Abbey Abramson

  Satellite and open-data fixes Satellite and open-data fixes (you don’t need a supercomputer) You can independently check rainfall, land cover, and construction progress using open datasets and free tools. To apply these ideas in practice, consider testing one of these tools this week: Rainfall and event severity: GPM/IMERG (Global Precipitation Measurement/Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM) provides half-hourly, near-real-time precipitation estimates and long-term archives; compare an event to the local climatology (long-term weather averages) to validate whether '100-year' claims hold (NASA GPM; applications guide). Land cover and deforestation: Copernicus Global Land Cover 100 m layers offer annual land-cover classes with published accuracy; pair with national maps to check if 'restored hectares’ show up as canopy over time (areas covered by tree leaves as seen from above; Copernicus GLC). Construction progress and earthworks: Sentinel-2 optical imagery (...

  Minimum viable integrity package Metro-level realities: drainage, debris, and “cash for work” Urban floods require rapid municipal purchases—such as debris trucks, pumps, and renting excavators—as well as cash-for-work programs to clear silted drains. Evidence from multiple cities shows that even small abuses compound: a contractor bills for desilting that was never done; drain cleaning stops at the camera; PPE is invoiced but not delivered. The fix is to treat CFW and municipal buys as micro-contracts with the same disclosure defaults: unit prices, quantities, GPS-tagged photos, and quick citizen verification (OCP evidence on small-lot disclosure).  When cities publish pre-monsoon work orders, silt volumes, and GPS-logged before/after photos (as Mumbai has begun to do for key nullahs and pumping stations, alongside fines for failed performance), it becomes feasible for civic groups to spot bottlenecks and verify work in real time (Times of India, 2025a; 2025b). Minimum vi...

  Risks and emergency management in climate change Speed without “disaster capitalism”: designing controls that survive the rush Pre-disaster contracts and vendor pools The IFRC ’s Emergency Response Framework and DREF guidance say rapid response means higher risk. But this risk can be managed. Pre-qualified vendor pools, framework agreements, and vetted specifications speed procurement while reducing collusion (IFRC, 2025; IFRC DREF, 2020). Radical transparency defaults Adopt a 10-day rule : Publish every emergency contract within ten days with the supplier, including unit prices, quantities, delivery evidence, and beneficial owners. Where countries adopted ProZorro-style open data and dashboards, competition widened and savings increased (OCP, 2024; OCP impact story: Ukraine).  Emergency awards should auto-check ownership against sanctions and past performance. Blacklists should be centralized and public. Otherwise, suspended firms return under new names. The International ...

  Turning public data into public power Practical guide: turning public data into public power This section serves as a guide for citizens, journalists, and civil society organizations to independently verify, analyze, and advocate for greater transparency in climate and environmental projects. Treat each step as part of an iterative learning loop—ask, test, refine, and repeat. By viewing these practical actions as a continuous process—from setting baselines to publishing replication files—you can transform open data into meaningful oversight and accountability, echoing the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) principles discussed earlier. Step 1 — Pin down the baseline (don’t move the goalposts). Before accepting “impact,” ask: Impact against what? For floods : historic water-level or depth maps per neighborhood; baseline water-logging days. For nature-based projects: initial canopy cover and species-site plan per plot; survival targets at 12 & 36 months. Document data ...