Homeland Security officials have declared that failing to prepare for extreme weather events cost the U.S. $1.15 trillion from 1980 to 2010. Two years ago, 15 states had climate protection plans, now 36 states do. Delaware, which has invested in shore protection, has noted that for every dollar it has invested, it has received $10 in value back from the investment. (USA Today)   Electric grid, water management, transportation system upgrade and shore protection all seem to be slated for increased funding over the next several years.

Additionally, the conditions across the United States have caused numerous school cancellations and are creating challenges for schools to meet state class-time requirements.  Under a new Ohio law that took effect this year, districts that max out on “calamity” days can use up to three “e-learning days” to meet state class-time requirements and avoid having to add extra days on to the end of a school year.

To implement e-learning days, the state requires district teachers to post lessons and assignments online for students to complete during the snow day.  At Grandville High School in Michigan, an AP calculus teacher uses online technology for snow days to assign lessons and provides videos of herself teaching the lesson and working out sample problems, that way she doesn’t have to rush through lessons with fewer school days.   (Education Week)

These events have also created planning and budget issues for many schools and has pushed teachers to explore new ways of connecting with their students.   Out of these storms may come some helpful operational changes.  As just one example, the AP calculus teacher in Michigan now tapes most of her classes as it provides another connection for kids that are absent, or who just want to hear the lesson again.

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Kansas museum officials have proposed spending $34 million to create the National Museum of Suburbia in Overland Park.

One of America’s quintessential (and economically successful) suburbs is going to build a museum of the suburbs.  Is America ready to put the idea of “suburbs” in a museum?  We suspect the suburb will always have a place in the fabric of the American landscape, but as we have recently written, the recent renaissance of urban and downtown areas across the U.S. makes it an interesting time to suggest the suburbs merit a position in history.

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This is yet another example of airlines doing whatever they can to save on fuel prices. We expect to see more moves in the transportation market to mitigate one of their biggest expenses. Meanwhile, the market for tablets and the reasons for corporations to purchase them continue to grow.

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Some might assume that the rising expression of desire for transit-oriented communities is coming only from liberal bastions and hipster havens like San Francisco,Boston andPortland, but here we see those desires being expressed by majorities in a metropolitan region as politically and economically diverse as metroHouston. Perhaps,Houston is turning into a land of peace-flag-waving, soy-latte sippers? We doubt it.

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While the focus of the announcement is on the sales tax, we see an even more intriguing possibility as Amazon builds these distribution centers. Amazon has previously announced the desire to offer same-day shipping, which in part explains the company’s recent purchase of robotics-firm Kiva Systems. Could Amazon be gearing up to launch same-day shipping in the densely settledNew York City metropolitan region? With transportation costs high, we see an increased desire among consumers to avoid driving from big-box store to big-box store to find an item. Amazon appears to be getting ready to service these convenience-oriented customers.

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