórico (25 años) ....................................................................... 14 Gerencia y Junta de Directores ....................................................................................... 16 Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) is a Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPOP) es un full-service financial provider based proveedor de servicios financieros con in Puerto Rico, with operations in sede en Puerto Rico y operaciones en Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Puerto Rico, Islas Vírgenes y Estados United States. In Puerto Rico, Popular Unidos. En Puerto Rico es la institución is the leading banking institution, by bancaria líder, tanto en activos como both assets and deposits, and ranks en depósitos, y se encuentra entre los among the largest 50 banks in the 50 bancos más grandes de los Estados United States
    [Show full text]
  • The Coloniality of Disaster: Race, Empire, and the Temporal Logics of ☆ Emergency in Puerto Rico, USA
    Political Geography xxx (xxxx) xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Political Geography journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/polgeo The coloniality of disaster: Race, empire, and the temporal logics of ☆ emergency in Puerto Rico, USA Yarimar Bonilla Department of Africana, Puerto Rican and Latino Studies, Hunter College, 695 Park Ave, New York, NY, 10065, United States ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: This essay uses the case of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico to discuss “the coloniality of disaster”: how cata­ Disaster strophic events like hurricanes, earthquakes, but also other forms political and economic crisis deepen the fault Emergency lines of long-existing racial and colonial histories. It argues that disaster capitalism needs to be understood as a Race form of racio-colonial capitalism and that this in turn requires us to question our understandings of both Coloniality “resilience” and “recovery.” The article focuses on the “wait of disaster” as a temporal logic of state subjugation Resilience � Capitalism and on how Puerto Ricans responded to state abandonment through modes of autogestion, or autonomous Puerto Rico organizing. It concludes that while resiliency can be coopted in service of a neoliberal recovery, it can also be the Caribbean site for gestating new forms of sovereignty and new visions of postcolonial recovery. 1. Introduction a kind of disaster or, as Nelson Maldonado Torres (2016) suggests, a veritable catastrophe. In September of 2017, two back to back hurricanes hit the US ter­ This has led me towards an engagement with the large cannon of ritory of Puerto Rico causing unprecedented damage, leaving residents work on “disaster-ology” within the social sciences, which allows me to without electricity for nearly a year, deepening an already existing fiscal extend a series of already well-established arguments: First, the fact that crisis, and bringing about massive social change that many are still there is no such thing as a natural disaster: all disasters are socially struggling to understand.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Complete Issue
    ISLAND STUDIES JOURNAL Volume 13 | Issue 2 | November 2018 islandstudies.ca ISSN: 1715-2593 ISLAND STUDIES JOURNAL Island Studies Journal is a peer-reviewed open access journal published by the University of Prince Edward Island’s Institute of Island Studies. https://www.islandstudies.ca Executive editor Adam Grydehøj (University of Prince Edward Island, Canada) Editorial board Laurie Brinklow (University of Prince Edward Island, Canada) Lead Copyeditor Gordon Cooke (Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada) Deputy Editor for Business & Economics Scholarship Lisa Fletcher (University of Tasmania, Australia) Deputy Editor for Book Reviews Ilan Kelman (University College London, UK) Deputy Editor for Excellence & Disciplines Ulunnguaq Markussen (Ilisimatusarfik/University of Greenland, Kalaallit Nunaat) Deputy Editor for Indigenous Research & Outreach G. Edward MacDonald (University of Prince Edward Island, Canada) Deputy Editor for Institutional Relations Maeve McCusker (Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland) Deputy Editor for Literature Scholarship Yaso Nadarajah (RMIT University, Australia) Deputy Editor for Diversity & Regions Jan Petzold (Alfred Wegner Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany) Deputy Editor for Climate Change and Environment Scholarship Evangelia Papoutsaki (Unitec Institute of Technology, New Zealand) Deputy Editor for Digital Communications Elaine Stratford (University of Tasmania, Australia) Deputy Editor for Policy Impact Godfrey Baldacchino (University of Malta, Malta) Editor Emeritus Editorial
    [Show full text]
  • Reflecting Disaster Risk in Development Indicators
    ePubWU Institutional Repository Junko Mochizuki and Syed Ali Asjad Naqvi Reflecting Disaster Risk in Development Indicators Article (Published) (Refereed) Original Citation: Mochizuki, Junko and Naqvi, Syed Ali Asjad (2019) Reflecting Disaster Risk in Development Indicators. Sustainability, 11 (4). ISSN 2071-1050 This version is available at: https://epub.wu.ac.at/6836/ Available in ePubWU: February 2019 License: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) ePubWU, the institutional repository of the WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, is provided by the University Library and the IT-Services. The aim is to enable open access to the scholarly output of the WU. This document is the publisher-created published version. http://epub.wu.ac.at/ sustainability Commentary Reflecting Disaster Risk in Development Indicators Junko Mochizuki 1,* and Asjad Naqvi 1,2 1 Risk and Resilience Program, The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria; [email protected] 2 Institute for Ecological Economics, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), Welthandelsplatz 1, 1020 Vienna, Austria * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 2 December 2018; Accepted: 4 February 2019; Published: 15 February 2019 Abstract: Disasters triggered by hazards, such as floods, earthquakes, droughts, and cyclones, pose significant impediments to sustainable development efforts in the most vulnerable and exposed countries. Mainstreaming disaster risk is hence seen as an important global agenda as reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015–2030. Yet, conventional development indicators remain largely negligent of the potential setbacks that may be posed by disaster risk.
    [Show full text]
  • Fema Foia Log Fy 2018.Pdf
    Mirandra Abrams, Monique any and all records concerning clients. Kindly provide our office with 10/4/2017 Sambursky a complete copy of clients entire file as it pertains as it pertains to Slone Sklarin Inquiry Number (b) (6) ; Voucher Number (b) (6) ; Payee Verveniotis Reference Number (b) (6) in your possession. 2017-FEFO-02138 - Masters, Mark all contract documents related to temporary staffing services 10/5/2017 contracts for emergency call center support for FEMA in the last five 2017-FEFO-02177 (5) years 2017-FEFO-02187 - (b) (6) all files, correspondence, or other records concerning yourself 10/6/2017 Dallas News Benning, Tom 1) All active FEMA contracts for manufactured housing units. 2) All 10/13/2017 active FEMA individual assistance/technical assistance contracts (IATACs). 3) All pre-event contracts for debris removal that are overseen by FEMA Region 6. 4) All pre-event contracts for housing assistance that are overseen by FEMA Region 6. 5) All noncompetitive disaster relief contracts approved by FEMA since August 14, 2017. 6) All non-local disaster relief contracts approved by FEMA since August 14, 2017, including the written justification 2017-FEFO-02214 for choosing a non-local vendor. FCI Keys, Clay a copy of any and all records related to [FEMA's] response to 10/23/2017 SEAGOVILLE hurricane Katrina, including all memoranda, communications and records of any kind and from any source from August 29, 2005 to 2012. (Date Range for Record Search: From 8/29/2005 To 2017-FEFO-02239 12/1/2012) - (b) (6) Any files related to yourself (Date Range for Record Search: From 10/24/2017 2017-FEFO-02240 1/1/2000 To 9/11/2017) - McClain, Don every individual who has requested assistance by FEMA from both 10/31/2017 Hurricane Irma and Harvey.
    [Show full text]
  • Community Interface Resource Management Area Land Suitability Plan Submitted By: Gillian Miller Calvin Zhang Mason Vega Victoria Buyck
    Community Interface Resource Management Area Land Suitability Plan Submitted by: Gillian Miller Calvin Zhang Mason Vega Victoria Buyck Submitted to: Professor J. Sphar Professor L. Higgins Sr. Rios (Ecosystem Mgt and Planning Team Leader, USFS) An Interactive Qualifying Project submitted to the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester Polytechnic Institute in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science May 13th, 2021 Acknowledgments US Forest GIS Community Project Service Specialist Contact Advisor Advisors Pedro Rios Lizandra Paula Garcia Professor Sphar Ricardo Santiago Nieves-Rivera Professor Higgins All those who took the time to interview with us for the project Abstract The Community Interface Resource Management Area (CIRMA) is a part of the El Yunque National Forest located in Puerto Rico. The goal of this project was to help the United States Forest Service identify suitable lands for community land uses within the CIRMA. This information will serve as the foundation for the USFS to help them create more community integrated developments. Through collaboration with the US Forest Service, we developed a list of geographic features and ecological constraints that determined if sections of the CIRMA were suitable for the uses the community had identified. We gathered all the necessary geographic and ecological data for El Yunque from the USFS. We identified suitable areas for, biking, hiking, camping, gardening, water activities, general infrastructure and water infrastructure using suitability maps created with ArcGIS. Using a map of these suitable regions, we gathered input from community leaders and residents from municipalities around El Yunque National Forest regarding our proposed land uses and how it might effects surrounding their communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Supporting a 21St Century Workforce in Puerto Rico Challenges and Options for Improving Puerto Rico’S Workforce System Following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017
    Supporting a 21st Century Workforce in Puerto Rico Challenges and Options for Improving Puerto Rico’s Workforce System Following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 GABRIELLA C. GONZALEZ, KATHRYN A. EDWARDS, MELANIE A. ZABER, MEGAN ANDREW, AARON STRONG, CRAIG A. BOND HS AC HOMELAND SECURITY OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS CENTER An FFRDC operated by the RAND Corporation under contract with DHS rr2856_cover_v6.indd 1,3 9/9/20 11:34 AM Published in 2020 Preface On August 8, 2018, the government of Puerto Rico submitted to Congress an economic and disaster recovery plan, as required by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. Under contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) provided substantial support in developing the plan by soliciting and integrating inputs from a wide variety of stakeholders, contributing analysis where needed, and assisting drafting the plan. The plan included an overview of damage and needs, courses of action (COAs) to meet those needs, costs of the COAs, and potential funding mechanisms for those costs. To support federal agencies evaluating and funding recovery actions, HSOAC is releasing this detailed volume for the economic sector, which is one of 12 HSOAC research sectors that helped develop the recovery plan. HSOAC developed supporting information for each sector engaged as part of recovery planning. While the other sector reports describe conditions and actions that contribute to economic outcomes, the Economics Sector volumes are focused on the preexisting conditions and policies that contributed to the economic contraction before Hurricanes Irma and Maria and the potential actions that could be taken to promote economic growth in the poststorm period.
    [Show full text]
  • The Coloniality of Disaster: Race, Empire, and the Temporal Logics of Emergency in Puerto Rico, USA
    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Publications and Research Hunter College 2020 The coloniality of disaster: Race, empire, and the temporal logics of emergency in Puerto Rico, USA Yarimar Bonilla CUNY Hunter College How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_pubs/625 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] Political Geography xxx (xxxx) xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Political Geography journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/polgeo The coloniality of disaster: Race, empire, and the temporal logics of ☆ emergency in Puerto Rico, USA Yarimar Bonilla Department of Africana, Puerto Rican and Latino Studies, Hunter College, 695 Park Ave, New York, NY, 10065, United States ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: This essay uses the case of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico to discuss “the coloniality of disaster”: how cata­ Disaster strophic events like hurricanes, earthquakes, but also other forms political and economic crisis deepen the fault Emergency lines of long-existing racial and colonial histories. It argues that disaster capitalism needs to be understood as a Race form of racio-colonial capitalism and that this in turn requires us to question our understandings of both Coloniality “resilience” and “recovery.” The article focuses on the “wait of disaster” as a temporal logic of state subjugation Resilience � Capitalism and on how Puerto Ricans responded to state abandonment through modes of autogestion, or autonomous Puerto Rico organizing.
    [Show full text]