Census Information

From the Census Department:

Statistics: Minority Population Tops 100 Million (U.S.)

The nation’s minority population reached 100.7 million, according to the national and state estimates by race, Hispanic origin, sex and age released by the U.S. Census Bureau. A year ago, the minority population totaled 98.3 million…California had a minority population of 20.7 million — 21 percent of the nation’s total. Texas had a minority population of 12.2 million — 12 percent of the U.S. total.

There were other milestones reached as well during the July 1, 2005, to July 1, 2006, period: The nation’s black population surpassed 40 million, while the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander group reached the 1 million mark.

Hispanic remained the largest minority group, with 44.3 million on July 1, 2006 — 14.8 percent of the total population. Black was the second-largest minority group, totaling 40.2 million in 2006. They were followed by Asian (14.9 million), American Indian and Alaska Native (4.5 million), and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (1 million). The population of non-Hispanic whites who indicated no other race totaled 198.7 million in 2006.

See Also: National Characteristics of U.S. Population

Environment-Global Warming

From NPR and National Geographic:

Climate Connections

This yearlong exploration of climate change throughout the world provides news and features about energy, fuel efficiency, carbon emissions, effects of climate change on plants and animals, activism, and other environmental topics.

Also includes video clips, podcasts, images, and an interactive map showing coverage and conditions around the globe.
URL: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9657621

National Parks

From the National Parks Service:

Searchable E-book: U.S. National Parks List


Search a database of over 400 National Parks from the National Parks Service. The U.S. National Park Service cares for and protects national parks. People from all around the world visit national parks.

There are nearly 400 natural, cultural and recreational sites across the nation. This eBook provides name, location, contact information and a short description for over 400 National Parks, monuments, historical sites, and more.

Homeland Security

UN counter-terrorism body launches online information assistance

New: Counter-Terrorism Technical Assistance Database

The Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate has launched an online database containing information about technical assistance both requested by and provided to States.

Energy and Climate Change

From the World Resources Institute:

A comparison of selected energy options, with respect to energy security and climate change impact.

Full PDF version of chart (609 KB)

Background information (PDF; 479 KB)

U.S. policymakers are now considering a range of options to address the issues of future U.S. energy security and climate change. Energy policies are often proposed to address some combination of these. Yet not all policy options have equal impacts across both, and many options have negative impacts with respect to one or the other.

Green Power Partners

From the Environmental Protection Agency -

Lists & Rankings:

EPA’s National Top 25 Green Power Partners


1. PepsiCo
2. Wells Fargo & Co.
3. Whole Foods Market
4. U.S. Air Force
5. Johnson & Johnson
6. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
7. Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts
8. Starbucks
9. DuPont Co.
10. U.S. Department of Energy
11. Vail Resorts Inc.
12. HSBC North America
13. Cisco Systems Inc.
14. Staples
15. New York University
16. The World Bank Group
17. University of Pennsylvania
18. IBM Corp.
19. U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs
20. NatureWorks LLC
21. Sprint Nextel
22. Safeway Inc.
23. Pennsylvania State University
24. Kohl’s Department Stores
25. Nike Inc.

Civil Rights Web sites

From the Library of Congress:

New from LC: Civil Rights Resource Guide

This guide provides links to Library of Congress and external Web sites focusing on civil rights and a bibliography containing selections for both general and younger readers.