We would like to think of natural disasters as incidents that occur only once in a blue moon, yet studies show that horribly destructive storms are becoming more common. Research by climatologists recently reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences compared historical storm surges with a host of climate model predictions. They found that with global warming, more than half of modern Katrina-sized storms are the result of climate change. With an increase of only 0.4 degrees Celsius, the frequency of massive storm surges doubles. If the temperature rises by 2 degrees Cesius, the chance of such catastrophic events will be 10 times more likely to occur.

Read the rest of Hurricanes as Large as Katrina Could Become 10x More Likely With 2 Degree Global Temperature Increase

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Post tags: aslak grinsted, Climate Change, Drought, global warming, greenhouse gasses, Hurricane Katrina, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Sandy, sea level rise, storm, university of copenhagen

Read the rest of Make it Right’s New Orleans FLOAT House by Morphosis to Gain LEED Platinum Certification

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Post tags: affordable, Float House, housing, Hurricane Katrina, Make it Right, Morphosis, New Orleans, Sustainable

Almost exactly six years after Hurricane Katrina slammed New Orleans, producing one of the worst natural disasters in American history, the Gulf Coast is set to get battered by another major storm. By all accounts, Tropical Storm Lee isn’t expected to cause the level of destruction that Katrina left behind, but it might test the rebuilt levees on the Mississippi. About 6,000 New Orleans residents were evacuated in advance of the storm’s landfall, and Louisiana and Mississippi have declared states of emergency. So far, about 35,000 homes in Louisiana were reported to be without power.

Read the rest of Six Years After Katrina, Tropical Storm Lee Hits the Gulf Coast

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Post tags: gulf coast, gulf of mexico, Hurricane Katrina, louisiana, Mississippi River, natural disasters, New Orleans, offshore drilling, Tropical Storm Lee

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Post tags: eco design, eco-art, Greek Goddess, green design, green materials, Gulf, Hurricane Katrina, NOLA, Reclaimed Materials, SEA, sustainable design, swoon, Thalassa

Read the rest of Vote for Make It Right and Energy-Efficient Homes for New Orleans

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Post tags: Brad Pitt, eco design, energy-efficient homes, grant, Green Building, green design, Hurricane Katrina, Make it Right, Make It Right Foundation, New Orleans, Pepsi, pepsi refresh grant, Sustainable Building

More than four years have passed since Hurricane Katrina hit the south, and many residents still suffer today. One group of Mississippi victims aims to get compensated by the folks they believe are responsible for all that property damage–multinational corporations. News-wire service Agence-France Presse (AFP) recently spied documents indicating that southern Mississippi residents are attempting to sue a group of greenhouse gas-emitting corporations through a class-action lawsuit. The group argues that major emitters like Shell and Chevron are to blame for fueling global warming and spurring Hurricane Katrina.

The lawsuit, which was originally filed back in 2005, was initially squashed by a district court. But this fall, three federal appeals court judges agreed that the case could be heard. Last month, the same court decided to re-examine the case, this time with nine judges present. These judges will set a hearing date in the next three months and plan to make a decision about whether the case can progress by the end of the year.

Residents seek compensation from Shell, ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, Honeywell, American Electric Power and other major corporations. The plaintiffs claim these companies had a responsibility to avoid endangering environmental and human health, as well as personal and public property.

Greenhouse gas emitters like Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron definitely need someone to keep them in check. However, with no laws on the books limiting these corporations’ emissions, it seems unlikely that a judge would rule in favor of the plaintiffs. Still, a landmark case like this draws attention to climate change’s role in creating fiercer, more unpredictable storms. Perhaps sparking a dialogue will create a bigger push for much-needed climate legislation that will keep multinationals’ emissions in check.

Via Yahoo! Green

Today marks the two-year anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina flooding tragedy and to make sure that people don’t forget it about the massive devastation that affected so many people on the Gulf Coast, we would like to remind people how important it is to tink about ways to improve home and landscape design so that something like this never happens again.

Read the rest of ANNIVERSARY OF HURRICANE KATRINA: Design for Disaster

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Post tags: Disaster Relief, Flood-resistant housing, hurrican resistant housing, Hurricane Katrina, Katrina Cottage

My trip to the Gulf Coast this past week proved to be both sobering and inspiring, educational and thought-provoking. Nearly a year and half after Hurricane Katrina, I was surprised by the contrasting landscapes in Biloxi- decadent casinos across the street from leveled lots still covered in debris, FEMA trailers and abandoned houses not too far from Walmart and untouched homes. Architecture For Humanity’s projects have made a significant impact, as has the work of Hands On Gulf Coast, whose 100+ volunteers welcomed me at their base camp on Monday.

Read the rest of ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY BILOXI: Report from the Gulf Coast

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Post tags: AFH Biloxi, Architecture for Humanity, Biloxi Model Homes, Biloxi Reconstruction, Brett Zamore, cameron sinclair, design like you give a damn, Gulf Cost Reconstruction, Hurricane Katrina

In case you haven’t noticed, we’re big fans of Architecture for Humanity here at Inhabitat. And Monday-Thursday of next week, I’ll be venturing down to the Gulf Coast to see first-hand just what the humanitarian design organization has been up to as part of their hurricane reconstruction efforts in Biloxi, Mississippi. AFH has a variety of programs in the works to help displaced citizens rebuild their homes, businesses, and communities through a collaboration with architects, designers, and other local entities who understand the intricacies of FEMA guidelines and the area’s new building requirements. Stay tuned for a full post-visit report on their progress. And if you’re interested in volunteering, visit AFH’s website here.

Read the rest of ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY IN BILOXI: My Upcoming Trip

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Post tags: AFH Biloxi, Architecture for Humanity, Biloxi Reconstruction, cameron sinclair, design like you give a damn, Gulf Cost Reconstruction, Hurricane Katrina

Its unfortunate that it takes a disaster like Hurricane Katrina to convince people of the efficiency of modular building. Nevertheless, that’s what’s happening in the Gulf Coast right now – as no other form of traditional stick building seems to be up to the crucial task of quickly rebuilding homes and the lives of victims. Of the thousands of homes damaged and destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, only a fraction have been replaced.

Read the rest of KATRINA RECOVERY SPURS MODULAR BUILDING

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Post tags: Gulf Coast region modular homes, Hurricane Katrina, new york times, photograph by Lee Celano

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and to make sure that people don’t forget it about the massive devastation that affected so many people on the Gulf Coast, we are devoting this week to thinking about ways to improve home and landscape design so that something like this never happens again.


Read the rest of ANNIVERSARY OF KATRINA: Designing for disaster

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Post tags: Disaster Relief, Flood-resistant housing, hurrican resistant housing, Hurricane Katrina, Katrina Cottage

In the year since hurricanes ravaged the Gulf Coast, we’ve seen every approach and proposal under the sun for rebuilding. Competitions and charettes and forums and of course the notorious celebrity rescue squads. It’s good to see this much movement in all its forms, but it’s best to see real work happening on the ground. Architecture for Humanity just launched the Biloxi Model Home Program, and it’s all about getting real.


Immediately after the storms, AFH began making plans, raising funds and soliciting volunteer hours for relief and reconstruction. While much attention was pointed towards New Orleans, AFH was talking to the communities of East Biloxi. The Biloxi Model Home Program lays out an agenda for pairing disaster-struck families with architects, designers and engineers who can help them rebuild their homes in an affordable, sustainable way that considers local codes and a changing climate.

According to the press release: “The pilot program is unique in that it offers families the opportunity to work one on one with architects and design professionals giving them access to expertise and design talent.” This expertise and design talent showed itself through an initial round of twelve architectural firms who developed proposals for the Model Home Program. Of those twelve, five final teams will be selected to implement their designs in Biloxi in early 2007.

All of the concepts utilize “the latest in materials research, disaster mitigation and sustainable building techniques,” says AFH, “We see this as an opportunity for architects to help set the bar for new construction in the area.”

See all 12 proposals here >.