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New SDI Report on Climate Change Adaptation – Comments ?
This is the HomePage of my Technical Blog … but on a separate WebPage (see the toolbar above), I have been slowly building content, with links to related sources of information, on the subject of a CIB Working Commission 108 International Climate Change Project, which is about to enter its final important stage.
When published in the spring/early summer of next year … 2011 … the CIB W108 Report: ‘Sustainable Climate Change Adaptation in the Built Environment’ will comprise 2 Parts:
I - International Synthesis on Sustainable Climate Change Adaptation.
II - National Perspectives on Sustainable Climate Change Adaptation.
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Today, 18 November 2010 … I uploaded onto that separate WebPage the National Report for ‘IRELAND’, which will appear in Part II of the CIB Publication. I am the person who drafted this report … and it has not been an easy task ! You will see that much attention is paid to institutional and implementation issues.
I now invite comments on the National Report … any comments … from those with a particular interest in the subject … and from the general public.
Comments should arrive here no later than Monday, 20th December 2010 … pretty please !
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Before commenting upon the National Report, however, it would be useful if you also took a glance at the following three relevant documents …
- Ireland’s 5th National Communication (NC5) under the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, dated 3 March 2010 ;
- UNFCCC In-Depth Review of Ireland’s 5th National Communication (NC5), dated 2 November 2010 ;
- EU WHITE PAPER – Adapting to Climate Change: Towards a European Framework for Action … European Commission Communication COM(2009) 147 final, dated 1 April 2009.
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2009 EU White Paper – ‘Introduction’ (Page 3, first three paragraphs)
Climate change increases land and sea temperatures and alters precipitation quantity and patterns, resulting in the increase of global average sea level, risks of coastal erosion and an expected increase in the severity of weather-related natural disasters. Changing water levels, temperatures and flow will in turn affect food supply, health, industry, and transport and ecosystem integrity. Climate change will lead to significant economic and social impacts with some regions and sectors likely to bear greater adverse affects. Certain sections of society (older people, people with activity limitations, low-income households) are also expected to suffer more.
Addressing climate change requires two types of response. Firstly, and importantly, we must reduce our greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), i.e. take mitigation action … and secondly, we must take adaptation action to deal with the unavoidable impacts. The EU’s recently agreed climate change legislation puts in place the concrete measures to reach the EU’s commitment to reduce emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2020 and is capable of being amended to deliver a 30% reduction if agreed as part of an international agreement in which other developed countries agree to comparable reductions and appropriate contributions by economically more advanced developing countries based on their responsibilities and capabilities. However, even if the world succeeds in limiting and then reducing GHG emissions, our planet will take time to recover from the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. Thus, we will be faced with the impact of climate change for at least the next 50 years. We need therefore to take measures to adapt.
Adaptation is already taking place but in a piecemeal manner. A more strategic approach is needed to ensure that timely and effective adaptation measures are taken, ensuring coherency across different sectors and levels of governance.
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2009 EU White Paper – The Proposed EU Framework: Objectives & Action (Page 7, #3)
The Objective of the EU’s Adaptation Framework is to improve the EU’s resilience to deal with the impact of climate change. The framework will respect the principle of subsidiarity and support overarching EU objectives on sustainable development.
The EU’s framework adopts a phased approach. The intention is that phase 1 (2009-2012) will lay the groundwork for preparing a comprehensive EU Adaptation Strategy to be implemented during phase 2, commencing in 2013.
Phase 1 (2009-2012) will focus on four pillars of action:
1) building a solid knowledge base on the impact and consequences of climate change for the EU ;
2) integrating adaptation into EU key policy areas ;
3) employing a combination of policy instruments (market-based instruments, guidelines, public-private partnerships) to ensure effective delivery of adaptation ; and
4) stepping up international co-operation on adaptation.
For phase 1 to be a success … the EU, national, regional and local authorities must co-operate closely.
The proposals set out in this paper cover actions to be taken in the first phase and are without prejudice to the future structure of the EU budget and to the current and future multi-annual financial framework.
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IRELAND – Part II National Report for CIB W108 Climate Change Project
In the spring of 2007, the Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government (DEHLG) – Ireland’s statutory Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) – published the ‘National Climate Change Strategy 2007-2012′. This document can be accessed and downloaded at … http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/Atmosphere/ClimateChange/ It is of concern to note, however, that ‘Climate Change’ related content is not easy to find on this WebSite ! Comprehensive Enabling Climate Change Legislation, which this Department, and the Irish Government, initially promised for Easter 2010 … and then June 2010 … has, at the time of writing (mid-November 2010), still not made an appearance in the Dáil (Ireland’s Parliament) !
The Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government (DEHLG) lacks strong and competent political direction and the institutional capacity to effectively co-ordinate and oversee the implementation of National Climate Action. For this reason, closer scrutiny of its activities will be required from the Dáil Committee System.
Contrary to current practice … Foreign Development Aid should not be used to obtain any sort of domestic or in-country credit for Ireland’s National Climate Change Strategy !
Specifically concerning Climate Change Adaptation … the following is stated on Page 45 of the 2007-2012 National Climate Change Strategy Document …
‘As part of a comprehensive policy position on climate change, the Government is committed to developing a national adaptation strategy over the next two years. This strategy will provide a framework for the integration of adaptation issues into decision-making at national and local level.’
The DEHLG does not, however, intend to publish a National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy until 2013 (Ireland’s NC5).
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Climate Change Action in Ireland – Summary
Ireland’s Climate Action to date, i.e. effective Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Implementation, has been laboriously slow and lethargic. It may best be characterized as ‘Business as Usual’, combined with some ‘Cosmetic Tinkering at the Edges’ as the need arises … the universal excuse, almost a mantra, being that “the competitiveness of the national economy must not be impaired”. National Performance has been guided by an official policy of exploiting to the maximum all of the UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol’s Flexibility Mechanisms while, at the same time, showing a stark indifference to Climate Adaptation … an over-reliance on Marketing Campaigns in the public media as opposed to mandatory implementation on the ground … and a preference for ‘Soft’ Performance Estimation on paper/computer monitor rather than the more painful ‘real’ performance calculation, which would generate reliable data and statistics to be managed by Ireland’s Central Statistics Office, in co-ordination with EuroStat in Luxembourg.
Despite the importance of the Construction Sector in Ireland and Europe … and its very large adverse impacts on regional and local climate … a significant barrier to concerted Sectoral Climate Action exists because ‘construction’ is not yet identified as a separate Sector, by either the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) or the European Environment Agency (Copenhagen) … in National and European Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Databases. Furthermore, our systems of governance and institutional organization, at both levels, do not appear to have the capacity … either to understand or to manage an effective response to the climate challenges created by the Sector.
Climate Change Mitigation Efforts are failing in Ireland; the current economic downturn merely camouflages that unpalatable fact. Therefore, the necessary corrective actions described in this National Report fall under the heading of ‘Climate Change Adaptation’.
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Irish Nursing Home Care – Dysfunctional National Governance !!
On Tuesday last … 9 November 2010 … Ireland’s Office of the Ombudsman issued a Report to the Irish Oireachtas (the Dáil and Seanad) … in accordance with Section 6(7) of the 1980 Ombudsman Act … concerning an Investigation based on more than 1,000 individual complaints made, since 1985, on behalf of older people who were unable to get long-term nursing home care from their health boards … now the Health Service Executive (HSE).
Please Note Well … this Report is not just about Older People !
This document raises a number of very serious and fundamental issues concerning our current system of Dysfunctional National Governance in Ireland. Every Irish person should, therefore, expend a small bit of time and effort in making themselves familiar with these problems … especially in the run-up to any by-elections … or, perhaps, even a general election … and certainly before we enter a prolonged period of being hammered in a Draconian Series of 4 Budgets !
This Report places a major question mark over the positions of Ms. Mary Harney T.D., Minister for Health & Children (a woman of strong ‘Boston-esque’, neo-liberal and anti-social convictions) … and the Senior Civil Servants (plural !) in Her Department.
And don’t be fooled into thinking, either, that the Department of Health & Children is our only dysfunctional national ministry ! See my previous Posts.
Ms. Emily O’Reilly, Ireland’s Ombudsman, deserves our full support !
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This is the Full Ombudsman’s Report …
9 November 2010 – Office of the Ombudsman
WHO CARES ? An Investigation into the Right to Nursing Home Care in Ireland
Click the Link Above to read and/or download PDF File (621kb)
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Conclusions (Executive Summary)
The conclusions of this investigation are easily stated:
- The Health Act 1970 has required the State to provide nursing home care for those who need it.
- It is an open question as to whether that obligation continues in place, notwithstanding recent amendments to the Health Act 1970.
- The State has failed consistently to meet this obligation over four decades.
- The State has failed over that same period, and despite repeated commitments (especially since 2001), to amend the law so as to bring actual practice and legal obligations into harmony.
- Very many people over these decades have been deprived of their legal entitlement.
- Access to nursing home care over this period has been marked by confusion, uncertainty, misinformation, inconsistency and inequity.
- Very many people over this period have suffered significant adverse affect.
- This situation has been allowed to continue with the full knowledge and consent of the responsible State agencies.
- Arising from these failures, the State is now facing several hundred legal actions from, or on behalf of, people seeking compensation for the costs incurred in having to avail of private nursing home care.
- These particular failures, which have been allowed to continue for decades, point inevitably to wider failures in government.
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The conduct of the investigation and the preparation of this report for the Oireachtas have been marked by an unprecedented level of rancour and disagreement.
The Department, in particular, has laid a multiplicity of charges against the Ombudsman regarding the manner in which the investigation has been conducted. Amongst its charges are:
- that the Ombudsman exceeded her jurisdiction in undertaking this investigation ;
- that the Ombudsman failed to abide by fair procedures particularly in relation to the provision of a draft version of the investigation report ;
- that the Ombudsman displayed prejudice and objective bias in the course of the investigation ;
- that the Ombudsman displayed arrogance in purporting to interpret the law ;
- that the Ombudsman has purported to deny the State bodies concerned their right to have the litigation (detailed in this report) determined by the Courts.
The Minister, acting on behalf of the Government, has informed the Ombudsman that the Government supports the submission of her Department in which these charges are made. While the HSE, in general, has been more temperate, it has specifically charged the Ombudsman with attempting to influence the outcome of court proceedings. In effect, the Department and the HSE are saying that the Ombudsman undertook this investigation in bad faith.
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In fact, the Ombudsman’s motivation in producing this report was five-fold:
1. To highlight the very significant difficulties faced over several decades by families seeking to make arrangements for long-term nursing home care for a family member.
2. To represent, in many instances through their own words, the distress and upset (including financial) of people who complained to the Ombudsman’s Office over the years in relation to nursing home care.
3. To highlight the inadequacy and the tardiness of the State’s responses to these problems.
4. To raise the issue of whether and, if so how, people adversely affected should have some recognition of having been failed by the State.
5. To raise wider questions of governance prompted by the practices highlighted in this report.
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In the 2001 Report: ‘Nursing Home Subventions’, the then Ombudsman expressed the view that the issues of bad administration dealt with in that report reflected significant dysfunction in our system of government. That view could, with only minor contextual amendments, be reproduced in full here with the same validity as in 2001.
The then Ombudsman identified deficits in three sets of relationships which, in his view, contribute significantly to this dysfunction.
These relationships are:
The Relationship between the Oireachtas and the Executive – the Constitutional model whereby the Legislature makes the laws and the Executive implements them has become a fiction; in fact, it is the Executive (Government) ‘which decides policy; which proposes legislation and ensures its passage through the Oireachtas and, subsequently, in its executive capacity ensures that the laws are implemented’. Parliament is relatively powerless and not in a position to exercise the role (including that of calling the Executive to account) envisaged in the Constitution.
Relationships within the Executive – in the past, there was a clear division of functions as between the political (Ministerial) side and the official side. The integrity of the governmental process depended, to a large extent, on the official side being seen to be non-political; the tension inevitably generated by this division was regarded as necessary and healthy. ”Good government”, as Professor Séamus Ó Cinnéide put it, “depended on a certain distance and balance between the two sides”. This distance and balance no longer applies and, again to quote Professor Ó Cinnéide, this change is part of “an unspoken revolution in our system of governance”. Again, another key element in the overall model of government has been discarded or, at the very least, diluted considerably.
Relationship between Department and Health Boards – similar to the relationships within the Executive, the relationship between the Department and the health boards is most effective where the latter are prepared to keep a certain distance from the former and to exercise, as necessary, their status as independent, statutory bodies. But the health boards, for the greater part, failed to act independently; to ‘a large extent, health boards appear to act in relation to the Department as if they are satellites rather than independent bodies [...] The majority of the health boards were prepared to continue with a scheme, about which they increasingly had doubts, for as long as the Department told them they should.’
The present Ombudsman comments on these three areas from the perspective of today and concludes that, if anything, matters have disimproved rather than improved. In relation to the role of the Oireachtas, the Ombudsman observes that parliament has been sidelined and exercises only a limited role. Reflecting the views of many commentators, the Ombudsman observes that our governmental arrangements are undermined significantly by virtue of having an Executive which is too powerful and a Legislature which is too weak.
As regards relationships within the Executive, and taking the example of the Department of Health & Children, the Ombudsman observes that the distance between Ministers and senior civil servants – which was a necessary feature of our model of government – no longer exists. In the wider context of the health service, the Ombudsman draws attention to a continuing confusion as to the respective roles of the HSE and of the Department.
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Findings (Executive Summary)
The Ombudsman finds, in relation to the type of complaints dealt with in this investigation, that the health boards (HSE) failed to fulfil their obligations to older people under section 52 of the Health Act 1970 and that this failure came about with the full knowledge and agreement of the Department. As a result of these failures, very many older people (and their families) suffered significant adverse affect over several decades. The Ombudsman finds that these failures of the health boards (HSE) and of the Department constitute (to use the language of the Ombudsman Act) actions “based on an undesirable administrative practice” and also actions “contrary to fair or sound administration”. These findings are at a level of generality as this investigation is an ‘own initiative’ one rather than one linked to specific, named complainants.
The Ombudsman takes the view that the HSE and the Department should acknowledge formally that the State, in the case of older people needing long-term nursing home care, has not been meeting its obligations under section 52 of the Health Act 1970. This acknowledgment could be in the form of a public statement from the two bodies and could be made on a ‘without prejudice’ basis.
There is no satisfactory solution to the issue of whether there should be financial redress for those who have been adversely affected by the State’s failure to provide long-stay care. The financial consequences for the State, in meeting a recommendation to compensate all those adversely affected, would be enormous, potentially running to several billion euros. In present circumstances, it appears this is not a cost which the State can meet. Nor is it likely that the State will be in a position to meet this type of charge for many years to come. On the other hand, not to recommend financial redress, might be seen as condoning maladministration and allowing bad practice to go unchecked. It would also mean that individual people and their families are being left with nowhere to turn and with a financial burden to bear which, as the Ombudsman understands the law, should have been borne by the State.
With considerable reluctance, the Ombudsman takes the view that in present circumstances the public interest is best served in not recommending any specific redress in the sense of financial compensation for those affected adversely. The Ombudsman suggests that some thought be given within the Department to devising some limited scheme under which families which have suffered serious financial hardship might be assisted. One possibility, in this regard, is that the existing Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme might provide the statutory mechanism for the making of one-off payments, based on exceptional need, for such people affected adversely by the State’s failure to provide nursing home care for a family member.
The Ombudsman feels it is vital that steps be taken to prevent situations, such as described in this report, coming about in the future; or, where they do come about, there should be mechanisms in place to deal with them at an early stage. The Ombudsman proposes that, in future, measures to deal with such instances should be conducted with full transparency and in the public domain. The Ombudsman proposes the creation of an independent group whose function would be to advise Government on how best to handle legal actions, or threatened legal actions, which involve numbers of people and which arise from a contended failure of a State agency to meet statutory obligations particularly in instances where those claimed to be affected belong to a vulnerable group in society. Past examples of situations where such an approach might have been helpful include:
- the army deafness claims ;
- the contaminated blood claims ;
- education rights of autistic children ;
- provision of secure care for children ; and
- the right of older people to long stay nursing home care.
This proposal is based on the premise that the State should react to such situations, not simply in legalistic terms, but in terms which have regard both to legal rights (including human rights), to the State’s finances and the overall public interest. The proposal envisages that, while ultimate legal responsibility for dealing with such claims will continue to rest with the State (and its relevant agency), the direction of the State’s response should have regard to the advice of this group. Amongst the options for this group would be that of stating a case to the High Court, perhaps at an early stage, in order to get legal clarity where that is needed. The overall thrust of this proposal is that the State’s response to situations of this kind should be speedy, be made at an early stage, and be based on considerations of fairness and the public good rather than, as tends to happen at present, being defensive, combative and legalistic.
Some thought might be given to the possibility of such a group acting as adviser to the Attorney General in fulfilling the role of guardian of the public interest or, alternatively, that this group would replace the Attorney General in fulfilling that role. In any case, there is certainly considerable scope for improving our governmental mechanisms with a view to ensuring that, where these major issues arise, they will be handled always with a view to securing the public interest.
Emily O’Reilly – Ombudsman – November 2010
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Mater National Children’s Hospital – Co-Location, Re-Location, No-Location ?!?
On Friday afternoon (15th October 2010), between 16.00 hrs and 18.00 hrs … I attended a Joint Session of the Health Care Design Committee of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI). An e-mail blurb, which was sent out beforehand to the RIAI Membership, described this Joint Session exactly as follows …
‘ The RIAI Healthcare Design Committee has organised a joint session by Norwegian and Irish Healthcare Architects and other professionals in order to review and discuss healthcare policies and design practices in Ireland and Norway.
There will be 6 Speakers (3 Irish and 3 Norwegian) each talking for 5-10 minutes. Each speaker will outline a point of interest in the field of healthcare policy and design, which will be followed by a general discussion.’
It was a very interesting event … and well worth the time spent attending. I did not wait for the Wine Reception afterwards !
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One of the important lessons for me, however, was that Health Care Buildings should be Low-Rise, i.e. no higher than 3 Storeys above ground level. In this context, a considered relationship between people inside the building (whether patients, medical staff, visitors or non-medical employees) and a carefully designed external environment with grass, trees, colourful landscaping, sunshine, birds chirping merrily in those trees, water rippling in the background, etc. all play a critical role in the restoration and maintenance of health.
Many years ago, as a long-stay patient in Dublin’s Mater Hospital … the continuous view of only overcast skies above was very depressing. And, looking down … it was worse. At ground level, the sight to behold was shabby outbuildings, badly maintained hard surfaced areas and, of course, cars parked anywhere and everywhere.
As a recent short-stay patient in the Accident & Emergency Department of that same Mater Hospital … I was shocked to see the overcrowding, the confusing and disorientating maze of cramped corridors and spaces, the inefficient and time-wasting administrative practices and procedures, the frustrating pre-dominance of medical ‘protocol’ over patient needs … and the almost total disregard for the Patient’s Charter, which I know for a fact, is hanging somewhere on a wall within that vast medical complex. I know, because I once saw it … and having read it, I promptly almost keeled over at the enormous gulf between what was written down … and what was the grim reality ! Little or no value is attached to Patient Dignity within Ireland’s Health Care System.
On no occasion, during the RIAI Health Care Design Joint Session, was the Proposed High-Rise National Children’s Hospital on the Mater Hospital Site even raised … never mind discussed. Most strange for such a Joint Session ! A modern, properly designed Children’s Hospital is desperately needed in Dublin … existing medical facilities for children are clapped out. Also desperately needed … substantial innovative thinking on the design of Health Care Facilities ! BUT … there are serious problems within the existing Mater Hospital Complex which must be sorted out … and solved … before a Major New Project is grafted on !
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During the General Discussion which followed the Joint Session Presentations, the first person from the floor asked a very pertinent question regarding Post Occupancy Evaluations (POE’s) of the Health Care Buildings which had earlier been demonstrated by the speakers. This question was laughed off … I kid you not !
My view is that Post Occupancy Evaluation is an essential component of the process of ‘design’ … if an architect has any sort of serious intention that he/she will not repeat design errors. Feedback from building users is an exceedingly rich resource ! It should not easily be squandered.
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A little later … I ventured to comment, also from the floor … that the Session had been very interesting, but the Presentations had been concerned merely with the nuts and bolts of architecture. Not once had any of the speakers raised the following issues … which was disappointing …
1. Human Health – Speakers, during the Session and perhaps in the course of their everyday design practice, were working with an outdated concept of Human Health, i.e. it being an absence of injury or disease. On the other hand, the World Health Organization (WHO) has long ago defined Human Health … in the WHO Charter … as:
‘A state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.’
While some elements of this wider concept could be discerned … this comprehensive understanding of Human Health had not fully and coherently informed any of the work, either in Norway or Ireland, which had been presented.
2. A Trans-Disciplinary Approach to Design – Many times in the past, I have really enjoyed working as part of a Multi-Disciplinary Design & Implementation Team … it can’t be beaten. Furthermore, I would expect that cutting edge breakthroughs in Fire Engineering Design for Building Evacuation will result from a close collaboration between Fire Engineers, Architects and Cognitive Psychologists. How disappointing, therefore, to be presented with a typical design approach which is a generation out of date !
3. Person-Centred Design – One of the Speakers stated that Architects must have empathy … for whom, exactly, I wasn’t quite sure. Whoever that person was, or those people were … this idea falls very, very far short of the concept of Person-Centred Design …
‘ That design process which places ‘real’ people at the centre of creative endeavours and gives due consideration to their responsible needs, and their health, safety, welfare and security in the Human Environment.’
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In Conclusion … I witnessed a Stunning Lack of Innovative Thinking on Health Care Facility Policies and Design at the RIAI Joint Session between Norway and Ireland !
That experience … together with the OTT ‘Performance’ this morning (Saturday, 2010-10-16) of Health Minister, Ms. Mary Harney T.D., on the Marian Finucane Radio Show (RTE Radio 1, from 11.00-13.00 hrs) … listen back at http://www.rte.ie/radio1/marianfinucane/ … have, together, increased my concern about the National Children’s Hospital Project !!
Life is short … and I am no longer prepared to accept Public Relations Spin, Withholding and/or Concealment of Vital Information, Individual Incompetence, and Lies … from our Politicians and Senior Civil Servants !!!
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New York 9-11 WTC Incident – Any Societal Lessons Learned ?
We have a very large Page on our Corporate WebSite devoted to some of the more important technical aspects of the World Trade Center Incident (9-11) … which occurred on Tuesday morning (local time in New York), 11th September 2001. This Incident resulted in a major and unprecedented Collapse Level Event (CLE) for Iconic Buildings … in an Iconic City with a highly developed Economic Environment.
A long time ago … and yes, you really do have to pinch yourself to remember that it was way back then. As a reliable reflection of the continued popular dismay and concern about 9-11 … once again, the number of visitors to our WebPage went through the roof on the 11th September just passed.
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New York … any City … is a geographical region, with open and flexible boundaries, consisting of :
(a) An interwoven, densely constructed core (built environment) ;
(b) A large resident population of more than 500,000 people (social environment) … in this case … as of 1st July 2009, according to the United States Census Bureau, the City of New York had a population of 8,391,881 people … an increase of 383,603, or 4.8%, since April 2000 ;
(c) A supporting hinterland of lands, waters and other natural resources (cultivated landscape) ;
together functioning as …
- A Complex Living System (analogous to, yet different from, other living systems such as ecosystems and organisms). and
- A Synergetic Community capable of providing a high level of individual welfare and social wellbeing for all of its inhabitants.
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Within a few short hours in 2001 … the entire Fabric of New York’s Social Environment, south of Canal Street, had been shredded into tiny unidentifiable pieces.
Just 5 weeks after 9-11 … in the middle of October 2001 … I was staying in my cousin’s apartment within the WTC Security Zone. The reason for my visit was to present a Paper at a Conference being held in Mid-Town Manhattan. Many participants did not attend. Some of the people I met there, however, were so emotionally traumatized by 9-11 that they could barely bring themselves to speak about what had happened. On a few occasions, I had also witnessed racial harassment … one nasty case involving a policeman … of those individuals, e.g. taxi drivers, having a non-WASP Profile ! You can guess what I mean.
Fast forward to events surrounding the recent 9-11 Anniversary in 2010 … and what do we see on our television screens ?? Protests against a project to refurbish and enlarge an existing Islamic Community Centre, located not too far from the 9-11 Incident Site … and a crazy proposal, emanating from a ‘mickey mouse’ Christian Fundamentalist Pastor in Florida State, to hold a Public Burning of the Qur’an.
Dismal, Depressing and Shameful Societal Responses to the World Trade Center Incident (9-11) !!!
Having suffered … intelligent people are supposed to … and usually do … learn valuable lessons about life and living.
But … what lessons have actually been learned, in the United States of America, from 9-11 ???
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Mitigate or Adapt – Climate Strategy for the Built Environment ?
2010-03-31: Before the official announcement, in New York, of the independent InterAcademy Council (IAC) Review of the WMO/UNEP Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) … on 10th March 2010 … clear indications had been given, at meetings in the Institute of International and European Affairs (Dublin), that serious question marks hovered over the IPCC, its 2007 4th Assessment Report, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri’s position within the IPCC … the actions of many of the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) who were at Copenhagen during the 2009 UNFCCC Climate Change Summit … and the Science of Climate Change itself (refer, for example, to revelations following the hacking of e-mails and other data from a server in the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit in England, and the irregularities/errors in the IPCC’s 4th Assessment Report).
The 2009 Copenhagen Accord was a political agreement between a small number of Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers, and Heads of Delegation – Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) and the USA – who attended the Climate Summit, which concluded on Saturday, 19th December. At the time of writing, many countries have made voluntary submissions, i.e. they are not legally binding, to Appendices I and II of the Accord.
A general overview of the submissions made by Developed Countries, however, reveals the following about the Voluntary Emissions Targets being undertaken …
- they are highly conditional on the performance of other countries ;
- they are very disappointing, being far below what is required to cap the planetary temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Celsius ; and
- there is no consistent emission base year … varying from 1990 and 1992, up to 2000 and 2005.
This is very far from being a signal of serious intent from Developed Countries … and is not … in any way, shape or manner … an acceptance of historical responsibilities. It would be reasonable, therefore, to surmise that the process of achieving a global, legally binding, consensus agreement on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets will be long and difficult. The Climate Change Mitigation Agenda is, to put it mildly, fraught with problems … and has an unclear future in the short term.
On the other hand, anyone involved in the design, construction, management or operation of the Built Environment must think ‘long-term’ … the minimum life cycle for a sustainable building should be at least 100 years. Today in Dublin, buildings which are 250 or 350 years old still look remarkably good, and are well capable of fulfilling an important function within the social and economic environments of the city. ‘Politically’ and ‘technically’, therefore, it would be more appropriate for the built environment if we were concerned with the Long-Term Climate Change Adaptation Agenda … rather than a problematic, short-term Mitigation Agenda. But, in terms of a building … is there really a clear difference between measures undertaken for the purpose of mitigation and those undertaken for adaptation ? For example, measures to incrementally improve energy efficiency and conserve energy, in accordance with short-term legally binding targets, will serve to mitigate CO2 emissions … but the same measures will also serve to adapt the building to rapidly dwindling supplies of climate-damaging fossil fuels. The long-term perspective will exert pressure for more radical actions in the short-term.
But, should we not already be undertaking these sorts of measures as part of the Mainstream Sustainability Agenda … in order to increase building durability and prolong life cycle ?
Generally … Climate Change Adaptation encompasses urgent and immediate short, near and long-term actions at local, national, regional and international levels to reduce the vulnerability and strengthen the resilience of the Human Environment, including ecological and social systems, institutions and economic sectors … to present and future adverse effects of climate change and the impacts of response measure implementation … in order to minimize the local threats to life, human health, livelihoods, food security, assets, amenities, ecosystems and sustainable development.
More specifically … Built Environment Climate Change Adaptation means reliably implementing policies, practices, projects and institutional reforms in the Built Environment … with the aim of reducing the adverse impacts and/or realizing the benefits directly/indirectly associated with climate change, including variability and extremes … in a manner which is compatible with Sustainable Human and Social Development.
Climate Change Adaptation is one of the most important drivers for Sustainable Design !
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Towards a More Balanced View of the World ?
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Summit, which was held in Denmark from 7th-19th December 2009 … should be a very loud wake-up call for Europeans. When the ‘real’ political action was taking place towards the end of the Summit … the European Union was out to lunch … nowhere to be seen … irrelevant to global events !!
The Fracture of the 2007 UNFCCC Bali Consensus at the 2009 Copenhagen Summit … the sharp division between the ‘have’s’ and the ‘have-not’s’ of our small planet … signals one more stage in the development of a process which, I believe, began back in September 2003 … when the World Trade Talks collapsed in Cancun, Mexico. At least, that’s when I noticed that the world’s political map was beginning to change dramatically. Geo-political adaptation ?
Anyway … I certainly was not happy with the Balance of the media reporting from Copenhagen. So, I have added Links which will bring news and views directly from other locations …
- Brazil, China, India, Russia, Venezuela, Turkey & Cuba ;
- The Arab World ;
- The ALBA Group of Countries in South America.
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- E-PRTR – European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register … a Europe-wide register providing easily accessible key environmental data from industrial facilities in EU Member States and in Iceland, Liechtenstein & Norway.
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- EU Fundamental Rights Agency – The Agency focuses on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union (EU) and its 27 Member States.
- EUR-Lex – Full, direct and free access to all European Union (EU) Legislation
- European Consumer Centres' Network (ECC-Net) – European Union (EU) wide network of Consumer Protection Centres, co-sponsored by the European Commission and the Member States. The network comprises 29 Centres … one in each of the 27 EU Member States
- EUROPEANA – Access to Europe’s Cultural & Scientific Heritage though a Cross-Domain Digital Portal
- FireOx International: Fire Engineering Consultancy, Research & Design Practice (Ireland, Italy & Turkey)
- GRANMA INTERNACIONAL – News & Views from CUBA
- HÜRRİYET – News & Views from TURKEY
- Ireland – Information about our Public Institutions, including Pretty Pictures of our green countryside !
- Irish Seed Savers Association … Working to Conserve Irish Biodiversity. They research, locate, preserve & use traditional varieties, cultivars of fruit, vegetables, potatoes & grains.
- James Taylor – Singer & Songwriter
- JOURNAL DE BRASÍLIA – News & Views from BRAZIL
- Kanchi (Ireland) – Changing Society's View of Disability for the Better
- NAVBHARAT TIMES – News & Views (in Hindi) from INDIA
- PRAVDA – News & Views from RUSSIA
- Robert F Kennedy Centre for Justice & Human Rights (USA)
- Rocky Mountain Institute (USA) – Super Energy Efficiency by Design
- RTE Lyric FM – Classical (in its widest meaning !) Music on Irish Radio
- Senator Shane Ross – Ireland's Principal Economics Troubleshooter. What happened to George ?
- Survivors of Institutional Abuse Ireland [SOIAI] – WE (collectively) did not cherish all the children of OUR nation equally !
- Sustainable Design International: Experts in the Theory & Implementation of Sustainable Human & Social Development (Ireland, Italy & Turkey)
- Tom Doyle's Blog :: TALK
- UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) + Kyoto Protocol + COP-15
- United Nations Human Rights Council – Established 15 March 2006
- WikiLeaks – A non-profit media organization dedicated to bringing important news and information to the public.
- WISE – Water Information System for Europe … a single location (portal) where geographically-mapped information on water-related issues can be found for the whole of Europe.
- XINHUA News Agency – News & Views from CHINA
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