Environmental Disasters and Risk Assessment

Paper Summary:

This study explains that natural as well as man-made disasters have the potential to impact life on earth; the best defenses against natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, hurricanes and storm, are public awareness and offering the public sufficient time for evacuation. The author points out that the world's developed countries consider insurance an essential aspect of their lives, but this dependency on insurance is not shared by citizens of developing countries who might not be able to avail themselves of this facility. The paper relates that, when compared to natural disasters, many of the man-made disasters could have been prevented; understanding the risks involved in any situation is the first step to developing a successful plan to manage the risks involved.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of this Study
Importance of the Study
Scope of the Study
Rationale of the Study
Definition of Terms
Limitations of this Study
Overview of the Study
Literature Review
Natural Disasters and their Consequences
Man-Made Disaster and the Risks Associated
Life Expectancy and Risk Evaluation
Disaster Response Planning and Insurance Requirements
Methodology
Approach Used
Validity of the Study
Discussion
Summary and Conclusions

From the Paper:

"Petroleum exploration, for example, has the ability to impact regions that are geographically very far apart. Environmental issues are becoming increasingly important for the petroleum industry, which has the potential to impact the global economy on a major scale. The three sharp spikes (early 70s, late 70s and 1991) in oil prices observed over time-period of this industry have indicated just how dependent the world economy is on petroleum products. It is easy to correlate these price increases to the recessions that occurred in the U.S. and many world economies during these times. Countries therefore, in addition to investing heavily in the scouring of new petroleum reserves, are also looking for new ways to optimize the processes in their refineries. Increasing storage capacities is a major concern and a potential endeavor. This implies that countries have to build refineries to process the crude oil, support tank farms to store the crude oil before it is processed. Lastly, they have to store the finished products as well as develop shipping and land transportation (rails and roadways) to transport the oil from the supply point to the demand point. Issues such as global warming, fresh water pollution and spills on the high seas are however, forcing countries to reevaluate their strategies when dealing with the environmental issues related to this industry."

More papers on Environmental Disasters and Risk Assessment:

• Comparison Essay # 110315 : "Natural Disasters"
• Term Paper # 98900 : "Liquid Natural Gas Infrastructure Risks"
• Analytical Essay # 146552 : "Disaster Recovery at Kudler Fine Foods"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: