**May 18, 2007 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Project
Report**

\(1\) 10th ANNUAL FEMA ALL-HAZARDS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HIGHER EDUCATION
CONFERENCE, JUNE 4-7:

Have been informed that essentially all 240 dorm rooms assigned to
support the conference have been allocated (the status of several
applications is still in question). Several participants have made
reservations at nearby motels. We can still accept applications to
attend the conference, but participants will need to make motel
reservations \-- using the listing of local motels found in the
Logistics section of the Conference \"box\" on the EM HiEd Project
website:

[[http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/edu/educonference07.asp]{.underline}](http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/edu/educonference07.asp)

\(2\) \"DISASTER RESEARCH,\" No. 478:

Received from the Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado at
Boulder, \"Disaster Research\" electronic newsletter No. 478, and as
usual it is full of good information and resources, many of which I have
missed, even from FEMA. Strongly recommend going to the NHC Website and
signing up for this free and fabulous newsletter:

[[http://www.colorado.edu/hazards]{.underline}](http://www.colorado.edu/hazards).

\(3\) DISASTER RESPONSE \-- FEDERAL ROLE:

Charbonnet, Aariel. \"Should FEMA Respond Only To \'Catastrophic\'
Disasters?\" AXcess News, May 18, 2007. Accessed at:

[[http://www.axcessnews.com/index.php/articles/show/id/11024]{.underline}](http://www.axcessnews.com/index.php/articles/show/id/11024)

\[Excerpt: \"The federal government\'s response to natural disasters
should be restricted to \"catastrophic\" disasters, speakers at a
Heritage Foundation seminar on the grassroots role in disaster response
said Wednesday. Keynote speaker George Foresman, undersecretary for
national protection and programs at the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, and panelist Matt Mayer, president of Provisum Strategies,
agreed that state and local governments should handle \"routine\"
natural disasters without government intervention. Addressing an
audience of about 50, Foresman described the imbalanced approach that
characterizes federal and local spending for natural disasters. While
there has been a dramatic increase in federal dollars, he said, there
has been a lack of state and local spending for disasters. Referring to
Hurricane Katrina and the Virginia Tech shootings, Foresman described
how disasters that had in the past been localized events were now
garnering national attention. As a result, the role of the federal
government has evolved, he said.\" A funny thing happened on the way to
the disaster,\" he said in keeping with his anecdotal theme, \"emergency
and disaster response became an inherently federal responsibility\....
An article Mayer and Carafano wrote, \"FEMA and Federalism: Washington
is Moving in the Wrong Direction,\" says it is unfair for taxpayers who
do not live in the areas most prone to natural disasters to continue to
subsidize disaster assistance to the Gulf Coast and the southern
Atlantic Coast regions.

\"If there\'s a national, large-scale disaster, and you\'re waiting on
Washington to save your lives, you\'re all going to die,\" Carafano said
at the conference. In a later interview, he echoed the seminar\'s
overall message. \"Geography matters. \... The most immediate and
appropriate response is from local communities.\"\]

\(4\) FEMA:

Waterman, Shawn. \"Analysis: Poll Shows Support For FEMA.\" United Press
International, April 26, 2007. Accessed at:

[[http://www.upi.com/Zogby/UPI_Polls/]{.underline}](http://www.upi.com/Zogby/UPI_Polls/)

\[Excerpt: A large majority of Americans believe that the Federal
Emergency Management Agency was damaged by being absorbed into the
Department of Homeland Security and ought to be restored to the status
of an independent agency\.... The UPI/Zogby poll of nearly 6,000
Americans, weighted to make it representative of the country as a whole,
found that 71 percent believed FEMA should be restored to the status of
an independent agency. Respondents also believed, by a ratio of more
than 4-to-1, that putting FEMA in the Department of Homeland Security
had damaged the government\'s ability to respond to disasters.\"\]

\(5\) FLOODING:

FEMA. National Flood Mitigation Data Collection Tool Guide, v. 2.0
User\'s Manual (FEMA 497). Washington, DC: FEMA, May 2005, 127 pages.

Accessed at:
[[http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/floodplain/data_tool.shtm]{.underline}](http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/floodplain/data_tool.shtm)

FEMA. Reducing Damage from Localized Flooding - A Guide for Communities
(FEMA 511). Washington, DC: FEMA, June 2005, 180 pages. At:

[[http://www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/pubs/flood-damage.shtm]{.underline}](http://www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/pubs/flood-damage.shtm)

\[Thanks to Natural Hazards Center \"Disaster Research 478.\"\]

\(6\) GLOBAL WARMING:

Thompson, Andrea and Ker Than. \"Timeline: The Frightening Future of
Earth.\" Live Science, April 19, 2007. Accessed at:

[[http://www.livescience.com/environment/070419_earth_timeline.html]{.underline}](http://www.livescience.com/environment/070419_earth_timeline.html)

\[Thanks to Natural Hazards Center \"Disaster Research 478.\"\]

\(7\) TERRORISM:

George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute, and the
University of Virginia Critical Incident Analysis Group. NETworked
Radicalization: A Counter-Strategy (Special Report). Washington, DC and
Charlottesville, VA: GWU HSPI and UVA CIAG, May 2007, 29 pages.

Accessed at:
[[http://www.gwumc.edu/hspi/news/index.cfm?d=4098]{.underline}](http://www.gwumc.edu/hspi/news/index.cfm?d=4098)

\[Abstract: \"Through a compelling \'call to action\' based on myths and
falsehoods, terror networks have made savvy use of the Internet to
radicalize potential recruits worldwide. With the \"war\" now shifting
to one of ideology, cyberspace is the battlefield, and the United States
has not yet developed an effective narrative as part of its counter
strategy. That\'s the conclusion of a new report issued by The George
Washington University\'s Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) and
the University of Virginia\'s Critical Incident Analysis Group (CIAG)
titled, \"NETworked Radicalization: A Counter-Strategy.\" The report is
the second in a series addressing the issue of terrorist
radicalization.\" Thanks to Tom Gilboy at EMI for bringing this to my
attention.\]

B.Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., CEM

Higher Education Project Manager

Emergency Management Institute

National Emergency Training Center

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Department of Homeland Security

16825 S. Seton, K-011

Emmitsburg, MD 21727

\(301\) 447-1262, voice

\(301\) 447-1598, fax

wayne.blanchard@dhs.gov

[[http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu]{.underline}](http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu)

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