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Daily Archives: September 12, 2014

Rocky Mountain Forests at Risk – Report

Union of Concerned Scientists – Confronting climate-driven impacts from insects, wildfires, heat, and drought: “Tens of millions of trees have died in the Rocky Mountains over the past 15 years, victims of a triple assault of tree-killing insects, wildfires, and stress from heat and drought. Global warming is the driving force behind these impacts, bringing hotter and drier conditions that amplify existing stresses, as well as cause their own effects. If climate change is allowed to continued unchecked, these impacts will significantly increase in the years ahead, dramatically reduce the ranges of iconic tree species, and fundamentally alter the Rocky Mountain forests as we know them…

A triple assault of forest impacts –

  • Tree-killing insects have infested and killed more trees, at a faster pace, for longer periods, and over more acreage in western North America than any other known infestation.
  • Large wildfires have increased throughout the Rocky Mountains in recent decades. Wildfire season is now much longer — more than two months longer — than it used to be.
  • Extreme heat and drought have stressed trees, and scientists have observed a doubling in tree mortality in recent years, even in areas undisturbed by insects and wildfires.”

New GAO Reports – Air Traffic Control System, Federal Rulemaking, Missouri River Flood and Drought

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM: Selected Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Operations, Modernization, and Structure, GAO-14-770: Published: Sep 12, 2014. Publicly Released: Sep 12, 2014. FEDERAL RULEMAKING: Agencies Included Key Elements of Cost-Benefit Analysis, but Explanations of Regulations’ Significance Could Be More Transparent [Reissued on September 12, 2014], GAO-14-714: Published: Sep 11, 2014. Publicly Released: Sep 11, 2014. MISSOURI RIVER FLOOD AND DROUGHT: Experts Agree… Continue Reading

Libraries may digitize books without permission, EU top court rules

Loek Essers – PC World: “European libraries may digitize books and make them available at electronic reading points without first gaining consent of the copyright holder, the highest European Union court ruled Thursday. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in a case in which the Technical University of Darmstadt digitized a book published by… Continue Reading

The Rise of Data Poverty in America

Daniel Castro | September 10, 2014 “Data-driven innovations offer enormous opportunities to advance important societal goals. However, to take advantage of these opportunities, individuals must have access to high-quality data about themselves and their communities. If certain groups routinely do not have data collected about them, their problems may be overlooked and their communities held… Continue Reading

Protection of Trade Secrets: Overview of Current Law and Legislation

Protection of Trade Secrets: Overview of Current Law and Legislation. Brian T. Yeh, Legislative Attorney. September 5, 2014. “A trade secret is confidential, commercially valuable information that provides a company with a competitive advantage, such as customer lists, methods of production, marketing strategies, pricing information, and chemical formulae. (Well-known examples of trade secrets include the formula for Coca-Cola, the recipe… Continue Reading

Center for Popular Economics

“The Center for Popular Economics is a nonprofit collective of political economists based in Amherst, MA. Since our founding in 1979, thousands of people have participated in our workshops and Institutes. Our programs and publications demystify the economy and put useful economic tools in the hands of people fighting for social and economic justice. We… Continue Reading

The “Islamic State” Crisis and U.S. Policy

CRS – The “Islamic State” Crisis and U.S. Policy. Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs; Christopher M. Blanchard, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs; Carla E. Humud, Analyst in Middle Eastern and African Affairs; Matthew C. Weed, Analyst in Foreign Policy Legislation; Rhoda Margesson, Specialist in; International Humanitarian Policy; Alex Tiersky, Analyst in Foreign Affairs. September 10, 2014 “The Islamic State is a… Continue Reading