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Articles on Puerto Rico hurricane recovery

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A worker cuts an electricity pole downed by Hurricane Fiona in Cayey, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 18, 2022. AP Photo/Stephanie Roja

Puerto Rico’s vulnerability to hurricanes is magnified by weak government and bureaucratic roadblocks

Hurricane Fiona will set back efforts to restore Puerto Rico that date back five years to Hurricane Maria. Two scholars explain how the island’s weak institutions worsen the impacts of disasters.
A Puerto Rican man passes buildings for lease in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on May 16, 2017. Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

Puerto Rico has a plan to recover from bankruptcy — but the deal won’t ease people’s daily struggles

Puerto Rico has reached an agreement to partially settle its historic bankruptcy crisis. But public cuts to education and health care are unlikely to ease, creating ongoing challenges for Puerto Ricans
U.S. President Donald Trump is seen visiting the California town of Paradise that was devastated by forest fires. Trump has threatened to use funds allocated for disaster relief to pay for his border wall. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Disasters and disagreements: Climate change collides with Trump’s border wall

Donald Trump has threatened to use funds allocated for disaster relief to fund his border wall. It’s time to rethink how we frame disasters to stop politicians from using them for political gain.
Some Puerto Ricans had to restore downed power lines themselves after Hurricane Maria. Alvin Baez/Reuters

Puerto Rico has not recovered from Hurricane Maria

It’s been one year since a Category 4 storm turned Puerto Rico into a disaster zone. Today, nearly every pillar of society — including the economy, health care and schools — remains hobbled.
Hurricane Irma demolished Sint Maarten in the Dutch Antilles, in September 2017. The island has yet to recover. AP Photo/Carlos Giusti

How corruption slows disaster recovery

Corruption has made hurricane Caribbean countries’ recovery less efficient and more expensive, new research shows. Misuse of funds may also trigger more disaster-related deaths.
Rising seas, harsher weather, rainier days. The impacts of climate change make it harder for Caribbean countries to plan their transition toward renewable energy sources. Ricardo Rojas/Reuters

Climate change may scuttle Caribbean’s post-hurricane plans for a renewable energy boom

The 2017 hurricane season showed that Caribbean nations urgently need more resilient power grids. But the effects of climate change – including more severe storms – complicate the shift to renewables.
Farmer-led development projects in places like Tanzania, shown here, can increase access to food and water, and reconnect people to nature. (Cecilia Schubert/flickr)

How to reduce poverty and re-connect people to nature

Farmer-led development work can improve people’s lives, provide access to food and water - and re-connect them to nature.
Puerto Rico’s power utility, PREPA, has been decimated by years of scarcity and bad management. But will privatizing it really turn the lights back on for Puerto Ricans? AP Photo/Carlos Giusti

Why privatizing Puerto Rico’s power grid won’t solve its energy problems

Many Puerto Ricans are happy to see their broke power utility sold off to whoever can get the lights turned back on. But privatizing the island’s energy grid may bring more problems than relief.
Colin Kaepernick, centre, and his San Francisco teammates kneel during the national anthem before an NFL football game in 2016. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

What Colin Kaepernick can teach us about citizenship

Much of the discussion about “Take a Knee” has overlooked the issues of justice and social exclusion, and especially environmental matters. That’s something to think about during the Super Bowl.
Though much of Puerto Rico remains devastated by Hurricane Maria, people are preparing to celebrate the holidays. Lorie Shaull/flickr

Puerto Ricans aren’t giving up on Christmas

It’s said Puerto Rico has the longest Christmas in the world, a noisy two-month celebration that goes through mid-January. Can the holidays still happen in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria?

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