Hardening Your Space in a More Dangerous World

WHAT causes a house to explode in a hurricane or tornado? What technologies are available to protect occupants of buildings facing the ultimate threats from Mother Nature’s relentless attacks to burglars and intensifying solar heat 365 days/year?

The latest Hurricane reports are for an “above average” season for hurricanes threating the nearly 54% of our population who live near the coasts. By 2025 two thirds of the world’s population will live within 100 miles of a coast. This comes as we have an abnormal DOUBLING of deadly tornadoes in the U.S. The AP reports that the conditions this season are similar to 2005 – which produced Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, storms that Gulf Coast resident still remember and fear.

The week’s Global American radio program explores these questions and provides some answers. HOW do we armor our spaces (houses and work) from these increasingly dangerous threats? What does each technology achieve versus its cost? What technology has been overlooked that could save property and lives?

We have been witnessing some of the most dangerous, weird weather not just in the U.S. but worldwide -- breaking decade’s old, and historic, records globally. From freak Tornado monsters a mile wide with multiple vortexes staying on the ground for hundreds of miles, turning cities like Tuscaloosa and Joplin into matchwood while sucking debris 18,000 feet into the air and dropping it over 60 miles away.

We have seen unprecedented freak tornadoes appearing in Massachusetts – fierce hurricanes and droughts worldwide, sweeping from Australia in the southern hemisphere to Russia in the north. The first four days of June Houston had record 104 and 105 degree temperatures. This week Minneapolis hit 103 (how close to Canada can you get?) and New York 99 degrees – August weather -- and it is not even summer yet!

Are people prepared for the bigger storms generated by the greater heat of an Atlantic ocean that is 2 degrees hotter, which produces larger storms? Is your personal space secure from the increasingly freak storms of greater intensity? Or from human intrusion?

Get the facts, and solutions, on this timely, unique program. Even FEMA has benefited from --and funds -- hazard mitigation technology that it fails to mention it in its preparedness reports!

Will global warming, regardless of the debate of whether it is “normal or manmade,” make today’s freakishly hot and violent weather the “norm” we have to prepare for?

For details and answers, tune into the Global American radio program on Saturday at 9 am central US time on Business 1110 AM, streamed on www.Business1110KTEK.com and Podcast 24/7 on www.GlobalAmerican.org (click on ‘favorite program’ and click the title above).

Michael Fjetland

Global American Series

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Texas Energy Efficiency legislation - Some Good, some Bad

The Texas legislature did manage to pass some energy efficiency bills this session. Here is a link to the Texas Environment Blog which gives the rundown. It also lists a couple bad bills that got through...

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Environment Texas Blog

Bills Still Standing

User: luke
Date: 5/27/2011 3:00 pm

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With just a few days left in the session, here are some of the key environmentally-related bills still moving.

Good Bills

Fracking Chemical Disclosure (HB 3328) - passed Senate, going to conference committee. More.

Solar Leasing Bill (SB 981) - passed House. Once the bill's author - Sen. John Carona - concurs with the House amendments, it'll go to the Governor

State Energy Plan (HB 3595) - The bill to create a state energy plan was amended on to HB 3595 (a good energy efficiency bill) in the Senate, but without the anti-renewable energy language ("section P"). Other amendments to HB 3595 include the language from SB 981 (see above), language to create an Energy Efficiency Coordinating Council and improvements to the Power to Choose website. This bill will go to conference committee and with the coal industry gunning to kill it, its fate is uncertain.

HOAs and Solar (HB 362) limits the power of homeowner associations to restrict solar installations. It has some problematic language, but hopefully it helps make it easier for people to install solar. - sent to Governor.

TCEQ Sunset (HB 2694). The bill raises the cap on penalties up to $25,000 a day for polluters, but it makes some changes to the penalty policy that will blunt the impact of that change. The conference committee rejected an amendment by Rep. Chisum that would have shifted the burden of proof from the polluter to a citizen contesting a permit, but accepted another Chisum amendment which weakens the rights of Texans to influence upcoming decisions about mercury pollution from power plants. - on its way to Governor

Mandatory TV Recycling (SB 329) - on it was to Governor

A number of energy efficiency bills are on their way to the Governor's desk. These are mostly pretty modest bills, but still a good step forward for efficiency:

Utility Energy Efficiency Incentives (SB 1125) - sent to Governor

Green State Buildings (HB 51) - will soon be sent to Governor

Local Government Energy Conservation (SB 898) - sent to Governor

Municipal and Cooperative Utilities Efficiency Program Reporting (SB 924) passed House and the bill's author - Sen. John Carona - either needs to concur with the House amendments or call for a conference committee.

Non-ERCOT Utility Efficiency (SB 1150) - sent to Governor

Energy Efficiency for Churches and Non-profits (HB 2077) - sent to Governor

Energy Efficiency Performance Contracts for Schools (HB 1728) - sent to Governor

Light Pollution (HB 2857) regulates outdoor lighting of municipalities and counties located within a 57 mile radius of any major astronomical observatory of the McDonald Observatory - passed Senate and Rep. Gallego needs to either concur with their amendment (pushing back implementation date to January) or go to conference.

Bad Bills

Limiting Rights of Texans to Fight Greenhouse Gas Pollution (SB 875) Rep. Bonnen added an amendment to make this bad bill even worse, but the Dallas Morning News reports indicate that provision will be stripped out. - in conference committee.

Energy-wasting Light Bulbs (HB 2510) - sent to Governor

First Tropical Storm - Arlene?

Hurricane season has barely started and today there is a 40% chance of our first tropical storm forming south off Cuba - not way off in the Atlantic. If it does form it will be "Arlene."

Models right now show it going every which way, so it will be a few days before we know if it is a threat. The longer it stays in the Caribbean the more chance it will come into the Gulf of Mexico.

Yesterday we had a record 105 degrees! They are predicting 103 for today. This heat will lead to more and BIGGER storms.

Saturday we covered the hurricane events at the GR Brown and Pasadena. No one we talked to knew that our technology would eliminate the need to "board up" with heavy plywood - and would also protect them from solar heat and burglar break-ins.

Are you prepared? Email us today for a free quote.

Don't wait for the wolf blowing at the door to call

Now they are having tornado warnings in NYC!

What a strange year it has been - Major Droughts like Texas next to areas of record tornadoes--the worst in recorded history--from Tuskaloosa to Joplin, record hurricanes in Australia, and more.

What kind of wake up call do you need? All this extra heat is generating hellacious storms.

I'm reminded of the 3 little pigs story - people facing storm wolves with houses built of straw. Until people armor their glass - their weakest link - windborne debris and fierce winds will continue to knock out windows and explode buildings from internal wind pressure caused by window breach.

Armor Glass security films prevent that disaster from happening. It would have kept millions in damages to Chase Tower in Houston as windows were sucked out during Hurricane IKE. It would keep windows from blowing in from TORNADO winds hurling debris at speeds up to 175 mph and debris up to 4.5 lbs (Large Missile). And it will also cut 99% of UV that destroys your furnishings, prevent break ins, and save energy at the same time.

What is their not to love about that?

And for people in hurricane zones, Armor Glass security film eliminates the need to "board up" each time a storm threatens - a tedious chore, difficult and dangerous if not impossible one if a house has multiple stories.

Are you prepared? Don't wait for the wolf blowing at the door to call for a free quote...

It's HURRICANE season officially

Are you prepared?

In 2004 "Project Safe Windows" study of four Florida hurricanes discovered the cause of structural failure in hurricanes - windborne debris.

They found that windborne debris that breaks a window in a high-wind event causing the wind to pressurize the inside of the structure. Wind rushing in looks for a way out. The easy way out is to uplift the roof. Basically the wind explodes the building once it gets in from a break.

Our security film is designed to prevent that breach. Keep out the wind, keep on your roof. It also keeps out the rain and water damage that causes mold and extensive internal damage. And you don't have to "board up" for each storm.

We've also found that it keeps out burglars. It's solar heat reduction saves energy - enough to pay for itself.

Are you prepared? Contact us for a FREE quote today...

As Storms Grow to Joplin Size, So Must Our Protection

Rarely have we seen such a bizarre sight. Joplin’s hospital records were found 60 miles away. Winds sucked debris up to 18,000 feet (airliner height). People had no more than five minutes’ notice before all hell broke loose. There was no time to take protective action or shelter.

Joplin, Missouri needs your help right now. It needs (1) first responders helping rescue anyone trapped in the debris from one of the Earth’s Most Concentrated Energy storms – a nearly mile- wide tornado generating 198 mph winds, and (2) donations for people hit by a mother nature’s nuclear-sized bomb.

Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel was following the EF5+ tornado and witnessed people dying in front of him. At one point he was so overcome he couldn’t talk. That doesn’t happen to a guy who has seen nearly everything in dangerous storms.

A doctor said that all the windows had been blown out of the hospital. I heard a young man in Joplin on TV talk about the glass blowing in -- and the sheer hell that then descended on them. Another man talked of seeing his windows “bow.” One debris strike at that moment and the glass explodes. It had to be pretty scary.

As I’ve watched these storm disasters unfold I found myself thinking how many injuries (even death) could have been avoided from flying glass with our certified window film, which is designed to stop a glass breach that leads to structural failure.

The same thing happened in Houston during Hurricane IKE. Windows blew out for hundreds of miles inland. And IKE was only a weak CAT 1 – not a 2, 3, 4 or 5 (Katrina size) or an EF5 like Joplin experienced.

Flying glass is lethal. It’s like a glass grenade – stressed glass disintegrates into shards that spray like a shotgun blast, hitting anyone unlucky enough to be nearby. Glass is the weakest link in every building. The “Project Safe Windows” study of the 2004 hurricanes that struck Florida found that a glass breach by windborne debris is the direct cause of structural failure. Once windows break, internal winds pressurize the building and that blows off roofs, etc. A tornado does the same thing. It throws debris through glass, the weakest link – with the same result.

ANY protection would be better than what people have today – zero protection.

Our security film is designed to prevent window breach. On commercial buildings we add an attachment to keep windows from being sucked out. Even if the wind speeds exceed 175 mph, the most extreme storms, our Armor Glass security film would still contain the glass in a single piece -- instead of showering occupants with thousands of lethal shards.

Ocean temperatures this year are 2 degrees HOTTER. That extra heat makes storms bigger -- and more dangerous. Tornadoes and hurricanes are one thing. Burglars are another. We installed Armor Glass safety film on a lady’s windows on a Friday last summer. Five days later someone tried to break in. He failed. Her stuff was saved.

Do what you can to help with the rescue of people still trapped by this monster tornado, PLEASE.

Weather forecasters say that conditions could lead to another tornado outbreak by TODAY. This is the latest in a series of strange records storms that are getting all too frequent.

We can either continue facing these without armor, or with.

Joplin Missouri's Killer Tornado - How to be safer

I just returned from a trip overseas and saw the horrible news of a killer tornado that hit Joplin Missouri, destroying untold numbers of buildings and killing an unknown number of people - at least 90 are reported to have died.

Even the hospital was devastated. That is very unfortunate for more than one reason. Had the hospital installed our security window film with attachment, much of this damage could have been avoided.

Tornadoes are like hurricanes - they throw debris through the glass windows, creating killer glass shards and extensive internal damage. Our film - the same that was installed on Washington DC federal buildings in DC after 9/11 - has been rated to protect occupants from large missile strikes (up to 4.5 lbs.) and explosions (it is now rated Level 2 as well as GSA 3a/3b). It certainly would have significantly reduced the damages and injuries at a reasonable cost.

Our prayers are with the people of Joplin. I encourage anyone reading this to check out our website and ask for a free quote. The life you save could be your own or a family member...