Danielle Cotillo's Blog (21)

Topic – Natural Disaster Preparation

Tokyo, March 2021

Season 2 Episode 1

Setting: Mr. Governor’s office at in Tokyo in the early morning. Alchemy enters to speak to Mr. Governor.

Alchemy: Mr. Governor, I have important news.

Mr. Governor: What is it, Alchemy? You seem distressed.

Alchemy: I am, sir. As you have heard and seen on the news and right here in Tokyo, natural disasters around the world are growing in abundance and strength. I fear the…

I would not come to the EVOKE network for another season. The set up of the website can be confusing at times. Also, the assignments for this site can seem like busy work. Some don't seem like they are accomplishing anything or making the world a better place. The EVOKE network was a nice idea, but it needs a lot of changes.

Under the How Do People React In A Pandemic? - I liked the section titled "Five states of reaction to a disaster." I feel know this five stages is great for anyone and everyone experiencing a pandemic to understand how they and others are feeling, and what to expect next from people. The five stages are:

1.Self-Preservation
2.Group Preservation
3.Blame Setting
4.Justice Seeking
5.Renormalizing.

I found an interesting case study in CBNRM Net's collection of cases. It's titled - "A New Approach to Community Involvement in the Management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, North Queensland, Australia." To manage the area, they reached out to community members with priority going toward users most affected by the decisions made because of their jobs or location.

I love the idea of involving the community because, by involving them, I believe the chances are higher…

Pinellas County has a coastal resiliency info flyer that I found while searching the internet. It discusses hurricanes, storm surge and coast flooding and how our coast must be prepared for these natural disasters. It used the Coastal Resilience Index (CRI) low-cost self-a****sment tool to a****s how prepared coastal communities are. This is a great way to see how confident communities are to addressing a natural disaster in their area.

Link -…

The natural disaster my city is most likely to encounter in the near future is a hurricane(s). This also causes power outages. The data I would track would include: social media, what areas of city are without power, what areas are under severe flooding, etc. Urgent info from police, emergency personnel and residents would need to be collected and shared via websites and social media. The Ushahidi would be a great resource to get this info out to the public while also organizing info coming…

I followed Global Giving on Twitter so that whatever it tweets, it will be visible on my Twitter feed. This way, whenever a project or tweet catches my attention, I can share it on my own Twitter account to get the word out about projects Global Giving is promoting.

The article that caught my attention discusses women in South Sudan being encouraged to enter the journalism field. Women in South Sudan in this profession are harassed and not welcomed. Now, the Union of Journalists in South Sudan is encouraging women to enter the profession. As a PR major in the journalism college of my university, this is very exciting to me.

Link -…

This semester, now that access to my car is easier, I exchange rides with my friends for rides from them. By this I mean - If I give a friend a ride, they agree that the next time we go anywhere together, they will drive. It is a contestant back and forth of our resource (car).

Also, I have a friend that, when they pay for my food or drink one time, I pay for their food and drink the next time.

Both of these currency systems are easy to keep track of and make both parties feel…

Marc Jacobs is one of many who is now embracing social currency. His store, instead of taking money for his items, takes social media posts like Tweets and Facebook posts in exchange for products. Other stores are also getting on board with this. As a PR major, I understand that social media, word of mouth, etc. is just as powerful as money. I believe social currency is the next big thing.

Link -…

I am helping to further water security efforts done by Water.org by following and promoting them on Twitter. As a PR major, I believe social media is a great way to help get the word out about projects and organizations. My direct contribution is the power of my Retweet, Tweet and Favorite button on my Twitter account.

LifeStraw provides clean drinking water for those who live by bodies of water that are unable to be drank safely. It's cheap to purchase and provides many in developing countries with water they desperately need. http://www.buylifestraw.com/the-cause

It's Christmas Eve 2020. The sustainable energy source used to power this special day are solar panels on the roof of my home. The energy gained from the solar panels is being used to watch our favorite Christmas movies on our TV. Happy Holidays!

Something I use every day is my iPhone. Currently, to charge it, I need to plug it into an electrical outlet. Something I would invent would be a way to charge a phone by using a piece of equipment like a treadmill or stair climber at the gym. Simple plug your phone (or other device that needs to be charged) into the piece of equipment and run, step, walk, etc. to a higher charge on your device! The energy generated from the machine would charge your device while you work out. Great…

Stephen Wanyingo created a Home-made Direct Current to Alternate Current Power Inverter that is affordable and environmentally friendly. It only needs a solar panel and 12-voltage battery to run. The inverter provides communities in Kenya with power for things like lighting a home and cooking, reduces carbon dioxide emissions, reduces the amount of harmful electronics thrown away in the community, gives Kenyans a low-cost energy solution to those who live in off-grid areas and as a back up…

My roommate is graduating in a few months and entering the "real world". She has never really had to cook for herself. I have seen first-hand the way she survives off of sandwiches and Publix baked goods. Her current diet is unhealthy and could cause negative health results for her in the future.

Also, when she moves out, she will be living on her own, which means her parents and I won't be there to cook for her or help her with recipes. So, for my "act", I taught her an easy chicken…

It's March 10, 2020. I'm making dinner for my mother and myself in our sunny California home. The weather is so beautiful in California that we decided to plant a small garden in our backyard. We are growing veggies, herbs and fruits. We realized it was safer to eat fresh items that we grew ourselves to avoid pesticides and also to enjoy what our wonderful earth provides us naturally. Tonight, we are making pasta with a veggie tomato sauce. The veggies are, of course, from our garden. What…

One of the biggest challenges in the Gainesville, Florida, community when it comes to food security is the homeless population. They don't have money to afford food, so they can be seen all around Gainesville, even on our university's campus, begging for money and/or food.

One innovative solution to help with this is being done by St. Francis House in Gainesville. They have a soup kitchen that provides their 35 residents three meals a day. Lunch is provided everyday to many additional…

In 2020, I will be living along the California coast. During my days, I will be helping to protect our oceans and beaches through public relations campaign efforts. Not only will I be working on campaigns, I'll also be helping to clean up beaches myself. Beaches and oceans have always been close to my heart, so I will be doing all I can to protect them. When Alchemy calls me to help with the Tokyo food crisis, I am on a California beach cleaning up trash.

I chose to follow Ashoka Changemakers (@changemakers) on Twitter. I chose to follow them because their Twitter feed and website makes it easy to see the latest change makers around the world and what projects they are working on. They also provide information on opportunities to help with projects going on. I love that they believe everyone can be a change maker.