“News flash: We are kind of awesome! In these increasingly weird, anxious, foreboding times, what we make—some of the best journalism around—matters. A lot. And we don’t thank you nearly enough for tuning in to our coverage and for letting us claim your attention. But as awesome as we are, on occasion we’re reminded that… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Housing
Writing Documentation for Your House
Luke Hsiao: “Have you considered writing technical documentation for your house? As a first time homeowner, there have been numerous times where I wish I had some documentation to reference for a whole slew of scenarios. As an engineer, I write documentation all the time to answer these questions and build up a knowledge base… Continue Reading
EU Fundamental Rights Report 2023
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights Report 2023 reflects on the developments and shortfalls of human rights protection in the EU in 2022. Its focus section covers the fundamental rights implications of the aggression in Ukraine for the EU and the challenges that arose. For example, the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive provided welcome access to… Continue Reading
The Fifth National Climate Assessment
“The Fifth National Climate Assessment is the US Government’s preeminent report on climate change impacts, risks, and responses. It is a congressionally mandated interagency effort that provides the scientific foundation to support informed decision-making across the United States. The more the planet warms, the greater the impacts. Without rapid and deep reductions in global greenhouse… Continue Reading
Special Flood Hazard Area and Fill Interim Report
Technical Mapping Advisory Council – FEMA: “TMAC 2023 -Special Flood Hazard Area and Fill Interim Report. “There is general agreement that changes in our Nation’s land surface and climate, due to both human and natural causes, are resulting in increased flooding and damage. The best way to combat both the current and future threat of… Continue Reading
AI in Banking and Finance, October 15, 2023
Via LLRX – AI in Banking and Finance, September 15, 2023 – This semi-monthly column by Sabrina I. Pacifici highlights news, government reports, industry white papers, academic papers and speeches on the subject of AI’s fast paced impact on the banking and finance sectors. The chronological links provided are to the primary sources, and as available,… Continue Reading
What will climate change cost you?
Risk Factor – Search an address to see its risk from flooding, wildfire, heat, and wind. Continue Reading
How States Stack Up on Flood Disclosure
NRDC – “Millions of people live in homes that are at risk of flooding, and a home that has flooded once is likely to get hit again. Unfortunately, it’s extremely difficult for a home buyer to learn of a property’s flood history. That’s because many states do not require home sellers to disclose past damages… Continue Reading
The U.S. “Housing Recession”
CRS Insight – The U.S. “Housing Recession” August 21, 2023: “Economists often look to the housing market as an indicator of the health of the economy. As the COVID- 19 pandemic accelerated, the housing market was relatively strong, characterized by robust demand, rising prices, and increased construction. Since the latter half of 2021, spending on… Continue Reading
AI Causes Real Harm. Let’s Focus on That over the End-of-Humanity Hype
Scientific American Opinion: Effective regulation of AI needs grounded science that investigates real harms, not glorified press releases about existential risk. Wrongful arrests, an expanding surveillance dragnet, defamation and deep-fake pornography are all actually existing dangers of so-called “artificial intelligence” tools currently on the market. That, and not the imagined potential to wipe out humanity,… Continue Reading
Migration Into America’s Most Flood-Prone Areas More Than Doubled Since the Start of the Pandemic
Redfin News: “The most flood-prone U.S. counties saw 384,000 more people move in than out in 2021 and 2022—a 103% increase from the prior two years, when 189,000 more people moved in than out. The same trend took hold in the places most vulnerable to wildfires and heat as the pandemic homebuying boom and a… Continue Reading
How fast are the seas rising?
Yale Climate Connections: “The modern era of human-caused climate change — the Anthropocene — has also been called the Pyrocene because we’ve entered an age of fire, characterized by large wildfires of increasing size, intensity, and duration. But we propose another term for the modern era: the Aquacene, a time of rapidly increasing flooding from… Continue Reading
