Responding to Natural Disasters in the US
“FEMA leadership acknowledged that the Agency could have better anticipated that the severity of hurricanes Irma and Maria would cause long-term, significant damage to [Puerto Rico]’s infrastructure
-FEMA 2017 after-action evaluation report
In the aftermath of Hurricane María, Puerto Rico fell into a literal and metaphorical abyss of darkness as 100% of the electric grid went offline immediately after the storm. Cellphone towers went offline and millions were unable to contact their loved ones, many times for weeks. Access to clean water and food was cut off for thousands. Many agencies were severely unprepared at different levels of public management, with one of the most salient being the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that even admitted that it was unprepared for the scale of the disaster. Much more could have been done, such as the restocking of emergency food and water warehouses, the delivery of energy generators, and public
With climate change, natural disasters are bound to become more common. We cannot allow lack of preparation before them become the norm or have political actors beget its lack thereof.
Law: Continue having FEMA as an independent organization of the government. This will (hopefully) prevent the politicization of responses towards individual regions of the US. Moreover, illegalize the inflation of prices of essential resources such as power generators in times of crisis.
Norms: Retain the public memory of the aftermath of unwisely managed disasters in the public domain. Media outlets have done an excellent job of this by illustrating the narratives of many people directly affected by large-scale natural disasters. Make human perception of such heartfelt narratives more welcome and thus more naturally received.
Market: Provide government subsidies to essential supplies in times of preparation and response to natural disasters.
Code: Develop urban planning simulation software that models the effects of natural disasters on cities and larger regions. Make the results of these simulated stress tests play an important role in emergency planning by government and non-government agencies alike.
Liberating Patient’s Own Access to Medical Data
When I sprained my ankle badly right before college, I had to take a number of MRIs, X-Rays, and physical evaluations to coordinate treatment. When the medical practitioner I was going to went for vacation, closed, or when I simply did not enjoy them, I had to seek a new person to see. With each new doctor or physical therapist that I encountered, I basically had to start from zero and re-explain my situation and treatment journey. At times, I would also have to repeat or reproduce MRIs of my treatment area. As a result, I was responsible for keeping a log of all my treatments and would be frustrated when there was something I forgot , did not ask for a copy of, or did not have immediate access to. Why is it hard for patients to see their own medical data?
Through this personal experience, I have noticed that much of medical record data is isolated within medical systems and hard to for patients themselves to collect and have at hand for subsequent medical visits.
Law: Amend the HIPAA law or complement it to require health providers to make access to patient data and test results immediately available for patients at the same time as the provider gains access.
Norms: Have healthcare providers print out evaluations and test results to give to patients at the conclusion of each visit. Essentially, make the act of the patient receiving a record of their evaluation as the last milestone in the process of visiting of a healthcare provider.
Market: Have your health data be tied to your healthcare provider. As a result, healthcare providers will have their patient data delivery systems as marketable selling points to potential consumers.
Code: Standardize a database system for storing medical records of which patients have easy, clear access to. For the sake of slapping this buzzword in, blockchain-ify medical record systems on online platforms.
Stop the Straws
“On July 26, the Walt Disney Company announced that it would eliminate single-use plastic straws and stirrers in all its locations by mid-2019 as part of its “journey of environmental stewardship.” Disney also plans to reduce other plastic products in its hotels and cruise ships as well as plastic shopping bags and styrofoam cups.”
“Starbucks made a similar announcement earlier this month, saying it would transition to a new lid for cold drinks that many have likened to an “adult sippy cup.”
-Vox, “Why Starbucks, Disney, and Tom Brady are all shunning plastic straws”
The waste generated by one time use plastic straws can be feasibly mitigated. In most cases, one-time plastic straws are not necessary tools for liquid consumption and can be easily obviated. There is traction in the movement of banning the usage of such straws, which we can take advantage of to effectively extirpate a sizeable human contribution to waste generation.
Law: Create laws that prevent or tax the sale and distribution of straws.
Norms: Make using straws be views as uncool within society. Word of mouth convincing has proven to be especially strong and is what convinced me to stop using straws. Public awareness campaigns through television or physical postering within organizations come to mind.
Market: Have restaurants and eating establishments that do not distribute straws make this as an apparent positive to customers. Restaurants that market themselves as non-straw using will be viewed as conscientious and trendy.
Code: Re-engineer the design of one-use cups to not include straw holes. Instead of straw holes, make cups have more grooved sides for comfortable, strawless drinking.