Jaffe: upcoming events will hit places that haven’t seen them
The Wall Street Journal’s “Future of Everything” newsletter asked readers in its October 9 edition whether their homes were disaster-proof, listing nor’easters, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and whatever this year’s super El Niño may bring as hazards to weigh. Newsletter author Anne Steele turned to Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy and sustainability expert who has studied U.S. climate resilience under a NASA grant, for preparation guidance.
“No matter where you live, chances are climate preparation is worth considering,” Jaffe said. She was part of a research team whose work found that extreme heat and rainfall have already intensified in many parts of the United States, and that “some of the next severe weather events are going to come in places that haven’t had such an event to date.”
The newsletter organized its preparation advice into three sections: location, powering on, and playing defense.
Under location, the newsletter said living somewhere that won’t leave you stranded in a crisis—within walking distance of a food store, pharmacy, or emergency room—is smart. Addresses higher on a hill can mitigate flood risk, the newsletter added, and avoiding property that abuts forestland can lower the risk of wildfires. For those staying put, drains in your driveway are a good option, and trimming back trees can keep branches from swinging wildly or falling on your house, the newsletter advised.
Under powering on, the newsletter described backup generators or rooftop solar combined with battery storage as “essential for keeping the lights, hot water and refrigeration going regardless of what’s happening with the grid.”
Under playing defense, the newsletter said homes with basements need automated sump pumps, items stored downstairs should be placed on high shelves, and mold-protecting wall coverings are worth considering. A whole-house surge protector can keep your electronics and appliances safe in case of sudden electrical spikes in the grid, the newsletter added, and HEPA-filter air purifiers that combine carbon absorption and ionizer technology can combat everything from wildfire smoke to Covid.
The same edition linked to three other pieces. One asked whether AI could address a staffing shortage in American fire departments, reporting that “AI is increasingly seen as a threat to swaths of the workforce because they eliminate the need for humans to do certain jobs. In the volunteer fire service, that is probably exactly what we need.” Another described “a silent electronic battleground shaping the future of warfare,” noting that combat zones are in the grip of an electronic arms race, from spoofing hypersonic missiles to jamming drone signals. A third profiled a startup that wants to double the world’s compute without building a single data center, asking what if AI didn’t need more—more chips, more energy, more resources—to meet the intensifying demand for computing power.