Alliance for Climate Protection

The mission of The Alliance for Climate Protection, founded by former U.S. vice president Al Gore, "is to persuade the American people -- and people elsewhere in the world -- of the importance and urgency of adopting and implementing effective and comprehensive solutions for the climate crisis." Its site features articles with suggestions for reducing climate change at home and at work, stories about people who are working to help solve the crisis, and video clips.

The people involved in the Alliance bring with them substantial cross-sectoral experience covering government (both public service and political), business (including energy, technology, finance and media), and civil society (within and beyond the environmental communities).

Sustainable Biofuels

Destination Iowa: Getting to a Sustainable Biofuels Future:

Iowa has made a huge investment in corn-based ethanol and reaped some benefits from the biofuels boom--but not without costs to the environment and the economy. Now it’s time for Iowa to make the investments needed to transition to the next generation of biofuels and boost renewable energy production. Destination Iowa, the first report in an exciting new partnership between the Sierra Club and the Worldwatch Institute, explains where Iowa’s bioeconomy is today, where it can go in the future, and charts a course for getting there.


Source: Sierra Club

GAO Reports and Testimonies

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released the following reports and testimonies:

--Global Health: U.S. Agencies Support Programs to Build Overseas Capacity for Infectious Disease Surveillance. GAO-07-1186 (September 28).
--Energy Efficiency: Opportunities Exist for Federal Agencies to Better Inform Household Consumers. GAO-07-1162 (September 26).
--Maritime Security: The SAFE Port Act and Efforts to Secure Our Nation's Seaports, by Stephen L. Caldwell, director, homeland security and justice issues, before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. GAO-08-86T (October 4).
--Stabilizing and Rebuilding Iraq: Serious Challenges Confront U.S. Efforts to Build the Capacity of Iraqi Ministries, by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. GAO-08-124T (October 4). --Combating Terrorism: Law Enforcement Agencies Lack Directives to Assist Foreign Nations, statement for the record by Jess T. Ford, director, international affairs and trade, before the Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism, House Committee on Homeland Security. GAO-08-144T (October 4).

Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office

Truth in Politics

FactCheck.org, from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, monitors news releases, debates, web sites, speeches, etc. for the accuracy of what political candidates are saying. A mobile version of their service has just been released.


PolitiFact, a joint project of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly, analyzes the candidates’ speeches, TV ads and interviews and determines whether the claims are accurate.


Source: Annenberg Public Policy Center, the St. Petersburg Times, and CQ

U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security

The United States House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security was created by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. It was first formed as a Select, non-permanent Committee, to provide Congressional oversight on the development of the Department of Homeland Security. The Committee was made permanent when it was designated as a Standing Committee of the House on January 4, 2005, the first day of the 109th Congress and is made up of 19 Democratic and 15 Republican Members of Congress.


Source: U.S. House of Representatives

Arctic Environmental Conditions

The NOAA State of the Arctic report is a review of environmental conditions during the past five years relative to those in the latter part of the 20th century. The review was conducted by an international group of twenty scientists who developed a consensus on information content and reliability. The report updates some of the records from the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment.
Taken collectively, the observations presented in the report show convincing evidence of a sustained period of warm temperature anomalies in the Arctic, supported by continued reduction in sea ice extent, observed at both the winter maximum and summer minimum, and widespread changes in arctic vegetation. The warming trend is tempered somewhat by shifts in the spatial patterns of land temperatures and ocean salinity and temperature. While there are still large region to region and multiyear shifts in the arctic climate, the large spatial extent of recent changes in air temperature, sea ice, and vegetation is greater than observed in the 20th Century.

Source: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/soa2006/

No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

NCLB Reauthorization Database


The Education Commission of the States (ECS) has launched its No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Reauthorization database — a single source for “who’s saying what” about renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The database captures the recommendations of 15 national organizations for revising specific NCLB requirements and provisions, as well as how recent education reform priorities should be part of the NCLB discussion. According to the ECS synthesis and analysis of 15 key education policy stakeholders across 16 issues, the greatest collective agreement emerged in the following areas:
*Allow growth models for calculating Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
*Provide more flexibility for students with disabilities and English Language Learners (ELL)
*Provide adequate funding to support NCLB requirements
*Build state and local capacity to assist low-performing schools
*Offer high-quality professional development
*Target assistance and interventions

Source: Education Commission of the States (ECS)