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Flood mitigation efforts (flood fighting), including raising awareness among local residents, have been crucial in Japan to reduce damage during flood events. In this study, interviews were conducted with three flood fighting management bodies on the Yodo and Yamato Rivers, which still have strong flood fighting corps, and field investigations were performed focusing on the actual operation of flood fighting warehouses, which serve as infrastructure bases for flood fighting. Targets included the flood fighting affairs associations on the left and right banks for the Yodo River and that on the right bank for the Yamato River. The survey results showed that with the progress of flood control measures and river improvement, opportunities to conduct actual flood fighting work during floods decreased in all cases in recent years, but flood fighting techniques and knowledge were passed on through exercises and drills. In addition, the flood fighting warehouses were well managed and maintained their functions as material and equipment storage places and as waiting and meeting places for flood fighting corps members. Considering the intensification of external flood forces due to future extreme weather changes, it was deemed that the role of the flood fighting corps is expected to increase in importance, and it was judged that preparations were being made to respond to this trend. On the other hand, there were some challenges in terms of securing a sufficient number of members due to the shortage resulting from the aging of the corps members and maintaining warehouses from a budgetary standpoint.

Omenn, AAAS President, explains how identification of \"grand challenges\" in science and at the intersection of science and society can accelerate progress for the good of the planet. He discusses some schemes for attracting people to Grand Challenges work.

As the magnitude of human impacts on the ecological systems of the planet becomes apparent, there is increased realization of the intimate connections between these systems and human health, the economy, social justice, and national security. The concept of what constitutes \"the environment\" is changing rapidly. Urgent and unprecedented environmental and social changes challenge scientists to define a new social contract. This contract represents a commitment on the part of all scientists to devote their energies and talents to the most pressing problems of the day, in proportion to their importance, in exchange for public funding. The new and unmet needs of society include more comprehensive information, understanding, and technologies for society to move toward a more sustainable biosphere-one which is ecologically sound, economically feasible, and socially just. New fundamental research, faster and more effective transmission of new and existing knowledge to policy- and decision-makers, and better communication of this knowledge to the public will all be required to meet this challenge.

The origin of cholera has been elusive, even though scientific evidence clearly shows it is a waterborne disease. However, standard bacteriological procedures for isolation of the cholera vibrio from environmental samples, including water, between epidemics generally were unsuccessful. Vibrio cholerae , a marine vibrio, requiring salt for growth, enters into a dormant, viable but nonculturable stage when conditions are unfavorable for growth and reproduction. The association of Vibrio cholerae with plankton, notably copepods, provides further evidence for the environmental origin of cholera, as well as an explanation for the sporadic and erratic occurrence of cholera epidemics. On a global scale, cholera epidemics can now be related to climate and climatic events, such as El Niño, as well as the global distribution of the plankton host. Remote sensing, with the use of satellite imagery, offers the potential for predicting conditions conducive to cholera outbreaks or epidemics.

AF: James J. McCarthy is the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard University. He has served as president of the AAAS from February 2009 to February 2010. This essay is adapted from the Presidential Address he delivered at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago on 12 February 2009.