Drowning and Drought - Extreme Weather Impacts on Economy and Society

Attend a congressional briefing exploring the economic and societal impacts of extreme weather events in the United States. Examine record-breaking weather disasters from 2011, including historic droughts and floods, and their associated economic losses exceeding $45 billion. Learn from leading experts as they discuss extreme weather hazards, climate change relationships, and strategies for better preparedness. Gain insights from a case study on the Texas drought presented by the Texas State Climatologist. Explore key findings from the IPCC Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation. Understand the relationships between physical events, exposure, and vulnerability in climate disasters. Discover successful examples of improved outcomes in heat wave management and principles of climate disaster risk reduction. Analyze rainfall trends, temperature data, and loss trends related to extreme weather events. Examine the Federal Crop Insurance Program and strategic areas for coping with climate change, including both mitigation and adaptation measures.

Intro
IPCCs Special Report on Climate Extremes and Disasters
Relationships among physical events, and exposure and vulnerability
Physical "Event": a climate/ weather trigger
Vulnerability: predisposition to harm... and consequences
Key Findings: Three Aspects
PHYSICAL CHANGE
Learning from successes: two examples Improved US, European heat wave outcomes (preliminary)
Some principles of climate disaster risk reduction • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Total Precipitation, October 2010 through September 2011
Texas drought: rainfall trends
Rainfall and temperatures (2)
A Way Around the Policy Conundrum
U.S. Winter Storm Loss Trends Annual totals 1980 - 2010 vs. First Half 2011
Federal Crop Insurance Program
Munich Re's strategic areas
challenges: focus area climate change Coping with climate change requires both mitigation and adaptation measures