8 Lessons for Building Resiliency After the California Wildfires [citylab.com]

As usual, I find Richard Heinberg's contributions incredibly valuable. Reading that he and his wife felt the need to evacuate is a reminder that even the most aware of us, is vulnerable to the destabilizing of our climate. In NYC, I hosted an event about whether we in NYC would be hit hard by extreme storms this season and, what we might do to prepare. I had noticed that the people in Texas who were hit by Hurricane Harvey were rescued by their neighbors; I reminded our audience that, we in NYC, tend to ignore our neighbors and take them for granted and that this is actually dangerous. We just passed the fifth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy which many city officials who were paying attention believed we had dodged a bullet just before the storm hit NY and NJ. People here who suffered considerable damage are still sorting out their emotions about this devastating experience and some have not yet been able to return to their homes. No amount of planning for these experiences would have enabled some of us to be prepared for that storm depending on where we happened to be. I have grown to appreciate the efforts of both the NYC Office of Emergency Management and the efforts of small nonprofits that could organize teams of bike riders to deliver needed items like medicine, diapers, and food when transportation in NYC was down. Some of us dodged a bullet by virtue of where we happen to live in our small city. Though it's sometimes lovely to live on the coast those of us who are inland faired better. Richard Heinberg's article and the work of Post Carbon Institute are invaluable and wherever we are, it is clear that we must build local communities, support local businesses and get to know our neighbors long before the next crisis that comes our way.

Dr. Susan Spieler, Psychologist, NYC Grassroots Alliance, Climate Psychology Alliance