Handyman response to water damage example of good service, human kindness

[caption id="attachment_21133" align="alignleft" width="225"] Larry Alfieri, good service[/caption]

Carol Forsloff----At a time of hurricanes, floods, wind storms of all kinds and weather disasters everywhere, it's difficult to get construction done, given the numbers of people and structures affected, unless you are lucky enough to live in the Beaverton-Hillsboro Portland, Oregon corridor and you know Larry Alfieri.

Nothing can bring the holidays down in mood and direction than a water tank break. Add to that a cold snap with rain already and snow in the offing, and a condominium with limited space becomes even more uncomfortable with belongings everywhere and clean clothes at a premium. Insurance company promises and delays are one thing, but finding the right people to help at the right time can also be an issue, especially when many people need repairs or upgrades, as the Christmas holidays approach.

A visit to a local hardware store brought a valued name of a valuable “handyman” whose title should be much more, given his all-around skills. This Do-All name that is the monikker of the man's business outlines the real facts. He does it all and well.

Humanitarian approaches to services means a focus on real needs and having real concerns about a customer and the problems faced when a call is made, especially when it's urgent. So a handyman who does repairs is often the only individual outside of an insurance company representative that folks can interact with regarding their feelings and concerns when there is a household disaster. While neighbors may rally for support, the real thrust of help comes from where the money and work flows, as that often means the future for individuals and families.

[caption id="attachment_21134" align="alignright" width="300"] Water damage clutter[/caption]

In areas along the East Coast, impacted by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, people still wait for help. In New Orleans it has taken people many years to recover economically from Hurricane Katrina, and construction delays and fraud was everywhere for months, if not years, leaving people to manage their feelings of depression and anger in sometimes desperate ways. But how about finding something or someone good, who knows how to meet the crisis and do the right thing, just because it's the right thing to do? That's the Larry Alfieri model. Having the skills to repair construction damage is important, but the people skills needed to support folks impacted by the damage is also very important, and sometimes lacking, as folks look for serious help when problems occur.

The bedroom closet where the water heater broke is nearing completion, even as clothes and belongings remain scattered everywhere, which will be part of the clean up process faced by the condo occupants. But the process of correcting the damage from the water offers information about not just the work itself by how to do it well, in a manner others might use as an example, as the work unfolds in phases. And in a year fraught with difficulties, as has occurred with the occupants of the condo with water heater damage, having someone whose gifts of service and helping others around to correct the problems can be a blessing, and a real symbol of what being good to others really means.

Philippines super typhoon brings more evidence of climate change, increasingly severe storms

[caption id="attachment_20827" align="alignleft" width="300"] Philippines storm[/caption]

Editor---"Let me repeat myself: This is a very real danger, and we can mitigate and lessen its effects if we use the information available to prepare," President Benigno S. Aquino III was quoted as saying in a national TV address Thursday as residents were warned of a potential calamity to it the Philippines, as scientists have predicted might happen as a consequence of climate change.

While the naysayers of past years, and some who continue to be despite contrary evidence, deny climate change the worsening storms are but a signal of more to come, scientists declare.  Those in the scientific community who have said otherwise were not the graduates of the better schools nor the higher levels of the scientific community; but there were those who nevertheless used their evidence to say that weather events like Hurricane Sandy and now the violent storm in the Philippines are but the usual and customary of weather changes that take place in the natural order of events.

Now the evidence is grave, and graver still are the predictions of the future.  The time to prepare for that worst scenario came more than 15 years ago, as Al Gore declared the world must prepare for climate change.  And even as a few nations began to consider scientists warning to be serious, key nations continued to find reasons why climate change just wasn't so.

Former President Bush was one of those who scoffed at the notion of climate change, along with key politicians in his administration.  Later Bush was to admit that human behavior had some impact on climate in negative way, but the process of protecting people and making the right plans for the coming storms was put in the back drawer for folks to worry about later.

It is now time to worry, scientists say and that collaboration and sacrifice must take place, or all the discussions of government shutdowns, health care quarrels and debates over abortion will continue to cover up the neglect in outlining what the world needs most, attention to the details of climate change and cooperation to prevent the worsening events.

The typhoon in the Philippines is said to have been fueled by the warm waters in the region.

The ongoing health risks from hurricanes like Hurricane Sandy is eradicating mold

Damaged home left with mold from storm

Many months ago now, Hurricane Sandy slammed into the Eastern Coast of the United States, devastating homes and businesses and causing displacement of hundreds of people. But the long-term problem is not just the damage the storm produced but the health risks that may continue over many months to come.

The problem is mold. Many of the properties hit by Hurricane Sandy had major water damage and are now mold infested, requiring extensive mold removal processes to make them safe.

The health risks, according to experts, include an increase in allergies, irritation associated with volatile organic compounds, invasive disease and mycotoxicosis. The elderly and children are said to be especially susceptible to problems associated with mold.

After Hurricane Katrina many people had problems with mold. One of the major issues had to do with contractors going into New Orleans neighborhoods promising to get rid of the mold and to properly take care of the problem for the long-term so that rebuilding could take place. However, as many residents reported, much of the remediation was said not to have remediated anything.  The same thing is occurring now in the East Coast, where people have reported being fleeced by contractors not eradicating the mold after promising to do so safely and adequately.

Experts recommend that people check the credentials and experience record of contractors before hiring someone to take care of the mold. The problem, however, is finding the right people and products for the many homes and buildings requiring service, something anticipated to take months if not years.

The CDC offers a list of suggestions and resources for those individuals who have been impacted by black mold.

Hurricane Sandy's footprints are likely to be traced in black mold for some time to come.

Failure to act responsibily part of present weather emergencies

[caption id="attachment_6561" align="alignleft" width="401"] Storm of the century[/caption]

Editor — While many people around the world are focusing on the great storm beginning to hit the Northeastern part of the United States, the really big news is that the major news networks have not done enough to highlight the root causes. In a world where every fact must have an opposite, it seems, as opinion often rules the news, what is that major news?

Vanessa Kritzer, who is Online Campaigns Manager for the League of Conservation Voters, spells out her frustration in a recent press release, underlining the importance of looking at the root causes of our weather conditions. It is that focus that might make the real difference, she explains as she declares:

From record-breaking heat waves and massive wildfires to historic droughts and Superstorm Sandy, we’ve seen with our own eyes the increasing severity and frequency of extreme weather events this past year.

Yet in reporting on these disastrous events, the nightly news programs at the major broadcast networks have largely ignored what is fueling this extreme weather – climate change.

As the effects of climate change cause hardship for families across America, we need better coverage if we want people to connect the dots and demand real action to curb global warming and pollution.

In fact, that's why the organization is circulating a petition for viewers to demand that mainstream media take responsibility and let people know what is happening in the environment at the heart of these disastrous weather events. They are asking that other networks emulate PBS Newshour in its coverage of climate change.

CNN.com today is relating the sequence of details of the present storm, accenting the specific conditions, and letting people know that the same region hit by Hurricane Sandy is getting hit again.  But why is that true and what is the evidence this may continue?

SFGate writes it frankly by observing what many scientists are saying about the future. "Within the lifetimes of today's children, scientists say, the climate could reach a state unknown in civilization."  This phrase alone tells us that there are dangers ahead that will only increase. It also is a reminder of the need to act regarding CO2 emissions. This information comes from the leading scientists, not the off-the-block ones tied to political interests, as is observed in scientific publications and those journals who are focusing on the science as opposed to the miscellaneous political debates.

We should be reminded that in 2006 it was widely noted that then President George W. Bush was denying human-induced climate change. The infusion of politics in the science that many maintain is critical to understand so that people can act responsibility meant delays in that action.

The chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, Sir John Lawton, the chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in 2005 called climate change deniers in the US "loonies", observing how global warming "is to blame for the increasingly strong hurricanes being spawned in the Atlantic."

In other words, by calling the science opinion, and therefore debatable, has made the situation worse. That's the biggest headline today: how the world failed to act and that the Northeastern part of the United States, and other places, will surely feel the impact of that failure, according to the scientists, who years ago warned of the crisis.

 

 

 

Here are the devastating weather forecasts for North America

Editor --While Groundhog Day brings prediction of an early spring for the United States, the news isn't good for the climate in general, according to the latest report of a team of Cornell researchers.  In fact, they have determined that the earth will face serious challenges from climate-induced weather storms and catastrophes that will require serious governmental intervention across the world.

[caption id="attachment_16780" align="aligncenter" width="568"] Hurricane Sandy's path according to original predictions[/caption]

According to Drew Harvell, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and David Wolfe, professor of horticulture, Americans can expect more heat waves, greater and greater amounts of rainfall causing floods and droughts,  with an increasing rise in ocean temperatures and acid levels.   The lack of intervention with reference to greenhouse gas emissions could exacerbate these conditions.  This is particularly critical since 64 million people live in highly populated areas that can be impacted by climate change, so that people in the Northeast may suffer extreme situations like Hurricane Sandy.

"This document will be an essential science-based resource for decision-makers in our communities and businesses who are rolling up their sleeves to take on the challenges and build resilience to climate change," said Wolfe.

Highlights of the report for 12 Northeast states include these findings:

• Heat waves, coastal flooding due to sea level rise and river flooding from extreme precipitation events will increasingly threaten the region's environmental, social and economic systems.


• These climate-related hazards, along with increased pressure from pests and disease, will stress agriculture and ecosystems. Research and outreach efforts are under way to help farmers cope.


• State and municipality-level measures to implement adaptations are still at early stages, even though many local and state governments and organizations have begun planning for climate changes.

So could there be another Hurricane Sandy with devastating consequences again?  Scientists maintain climate change has indeed made storms bigger and more threatening.  And scientists also say that North America will be particularly prone to these storms, something even those in the insurance business now believe as well.  Scientific American quotes a selection from an article in the New Yorker that states Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance firms, did a study of severe weather conditions and wrote, “Nowhere in the world is the rising number of natural catastrophes more evident than in North America.”

President Barack Obama declared he would make environmental protection and action on climate change a priority in the next four years.  Scientists tell us it is an urgent one.

'Historic' Washington rally scheduled on climate change

Carol Forsloff ---More than a dozen years have passed since scientists underlined the importance of taking action on climate change and mentioned that within a few years of that time, it might be too late. Even so, activists are putting together a major rally referencing the need for the world's leaders to finally pay attention to what many intimate is the gathering storm of climate change.

In an email message this morning, a writer wrote of the freezing weather in Russia at  fifty degrees below zero, a level of temperature which has created significant problems for the people. An example used is the traffic lights in the city of Yakutsk aren't working anymore. At the same time, the world scientists report that worldwide the temperatures were the hottest on record. Weather patterns are extreme, as demonstrated by Russia's frigid temperatures, the heat in many parts of the United States in the summer of 2012, and the terrible storms, such as Hurricane Sandy, that left thousands homeless and caused devastation along the country's eastern seaboard.

A climate rally is anticipated to bring thousands of individuals to Washington on February 17 to generate pressure on the nation's leaders to support those activities designed to mitigate climate problems. One of those issues has to do with the tar sands project, with the pipeline from Canada that some tout as the solution for the energy crisis. The Sierra Club hopes to send a message to President Obama that the time to act is now, asking him to veto the tar sands project and another proposed ventures the organization maintains could create even more serious problems for the world's environment.

Researchers point out that scientists in the path used to believe that climate change took place slowly, which was the belief through much of the 20th century. However, circumstances in the past 20 years have created alarm in the scientific community, along with dire warnings. It was only 1995 when a strong consensus statement came from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, representing views of nearly all the world's climate scientists. And what these scientists reported was that climate change could take place even more rapidly than previously thought and that "surprises" were possible.

It is those "surprises" that worry activists and scientists, as the rally organizers point out it is important for ordinary citizens to ask world leaders to take action by making decisions that will reduce the negative impact on global climate.