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Energy and Environment
Disasters
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Could Climate Change Break Home Insurance?For decades, U.S. homeowners have counted on property insurance to protect them from catastrophic loss if their homes are destroyed—and the U.S. economy has rested on the functionality of that model. But as this summer’s extreme weather broke records, private companies reduced their coverage. As climate disasters become more frequent, can home insurance hold up?
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Haiti’s Troubled Path to DevelopmentHobbled by foreign interventions, political instability, and natural disasters, the former French colony is paralyzed by multiple crises.
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Climate Change and U.S. Property Insurance: A Stormy MixAccelerating risks and damage from climate change are spurring private insurers in the United States to limit coverage in a growing number of areas, thus imposing mounting stress on local communities and straining the country’s overall economic health.
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Massive Earthquake Could Reshape Turkish and Syrian PoliticsTurkish President Erdogan and Syrian President Assad could see opportunities to extend their rules in the disaster that has killed tens of thousands and pushed relief systems to their limits.
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U.S. Preparedness for Nuclear and Radiological ThreatsJ. Andrés Gannon, Stanton nuclear security fellow at CFR, discusses the likelihood of Russian deployment and use of nuclear missiles against Ukraine or its allies, and the implications for the United…
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Superstorm Sandy: Lessons for Climate Resiliency Ten Years LaterIn October 2012, Superstorm Sandy made landfall as one of the most destructive hurricanes to ever hit the United States, causing tens of billions of dollars in damage and dozens of casualties. A decade later, climate change has continued to intensify the impacts of hurricanes in the United States, as made evident by recent Hurricane Ian. Our panelists discuss lessons learned in climate resiliency over the past decade, and how the United States can better prepare for natural disasters moving forward. The Lessons From History Series uses historical analysis as a critical tool for understanding modern foreign policy challenges by hearing from practitioners who played an important role in a consequential historical event or from experts and historians. This series is made possible through the generous support of David M. Rubenstein.
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Adapting to a Changing ClimateAlice C. Hill, senior fellow for energy and the environment at CFR, and Leslie Chapman-Henderson, president and CEO of the nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), discuss factoring the ris…
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U.S. Disaster Relief at Home and AbroadThe U.S. government responds to scores of disasters each year, coordinating closely with state, local, and foreign partners. However, more frequent and severe storms, fires, and floods are straining resources.
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The United States Needs to Prepare for More Billion-Dollar Climate Disasters Like Hurricane IanBillion-dollar disasters such as Hurricane Ian are on the rise in the United States. Officials should take swift action to reduce the damage and protect Americans.
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Puerto Rico: A U.S. Territory in CrisisThe Caribbean island, which shares a close yet fraught relationship with the rest of the United States, faces a multilayered economic and social crisis rooted in long-standing policy and compounded by natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic, migration, and government mismanagement.
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Lessons Learned With Admiral Thad AllenAdmiral Thad Allen discusses his distinguished career in the U.S. Coast Guard, including leading the federal responses to Hurricane Katrina and Rita and serving as the incident commander for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, his work as the former executive vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton, and his current role at NASA. Lessons Learned is a roundtable series, open to term members and younger life members, which features distinguished speakers who reflect on their career experiences, the choices they made along the way, and the lessons they have learned from them.
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Why NOAA Matters for U.S. Climate PolicyThe federal agency tasked with weather forecasting and research has played a growing role in climate policy, but also faced controversy during the Trump administration. What does NOAA do?
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The World Is Woefully Unprepared for Climate-Driven Natural DisastersDisaster preparedness is hard, expensive, time-consuming, and often thankless work. Failure to invest in it can be catastrophic, however.
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The Challenge of Hurricane Response Amid the COVID-19 PandemicIn 2020, U.S. struggles to manage a record-breaking hurricane season were exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. Intensifying storms reveal faults in infrastructure and disaster response that experts say must be addressed.
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Why U.S. Wildfires Will Only Get WorseFires in California and Oregon have been more devastating than ever before, but climate change means the worst is yet to come. Here’s how officials can prepare.