Tag: Social vulnerability

Wildfire Recovery Hot Moments

by Kim Crider, SRS Science Communications  • 
Disasters can be catalysts for change. As wildfires become more common, an emerging objective is to make communities fire-adapted, where ecological benefits of fire can be realized while minimizing threats to life and property. Yet questions remain as to when and how such community change takes place. Recent research by Ronald Schumann of University of…  More 

Climate Change, Streamflow, and Social Vulnerability: Locating Increased Risks

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
What happens when climate change or urbanization increases the frequency or severity of floods? How well can different downstream communities prepare for and respond to those catastrophic events? USDA Forest Service scientists and approached these questions in a new way. They developed a risk matrix that pairs the likelihood of high streamflow events – which…  More 

In the Southeast, Who’s in the Path of Smoke Plumes?

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
For more than 30 years, researchers have known that poor communities and people of color in the U.S. are more likely to be affected by environmental threats such as landfills and toxic waste sites. “Are these socially vulnerable communities also exposed to more smoke from wildfires and prescribed fires?” says U.S. Forest Service scientist Cassandra…  More 

Ebola Virus Disease in Liberia

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery  • 
A newly published research study by U.S. Forest Service researchers demonstrates that the social vulnerability indices used in climate change and natural hazards research can also be used in other contexts such as disease outbreaks. Authors of the article include Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) researchers John Stanturf, Scott Goodrick, Mel Warren, and Christie…  More 

Vulnerability to Climate Change: Hotspots in Georgia

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
Since the 1970s, the average temperature in the southeastern U.S. has risen, especially during the winter. The increased temperature has been accompanied by other changes: droughts have become more common, and severe storms are more frequent and extreme. “We wanted to determine how these changes in climate are affecting people in Georgia,” says U.S. Forest…  More 

Hot Time in the City

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
In Georgia, U.S. Forest Service scientists and cooperators are mapping out climate change vulnerability at the county level. Their results suggest that people who live in metro Atlanta are at most risk of disruptions from the rising temperatures and extreme weather events of recent decades — and that this vulnerability could persist well into the future. Cassandra…  More