Shared Emergency  

Each year Americans face a wide range of natural disasters and extreme threats. Whether it be hurricanes, wildfires, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes or tsunamis, communities need to be prepared in advance. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the requirement for better and more efficient communications before, during and after a severe crisis was clearly evident. We learned then that FEMA could not do everything Americans expected of it, and that State and local governments, along with private companies, would have to partner in order to get America ready to recover from various crisis situations. One innovative company about to make a real difference is US Emergency Operations Center, Inc., which has rolled out Emicus.com. Simply put, Emicus offers "Community Powered Emergency Information." The site allows you to build a hurricane plan, let others know you are okay in the hours and days after an event, keep up to date with emergency news and information, and to share data about local conditions and the availability of goods and services in disaster impacted areas. Emicus is about what is happening in your community...all in an effort to let people help people when natural and other calamaties hit. Our guest is Paul Berger, co-founder of Emicus. An insurance expert and owner of a public adjusting firm, he is also an attorney. Mr. Berger works with a highly skilled team of individuals as Chief Strategy Officer for the website. Paul Berger joins us from Boca Raton, Florida to talk about the mission, and potential, of this new and insightful web service. (Show recorded 8/27/09)

"The new media, through its crowd sourcing capabilities, helped America recover much faster from the massive hurricane, and in ways no one thought were possible just a few years prior. Yes, in 2009, social media gave a whole new name to disaster relief and recovery and forged a strong partnership between government and civilian efforts to overcome the devasation."

"With the announcement that the Chevy Volt will get 230 miles to the gallon in city driving, there is reassurance that America is back in the game with innovation. Suddenly, taxpayers can feel a bit more comfortable being the collective micro-owners of GM, when just yesterday, it was no big deal and perceived as more of a burden on the budget deficit. The Volt may be the answer to the question…”What does the taxpayer get for his or her money?”

As coastal areas are threatened by rising seas, experts need to work with local and regional authorities to determine what kind of man-made protection systems can divert water and reduce prospects of flooding and salt water intrusion. New locations for lakes, dams, aqueducts, levees and dikes will be identified. Fresh thinking needs to be set in motion to find parts of the planet which can host unfathomable quantities of water in human created storage lakes which promote agriculture, economic development, create energy and help solve the effects of climate change.

A compelling story about a simple tool for recovery in the aftermath of a devasting Typhoon in 2006, and a lesson about future disaster recovery in rural areas. Length: 4 minutes.

There are over 2.45 million grandparents who raise their grandchildren in the U.S. According to the Miami Herald, 148,000 such grandparents live in Florida. During this episode of Shared Emergency radio, we look at how one organization, The Pantry of Broward, Inc., helps ease the strain of everyday living for grandparents in this position. Join us!