Each year, the depleted region in Earth's protective ozone layer over the Antarctic, or "ozone hole," reaches its largest size during a period in September. Data from a NASA satellite are now in, and images created from the data reveal the extent of the hole in 2007 was about average when compared to measurements from the last few decades.
NASA studies ozone to better understand its relation to air quality and climate." Learn about the "depleted region in Earth's protective ozone layer over the Antarctic," how plants are "used to study air quality from the ground by seeing how ozone ... damages the leaves," and more.
From the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
URL: http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/ozone_resource_page.html
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Water Infrastructure
Policymakers are giving increased attention to issues associated with financing and investing in the nation’s drinking water and wastewater treatment systems, which take in water, treat it, and distribute it to households and other customers, and later collect, treat, and discharge water after use. The renewed attention is due to a combination of factors. These include financial impacts on communities of meeting existing and anticipated regulatory requirements, the need to repair and replace existing infrastructure, and concerns about paying for security-related projects.
The federal government has a long history of involvement with wastewater and drinking water systems, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) having the most significant role, both in terms of regulation and funding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also plays an important role in rural communities through its water and wastewater loan and grant programs. These programs have been popular; however, states, local communities, and others have asserted that various program gaps and limitations may be diminishing their potential effectiveness. They also point to the emergence of new infrastructure needs and issues.
Congressional interest in these issues has grown for some time and is continuing in the 110th Congress. In each of the past three Congresses, House and Senate committees acted on legislation to reauthorize and modify infrastructure financing programs in the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, but no bills were enacted. The Bush Administration has addressed water infrastructure in a number of general ways, but has not offered legislative proposals of its own. EPA’s principal initiative has been to support strategies intended to ensure that infrastructure investment needs are met in an efficient, timely, and equitable manner.
A Congressional Research Service report (Water Infrastructure Needs and Investment: Review and Analysis of Key Issues ), released on February 29, 2008, identifies a number of issues that have received attention in connection with water infrastructure investment. It begins with a review of federal involvement, describes the debate about needs, and then examines key issues, including what is the nature of the problems to be solved; who will pay, and what is the federal role; and questions about mechanisms for delivering federal support, including state-by-state allotment of federal funds. Congressional and Administration activity on these issues from the 107th to the 109th Congresses also is reviewed.
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
The federal government has a long history of involvement with wastewater and drinking water systems, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) having the most significant role, both in terms of regulation and funding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also plays an important role in rural communities through its water and wastewater loan and grant programs. These programs have been popular; however, states, local communities, and others have asserted that various program gaps and limitations may be diminishing their potential effectiveness. They also point to the emergence of new infrastructure needs and issues.
Congressional interest in these issues has grown for some time and is continuing in the 110th Congress. In each of the past three Congresses, House and Senate committees acted on legislation to reauthorize and modify infrastructure financing programs in the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, but no bills were enacted. The Bush Administration has addressed water infrastructure in a number of general ways, but has not offered legislative proposals of its own. EPA’s principal initiative has been to support strategies intended to ensure that infrastructure investment needs are met in an efficient, timely, and equitable manner.
A Congressional Research Service report (Water Infrastructure Needs and Investment: Review and Analysis of Key Issues ), released on February 29, 2008, identifies a number of issues that have received attention in connection with water infrastructure investment. It begins with a review of federal involvement, describes the debate about needs, and then examines key issues, including what is the nature of the problems to be solved; who will pay, and what is the federal role; and questions about mechanisms for delivering federal support, including state-by-state allotment of federal funds. Congressional and Administration activity on these issues from the 107th to the 109th Congresses also is reviewed.
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Medicare Part D
AARP Report Finds Brand Name Drug Prices Continue to Soar: According to a report released today by AARP, pharmaceutical companies have substantially raised prices on 220 brand name prescription drugs most commonly used by people in Medicare Part D since the implementation of the drug benefit in 2006. AARP has studied drug prices since 2002 and reported the findings in a series of Watchdog reports. Today’s report expands on the series by focusing its analysis on those brand prescription drugs most widely used by people enrolled in Medicare Part D.
The Watchdog report, which was produced by AARP’s Public Policy Institute (PPI), found that prices of brand name drugs most commonly used by people in Medicare Part D rose by an average of 7.4 percent in 2007 – nearly two and a half times the rate of general inflation. The report concludes that rising prices threaten consumers by increasing the likelihood of higher insurance premiums and the chance that people will fall into the Medicare coverage gap, and increasing the out-of-pocket expenses of those who find themselves in this “donut hole.”
The Watchdog report, which was produced by AARP’s Public Policy Institute (PPI), found that prices of brand name drugs most commonly used by people in Medicare Part D rose by an average of 7.4 percent in 2007 – nearly two and a half times the rate of general inflation. The report concludes that rising prices threaten consumers by increasing the likelihood of higher insurance premiums and the chance that people will fall into the Medicare coverage gap, and increasing the out-of-pocket expenses of those who find themselves in this “donut hole.”
Thursday, February 28, 2008
City and County Data Book, 2007
The County and City Data Book: 2007 has been released. Compiled and issued annually since the 1940s, it incorporates demographic and economic information about the United States from Census Bureau surveys, as well as information from other government and private organizations.
The data cover topics such as population, housing, vital statistics, health care, social programs, education, labor force, wholesale and retail trade, and weather. Geographic areas covered in the County and City Data Book include states, counties, cities with populations of 25,000 or more, and places with 100,000 or more residents.
The data cover topics such as population, housing, vital statistics, health care, social programs, education, labor force, wholesale and retail trade, and weather. Geographic areas covered in the County and City Data Book include states, counties, cities with populations of 25,000 or more, and places with 100,000 or more residents.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
War On Terrorism
Analysis of the Growth in Funding for Operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Elsewhere in the War on Terrorism:
If the Administration’s request for 2008 is funded in full, appropriations for military operations and other war-related activities in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the war on terrorism will rise to $188 billion this year and to a cumulative total of $752 billion since 2001. Most of the spending is concentrated in two categories—operation and maintenance, which has roughly doubled from 2004 to 2008, and procurement, which has increased tenfold over that period. The reasons for some of the increases are difficult to determine precisely because available data on the pace of operations and other factors that might affect costs are limited and because some of the funding and reporting categories are very broad. The Congressional Budget Office's analysis is based on supplemental budget requests submitted by the Administration, budget justification materials provided by the Department of Defense, reports on obligations incurred during the war, and committee reports accompanying appropriation acts.
If the Administration’s request for 2008 is funded in full, appropriations for military operations and other war-related activities in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the war on terrorism will rise to $188 billion this year and to a cumulative total of $752 billion since 2001. Most of the spending is concentrated in two categories—operation and maintenance, which has roughly doubled from 2004 to 2008, and procurement, which has increased tenfold over that period. The reasons for some of the increases are difficult to determine precisely because available data on the pace of operations and other factors that might affect costs are limited and because some of the funding and reporting categories are very broad. The Congressional Budget Office's analysis is based on supplemental budget requests submitted by the Administration, budget justification materials provided by the Department of Defense, reports on obligations incurred during the war, and committee reports accompanying appropriation acts.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Federal FY 2009 Budget Proposals
Major Savings and Reforms in the President’s FY 2009 Budget describes and provides funding levels for major discretionary and mandatory savings and reform proposals in the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget. These proposals will result in savings to taxpayers and improved Government services by eliminating or restructuring low-priority programs and programs that are not producing results. The proposals were guided by criteria that considered whether the programs met the Nation’s priorities, constituted an appropriate and effective use of taxpayer resources by the Federal Government, and produced the intended results.
In total, the Budget proposes to terminate or reduce 151 discretionary programs, reducing 2009 spending by $18 billion. These include 103 terminations saving $7 billion and 48 reductions saving $11 billion. The Budget also proposes mandatory spending reforms that will achieve an additional $16 billion in net savings in 2009, and result in $208 billion in savings through 2013. Mandatory savings proposals highlighted in this volume total $19 billion in 2009 and $233 billion through 2013, and exclude reforms that are cost-neutral or result in cost increases.
Source: Office of Management and Budget
In total, the Budget proposes to terminate or reduce 151 discretionary programs, reducing 2009 spending by $18 billion. These include 103 terminations saving $7 billion and 48 reductions saving $11 billion. The Budget also proposes mandatory spending reforms that will achieve an additional $16 billion in net savings in 2009, and result in $208 billion in savings through 2013. Mandatory savings proposals highlighted in this volume total $19 billion in 2009 and $233 billion through 2013, and exclude reforms that are cost-neutral or result in cost increases.
In total, the Budget proposes to terminate or reduce 151 discretionary programs, reducing 2009 spending by $18 billion. These include 103 terminations saving $7 billion and 48 reductions saving $11 billion. The Budget also proposes mandatory spending reforms that will achieve an additional $16 billion in net savings in 2009, and result in $208 billion in savings through 2013. Mandatory savings proposals highlighted in this volume total $19 billion in 2009 and $233 billion through 2013, and exclude reforms that are cost-neutral or result in cost increases.
Source: Office of Management and Budget
In total, the Budget proposes to terminate or reduce 151 discretionary programs, reducing 2009 spending by $18 billion. These include 103 terminations saving $7 billion and 48 reductions saving $11 billion. The Budget also proposes mandatory spending reforms that will achieve an additional $16 billion in net savings in 2009, and result in $208 billion in savings through 2013. Mandatory savings proposals highlighted in this volume total $19 billion in 2009 and $233 billion through 2013, and exclude reforms that are cost-neutral or result in cost increases.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Energy Security and Climate Change
Managing the Transition to a Secure, Low-Carbon Energy Future seeks to establish a framework for considering the complex and evolving links between energy security and climate change, and identifies three challenges: the evolving and interconnected nature of energy security and climate change definitions and goals, the variables that contribute to an uncertain future, and the trade-offs and unintended consequences involved in addressing both issues.
A workable strategy must be concerned not just with how to design a future in which climate change and energy security concerns are met, but also with the pathway to get there. To guide this transition, this brief offers several guiding principles for devising energy and climate policies that are both effective and politically viable.
Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies
A workable strategy must be concerned not just with how to design a future in which climate change and energy security concerns are met, but also with the pathway to get there. To guide this transition, this brief offers several guiding principles for devising energy and climate policies that are both effective and politically viable.
Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies
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