It Will Take Months for Vehicle Loss from Hurricane to be Known

When Superstorm Sandy struck the Northeast, there were tens, and perhaps hundreds, of thousands of devastated automobiles. Some came floating out of flooded Manhattan garages. The roofs of others could barely be seen submerged at shipping ports. Still more were tossed and rolled in communities in the region, wrapped up amid the wreckage of homes, boats and businesses.

The cost of replacing these vehicles could add billions of dollars to the total damages from what is likely to be one of the most expensive storms ever to hit the US. Some expert are already stating that Sandy’s automotive tolls could come close to losses seen in other recent disasters, with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 being the most cited and compared. It’s going to take a while for all of these vehicles to be reported, perhaps months to complete.

Energy Expert Daniel Yergin Talks about Storm Sandy and Energy Security

Energy expert Dr. Daniel Yergin says that Superstorm Sandy makes clear the need to enhance America’s energy security system. Yergin, vice chairman of IHS and author of best-selling The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking the Modern World, spoke at the inaugural IHS Forum in Washington, DC. “New Jersey and New York are suffering from the same kind of integrated energy shock that hit the Gulf Coast from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” Yergin said.

Dr. Yergin drew on key lessons from The Quest such as the need “to be better prepared for energy disruptions. One has to assume that shocks will come. This requires planning for resilience and striving for the best information for decision-making. It also requires prepositioning the knowledge so that governments and private sector can communicate smoothly and quickly.”

EU Looking to Reform Carbon Market and Further Reduce Emissions

The European Union is considering strengthening its emission reduction target to 30% by 2020 and some of that could happen through retiring a number of allowances as part of plans to reform the European carbon market. Built into the plan is a strategy to stabilize Europe’s carbon trading market, primarily through delaying the auction of […]

Johnson Controls Making Buildings More Efficient, Nokia Wants Lead in Smartphone Mapping, Ford C-Max Going for Extended Range

Johnson Controls Cloud-based App Generates Building Efficiency Johnson Controls today opened a new cloud-based applications marketplace intended to help commercial-building owners and operators save energy and money. Among the 17 apps, users can keep track of tenants’ utilities, monitor buildings’ energy performance and display the amount of carbon emissions each building, or group of buildings, […]

CEI Makes it through Hurricane, ARI Opens New Call Center, Fleet Tools for Analyzing Alternative Fuels

On-Site Generators Get CEI through Onslaught of Hurricane Sandy To make it unharmed through Hurricane Sandy, CEI relied on a pair of heavy-duty on-site diesel generators and its power outage contingency staffing plan to provide uninterrupted accident management, risk and safety management and direct repair services to fleets and insurance companies. The generators kept the […]