KERRN works to help prepare for response to major environmental disasters | 05.09.2008 | 11:00:16 | Views: 6325 | ID: May 9 '08: The Katrina Environmental Research and Restoration Network (KERRN) was created to help research ways to prepare for and respond to major environmental disasters. The organization is hosted by Tulane/Xavier Universities' Center for Bioevironmental Research and was begun after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005. According to its website, KERRN researchers' goals are to create a body of knowledge about how large hurricanes affect their impacted environment and the ways in which federal, state, local and community stakeholders, residents and officials can prepare for such large-scale incidents. "Using the network," KERRN said, "scientists from a wide range of disciplines can combine their efforts to synthesize a broader understanding of the environmental processes at work in the hurricane-impactred gulf coast region. These insights can be used in future planning, mitigation, and restoration efforts." After large-scale events such as Katrina, organizations like Ecology & Environment respond to the immediate environmental damage which, if no addressed immediately, can cause additional health and recovery situations. Potentially, using a network like KERRN can help "be aware of the full range of research efforts in order to collaborate and to coordinate their efforts," the KERRN website read. The KERRN website also hosts a blog which touches on topics such as infrastructure degradation, loss or damage of environs which result in putting populations at risk during storms like Cyclone Nargis, and other urban recovery stories. National Blueprint Tags: Public Health & Medical, Communication & Public Information.
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