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Coping with a risky future
Living in cities has always held its own hazards but according the OECD, the risks are getting greater. In fact the organisation's Secretary-General, Angel Gurria, the risk of large-scale catastrophes has risen so much, they are now beyond the capacity of the insurance industry to cover or governments to insure.
Mr Gurria made the comments when launching a new international organisation that could prove to be an important future source of knowledge on how to minimise those risks.
The new organisation, the International Network on Financial Management of Large-Scale Catastrophes, is to conduct research to identify emerging threats and vulnerabilities and provide governments with a strategic forum to advise policymakers on the financial management of large-scale catastrophes.
When Mr Gurria launched the organisation in Paris in September, he pointed out that the insurance losses for Hurricane Katrina had been estimated at between $US50 billion - the most expensive natural disaster ever recorded. Yet the total economic damage inflicted by Katrina was estimated to be between $US50 billion and $US200 billion.
"While technological in-novation, globalisation, the growing interdependence of critical networks, and the high concentration of populations and assets will all have their well-recognised positive effects, they also dramatically increase vulnerabilities to natural, technological and terrorism hazards," Mr Gurria said.
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Population movement
There are a variety of ways to interpret the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but according to the US-based Earth Policy Institute, what the world really witnessed was the first mass exodus of people fleeing the disastrous effects of climate change. The institute estimates that at least 250,000 of people who fled New Orleans and other areas of the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts have now established homes in other parts of America and have no intention of returning.
Less energy
Over the next eight years, Vienna is aiming to boost the city's sustainability by almost halving its predicted 12% rise in energy consumption. If successful it will allow power output to be trimmed by 180 gigawatt hours annually - the equivalent to eliminating the heating energy needs of 30,000 residents. City authorities are initiating the energy saving program after receiving the results of a major research study by the Max Planck Institute. At the city's request, the institute conducted a detailed survey of the condition and heating systems of the city's 168,000 buildings and 800,000 dwellings. It then built a computer model to test the building's existing efficiency and identify practical ways to improve performance. On the institute's recommendations, the city council has given the go-ahead to 100 separate interventions that aim not only to trim energy demands, but save private consumers, public institutions and industry some $860 million annually.
Green escapes
If Australians are to maintain their quality of life, more planning is necessary to ensure those in cities have ready access to green open space, according to Darryl Low Choy, Associate Professor of Griffith University's School of Environmental Planning. He says today's society demands access to a full range of services - and that includes opportunities for a range of outdoor recreation experiences. Yet with a quickly expanding population, the country is loosing thousands of hectares of bush and agricultural land every year. Writing in the Brisbane Institute's publication, "Brisbane Line", Prof. Low Chow says the problem is particularly evident in Queensland's southeast region. He advocates the creation of more "regional parks" that permit a range of outdoor recreational activities that are precluded from the more strictly controlled national parks.
Green escapes (2)
Britain too is looking to help city-dwellers access rural amenities by offering farmers grants to conserve old, traditional orchards. The country still has a few century-old orchards complete with gnarled apple trees, and the government wants to see them saved both to protect "historic landscapes" and ensure local biodiversity. When in bloom, the orchards are also important magnates for tourists.
Market benefits
What are the local benefits of replacing a street market with a "big box" supermarket? None, according to Britain's New Economics Foundation. It has just completed an economic study into such a proposal and has found the local community in London's Newham district would be far better off if they were able to keep their "Queens Market". The foundation has used the Queens Market to conduct what is believed to be the first analysis to measure the real value of street markets. It has discovered that not only do street markets offer fruit and vegetables at half the price of supermarkets but also they create twice as many jobs per square metre. In the case of Newham, one of London's more deprived districts, they also contribute significantly to "enterprise generation", the institute says.
Boom or bust
Research by Adelaide University psychologist, Dr Linley Denson, has added to the growing evidence that baby boomers will want to spend their retirement in their existing homes. After numerous interviews and a South Australia-wide survey of 3000 adults, Dr Linley has found most elderly people are prepared to risk their health, if it means maintaining their independence.
Back to basics
According to most history books, the reason why people gave up being hunter-gatherers was that a benign environment allowed them to indulge a preference to live in complex, urban and "civilised" societies. But did it really happen like that? Dr Nick Brooks, an archaeologist at Britain's University of East Anglia, has been looking back to when it all began in different parts of the world 6000 years ago. He says his research suggests that far from there being benign influences, our ancestors were forced to urbanise as an accidental by-product of their "unplanned adaptation to catastrophic climate change". "Civilisation was a last resort - a means of organising society and food production and distribution, in the face of deteriorating environmental conditions," he says. Dr Brooks agrees that the idea has "profound philosophical implications" because it challenges beliefs about human progress. It also suggests that "civilisation" is not our natural state.
