The shutdown of the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility has threatened the reliability of energy supplies in Southern California. Reducing natural gas demands, especially during peak periods of summer and winter use, is critically important to preserve uninterrupted electricity and natural gas services throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan region. In winter, natural gas consumption […]
The term resilience emerged in ecology during the early 1970s. At the time, researchers were debating the existence of equilibrium points in ecosystems. Equillibriums were considered stable configurations of species that an ecosystem could “evolve” (or succeed) to reach. Beyond that, little change would occur. Ecology literature accepted the existence of such system-wide, globally-stable states (Lewontin 1969). In this view of […]
The sheer power of Hurricane Sandy and the damage it inflicted upon New York City is both improbable and ominous. Improbable because extreme climatic events are dictated by statistical probabilities of occurrence that seem impossible until they occur. Ominous because it is likely that the familiar statistical record is changing. In the last few days […]