• New Mapper Opens Up Access to Flood Planning in New York State

    By Elizabeth Sydor

    An accessible new mapping tool will make it easier for individuals and communities in New York State to plan for flooding and sea level rise. The easy interface of the NYS FIDSS Mapper means users don’t need GIS knowledge or complex software — only access to the Internet.

  • For Beleaguered Homeowners and Their Insurers, the Fire Next Time Could Be a Flood

    By Felicity Barringer

    The data-driven insurance business is in trouble as climate-change-driven disasters arrive with greater fury and frequency. Catastrophic losses are something that insurance companies have long planned and budgeted for. But not this many.

  • 3rd Annual Critical Infrastructure Security Summit Announced

    Critical Infrastructure consists of the sixteen sectors whose assets, systems, and networks, whether physical or virtual, are considered so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on national and economic security, and on public health and safety. Defense Strategies Institute will hold its 3rd annual Critical Infrastructure Security Summit which will discuss ways to create more resilient systems to protect this infrastructure.

  • Cost of Climate Change-Driven Natural Disasters Includes Losses of Learning, Earnings

    A new study finds that the human capital consequences of natural disasters, linked to climate change, are a significant factor contributing to economic inequality.

  • AI Can Identify Patterns in Surface Cracking to Assess Damage in Reinforced Concrete Structures

    Recent structural collapses, including tragedies in Surfside, Florida, Pittsburgh, New York City and Davenport. Iowa, have centered the need for more frequent and thorough inspections of aging buildings and infrastructure across the country.AI, combined with a classic mathematical method for quantifying web-like networks, help determine how damaged a concrete structure is, based solely on its pattern of cracking.

  • Wireless Sensor System for Continuous Monitoring of Bridge Deformation

    More than 46,000 bridges across the United States are considered to be in poor condition and in need of close monitoring. Researchers have developed a solar-powered, wireless sensor system that can continually monitor bridge deformation and could be used to alert authorities when the bridge performance deteriorates significantly.

  • Frustrated by Outdated Grids, Consumers Are Lobbying for Control of Their Electricity

    By Emma Foehringer Merchant

    Climate change is spurring interest in remaking local infrastructure to accommodate renewable energy, minimize power failures, and expand consumer choice.

  • Tackling the World's Climate-Driven Water Crisis

    A safe supply of clean water is necessary for human survival – yet 2.2 billion people around the world lack access to this basic human right. A global crisis is looming on water security, which has been escalated by climate change.

  • Decrease in Rainfall in Central America Could Cut Off the Panama Canal

    By Dirk Kaufmann

    To see the economic consequences of global warming look no further than the Panama Canal. There, water levels are down because of less rain in Central America. Experts fear ordinary consumers may end up paying the price.

  • Allowing Financial Trading in California's Wholesale Electricity Market Significantly Reduces Volatility: Study

    Allowing trading in California’s electricity market led to a reduction in the implicit cost of trading day-ahead/real-time price differences, the volatility of these price differences, and the volatility of real-time prices. In addition, operating costs and fuel use fell on days after the introduction of purely financial participation.

  • New Nontoxic Powder Uses Sunlight to Disinfect Contaminated Drinking Water

    By Mark Shwartz

    A low-cost, recyclable powder can kill thousands of waterborne bacteria per second when exposed to sunlight. Scientists say the ultrafast disinfectant could be a revolutionary advance for 2 billion people worldwide without access to safe drinking water.

  • AI Model Aims to Plug Key Gap in Cybersecurity Readiness

    By Tom Rickey

    There are more than 213,800 available known “keys”—unofficial entry points into computer systems, better known as vulnerabilities or bugs—and they’re already in the hands of criminals. There are likely many more that are not known. How can all the threats and attacks be tracked, prioritized and prevented? Scientists link resources to improve prioritization, spot attacks more quickly.

  • Paving the Way for Electric Vehicle Adoption

    By Alex Kinsella

    For many car owners, their next purchase will be an EV. But as many current EV owners know, the environmental benefits of battery-powered cars come with a tradeoff and that tradeoff is the driving distance existing battery technology can support. The problem is the battery, specifically how much energy they can store, their longevity, and how long they take to charge.

  • State-Sponsored Chinese Hackers Targeting U.S., Western Critical Infrastructure: Microsoft

    Microsoft says that Chinese government-sponsored hacking group Volt Typhoon has been attacking critical infrastructure targets in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and UK, and possibly many more countries. The affected targets span various sectors, including communications, manufacturing, utilities, transportation, construction, maritime, government, information technology, and education. The attacks began in mid-2021 and appear to be aimed at undermining the US in the event of a regional conflict.

  • Bolstering Cybersecurity in Navigation Systems

    Interference such as jamming and spoofing that targets critical infrastructure has the potential to cause widespread delays and cascading failures across multiple modes of transportation including ships, trains, trucks, and cars—and the problem is only getting worse. New project aims to enhance resilience of transportation infrastructure against cyber threats, developing advanced countermeasures for GPS spoofing and jamming.