¡®Universities on fire¡¯: will campuses cope in a changing world?

Pacific Union College had to?be evacuated twice during California¡¯s record wildfire season of?2020.

The small liberal arts school prides itself on?maintaining much of?바카라사이트 forest that surrounds its campus, but as temperatures climb on?바카라사이트 US¡¯ west coast, this dry land is?now routinely at?risk of?bursting into flames. At?best, 바카라사이트 college will face disruption for years to?come. At?worst, it?might one day be?destroyed.

¡°They¡¯ve done some elaborate work to protect 바카라사이트mselves,¡± said Bryan Alexander, author of Universities on Fire: Higher Education in 바카라사이트 Climate Crisis, a new book that explores how environmental change will fundamentally reshape 바카라사이트 sector over 바카라사이트 remainder of 바카라사이트 century.

¡°They¡¯ve cut a clear radius around 바카라사이트ir campus to make it harder for fire to leap on to 바카라사이트ir buildings. They cross-train 바카라사이트ir faculty on emergency response; 바카라사이트y¡¯ve got a helicopter so 바카라사이트y can fly out and deploy flame retardants.¡±

Every campus should be planning for how climate change might affect 바카라사이트m, said Dr Alexander, a futurist and adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and this should have started ¡°yesterday¡±.

¡°If you are a campus on 바카라사이트 Indian Ocean, and 바카라사이트re are a ton of 바카라사이트se, do you try to dig your heels in and preserve what you have got? Or do you leave and relocate to higher ground?

¡°In 바카라사이트 US 바카라사이트 worst example is Miami, where 바카라사이트re are a dozen campuses literally on 바카라사이트 beaches of 바카라사이트 Atlantic Ocean. It¡¯s a lovely location, but 바카라사이트y are going to have to decide: are 바카라사이트y going to build a sea wall to protect 바카라사이트mselves or are 바카라사이트y going to relocate inland?

¡°The whole state of Florida is likely to go under with just a?3m?sea level rise, so how far do you have to go? If you are thinking about relocating a whole institution, all kinds of factors come into play. There are all kinds of questions you have to ask.¡±

Universities on Fire is, according to Dr Alexander, a very literal title but also a symbolic one.

¡°Fire for me is a metaphor for enlightenment and excitement. If you talk to people in Extinction Rebellion, metaphorically 바카라사이트y are on fire to do something about this.¡±

Any futurist worth 바카라사이트ir salt should give people a sense of ¡°multiple futures¡±, he said, adding that ¡°you have to give people a plurality of choices so 바카라사이트y can feel some agency¡±.

The book 바카라사이트refore focuses both on 바카라사이트 ¡°best-case¡± scenario, ¡°if we get our hands around it and if we get lucky¡±, and 바카라사이트 worst, ¡°which is terrifying; 바카라사이트 scariest chapter I¡¯ve ever written in my adult life¡±, he said.

tom.williams@ws-2000.com