Estimating the United States Population at Risk from Coastal Flood-Related Hazards

Westcott, Jonathan E.; Phelps, S.K.; Mahoney, Tucker; Coulton, Kevin G.; Bellomo, Doug

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-5234-4_6

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Also depicted on FIRMs are Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) which represent the water surface elevations of the one-percent annual chance floods. BFEs are referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88), the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD29), or a local datum where NGVD29 and 1$9' DUH QRW DYDLODEOH )(0$ ¶V FXUUHQW SROLF\ is to ensure that all new updated maps are referenced to NAVD88 where that datum is available) [1].…”

Section: Existing Flood Hazard Mapping For Usmentioning

confidence: 99%

An updated USACE approach to the evaluation of coastal total water levels for present and future flood risk analysis

2016

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Abstract. USACE coastal missions, operations, programs, and projects must be resilient to the full range of forseeable water levels, including extreme water levels, as well as the changing conditions that those water levels can induce at a project location. Water level range, magnitude of extremes, and frequency will all contribute to the stability, operation, and performance of a given project. Understanding which component of total water level or combination of components controls performance (and at what time scale) is critical to the design and evaluation of a project. Being aware of the different cross shore zones of total water level calculation and impacts informs exposure and impact assessments. Estimating future conditions over the project life recognizes that there will be both stationary and nonstationary contributions to the total water level (TWL) over time, necessitating the consideration of scenarios in project alternative development. An adaptive management approach provides a process for dealing with future uncertainties and involves developing plans that envisage a range of futures, incorporates ongoing monitoring, and permits transitions from one approach to another. Identifying thresholds beyond which stability or performance are adversely impacted is an important way to understand current and future vulnerability with respect to water levels, especially within the flood risk mission area. The USACE total water level Engineering Technical Letter (ETL) in development will guide how to evaluate total water levels for USACE coastal missions.

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Section: Existing Flood Hazard Mapping For Usmentioning

confidence: 99%

An updated USACE approach to the evaluation of coastal total water levels for present and future flood risk analysis

2016

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“…In 2015, electricity generation accounted for 30% of all US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [1], contributing to annual health costs amounting to roughly 4% of the national gross domestic product [2]. Health effects arise mostly due to secondary formation of particulate matter <2.5 μm wide (PM 2.5 ) from sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emissions, with negative impacts in particular for at-risk populations such as asthmatics, the elderly, and low-income families [3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this analysis, we do not use time-of-use rates due to their highly specialized, utility-specific structure (e.g. utilities often design them to be revenue-neutral) 5. Following Vaishnav et al [11], we download hourly LMP data for year 2015 for representative aggregate pricing nodes in each state from the IST/RTO data portals.…”

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confidence: 99%

Solar PV as a mitigation strategy for the US education sector

Hanus

Wong‐Parodi

Vaishnav

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Solar photovoltaic (PV) is an important strategy to de-carbonize the energy sector in the United States and to reduce the health, environmental, and climate change damages associated with the production of electricity from fossil fuel sources. While the potential for solar PV in the residential and commercial sectors has been widely studied, the potential in educational buildings is largely unknown. Educational institutions account for 11% of total US building electricity consumption and 14% of building floorspace. These buildings also contribute to approximately 4% of total US CO 2 emissions, thus playing a potentially important role in climate mitigation strategies. We estimate the electricity use for 132k educational institutions across the US and estimate electricity generation, greenhouse gas and health damaging air emissions reductions, and private and social costs and benefits that would result from adopting rooftop solar PV. We find that solar PV in US educational institutions could provide 100 TWh of electricity services annually, meeting 75% of these buildings' current electricity consumption. We estimate the highest generation potential in Texas, California, and Florida with K-12 public educational institutions comprising the bulk of that generation. The provision of electricity services from rooftop solar PV on educational institutions could reduce health, environmental, and climate change damages by roughly $4 billion per year (assuming a social cost of carbon of $40/ton and value of statistical life of $10M in 2018 USD). Two key findings from this study are that: (i) the private costs of solar for educational institutions still exceed the private benefits from reduced electricity consumption across the entire country (unless a third party operation model is used, in which case some locations can have net-benefits), and (ii) with the exceptions of California and New York, the social health, environmental and climate change benefits exceed the levels of current incentives provided by the state and retail subsidies.

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“…Water and air pollution emanate from extraction processes; air pollution and spills can arise from fuel transportation; and, finally, environment and public health impacts result from burning fossil fuels and hazardous waste [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. At-risk populations such as families with children, asthmatics, and those living in flood-prone regions are particularly vulnerable [10][11][12][13][14]. However, without clear signals, utilities have little incentive to use cleaner energy sources to mitigate these ill effects [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framing clean energy campaigns to promote civic engagement among parents

Hanus

Wong‐Parodi

Hoyos

et al. 2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Civic engagement is one important way citizens can influence the rate of decarbonization in the electricity sector. However, motivating engagement can be challenging even if people are affected and interested in participating. Here we employed a randomized controlled trial to assess the effect of clean energy campaigns emphasizing cost savings, health, climate, or health and climate, or no additional information at all (control) on civic engagement behaviors (signing a petition or making a phone call). We targeted parents as they have been shown to be powerful agents of political and business practice change in other contexts, and hence, could play an important role in the decarbonization of the electricity sector. In Study 1, we recruited n = 292 parents already engaged in climate advocacy; in Study 2, we recruited a representative sample of n = 1254 parents drawn from the general public. Both studies were conducted in Michigan, Florida, and California, as these states have sizable advocacy group membership, divergent energy profiles, and strategic importance to the climate movement. In both studies, we find the odds of taking action are reduced by over 90% when participants are asked to make a phone call and leave a voicemail message, versus signing an online petition. Among the parents already engaged in advocacy, we observe a ceiling effect regarding attitudes towards clean energy and find the cost campaign produces unintended consequences. Among our public sample, we find that participants who believe the campaign to be credible and comprehendible are more likely to take action than those who discredit the campaign or do not understand its message. Additionally, we find parents who have children under the age of 18 negatively adjust their attitudes towards fossil fuels after being presented with health information. Ultimately, we find that campaign messages can influence energy attitudes and parents are willing to take action on the topic if the advocacy action seems like an effective approach.

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Estimating the United States Population at Risk from Coastal Flood-Related Hazards

Cited by 14 publications

References 15 publications

An updated USACE approach to the evaluation of coastal total water levels for present and future flood risk analysis

An updated USACE approach to the evaluation of coastal total water levels for present and future flood risk analysis

Solar PV as a mitigation strategy for the US education sector

Framing clean energy campaigns to promote civic engagement among parents

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