PREVENTION OF WMD REPORT CARD

"In December 2008, the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and
Terrorism released a unanimous threat assessment: Unless the world community acts decisively and with great
urgency, it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) will be used in a terrorist attack
somewhere in the world by the end of 2013. That weapon is more likely to be biological than nuclear." Prevent WMD ReportCard

In this Report Biological Risks received a failing grade of F.


"The lack of U.S. capability to rapidly recognize, respond, and recover from a biological attack is the most
significant failure indentified in this report card. Deterrence of bioterrorism rests upon the ability of the nation
to mitigate the effects of an attack. Unfortunately, there is no national plan to coordinate federal, state, and
local efforts following a bioterror attack, and the United States lacks the technical and operational capabilities
required for an adequate response. These technical and operational capabilities are each links in a chain,
critical to the strength of the attack response. Weakness in any capability leads to a diminished response, and
diminished effectiveness in deterring an attack."

"Rapid detection and diagnosis capabilities are the first links in the chain, followed by: providing actionable
information to federal, state, and local leaders and the general public; having adequate supplies of appropriate
medical countermeasures; quickly distributing those countermeasures; treating and isolating the sick in medical
facilities; protecting the well through vaccines and prophylactic medications; and in certain cases, such as
anthrax, environmental cleanup."

"The United States is seriously lacking in each of these vital capabilities."

State of the Union and Pandemics

President Obama called to attention the nation's extreme unpreparedness in regards to threats of bio terrorism and pandemic.  This NY Times article lays out the concerns:  Plan to Respond to Bioterrorism  


"Obama will be asking government leaders to rethink their plans for medical countermeasures so that quick, reliable and affordable antidotes will be available during any public health emergency, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said. This would be a redesign of the medical antidote system, he said." 


"In 2008, the WMD commission was also critical of the government's ability to prepare and respond to a biological attack. The government did respond to that and developed a plan to prevent the illegal spread of biological weapons, such as anthrax. Obama rolled out that plan in November." 


"Retired Air Force Col. Randy Larsen, the commission's executive director, said the government was poorly prepared for the swine flu epidemic in 2009, suggesting that the country is not positioned to respond to something more serious. He pointed to the early shortage of H1N1 vaccine despite a six-month warning from health officials that the disease would be potentially deadly."

MATERIALITY

Today we will be discussing materiality and techniques for model making.  We will look at contour modeling for typographical representation and view the material exploration work of Tara Donovan. 

Noriko Ambe
Paper Contour Models

Tara Donovan 
Tar Paper Contour

Tara Donovan

Paper Plates

AGENTS

Everyone has choose a disastrous agent as specified by the Center for Disease Control CDC to research and respond to. Here is how it breaks down:


Anthrax - Shawn, Ben, Jessica, Raven
Cholera - Tia
Small Pox - Royce, Anthony, Ashley
Plague - Rebecca, Sarah, Ryan
H1N1 Flu - Melissa, Jacob, Johnathan
Sulfur Mustard - Sarah
Radiation - Galen

QUARANTINE DAY ONE

This is day one of the Louisiana State University’s School of Architecture - ARCH 2002 Studio - focused on architecture’s response to disaster. Over the course of the semester students will be exploring concepts of quarantine, protection, prevention, and relief. The investigations and disaster scenarios will increase in magnitude and scale throughout the semester. Project 1 begins with the body and the threat of infection. You can find the syllabus and Project 1a Here: ARCH2002 SYLLABUS