“Tens of thousands of chemicals are used by industries and businesses in the United States to make the products on which our society depends, such as pharmaceuticals, clothing, and automobiles. Many of the chemicals needed to create these products are toxic, and while the majority of toxic chemicals are managed so that they are not released into the environment, some releases of toxic chemicals are inevitable. It is your right to know what toxic chemicals are being used in your community, how they are being disposed of or otherwise managed, and whether their releases to the environment are increasing or decreasing over time. The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is an EPA program that tracks the management of certain toxic chemicals that may pose a threat to human health and the environment. This information is submitted by thousands of U.S. facilities on over 650 chemicals and chemical categories under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA).”
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Daily Archives: February 17, 2015
CBO’s Economic Forecasting Record: 2015 Update
February 12, 2015 – “For nearly four decades, the Congressional Budget Office has prepared economic forecasts that underlie the agency’s projections for the federal budget and cost estimates for proposed federal legislation. In particular, forecasts of output, inflation, interest rates, and income play a significant role in the agency’s budgetary analysis; for example, projections of… Continue Reading
Most Detailed Ecological Land Units Map in the World
“Esri and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) are pleased to announce the development of the highest spatial resolution ecological land units (ELUs) map of the world ever produced. The Global ELUs map portrays a systematic division and classification of ecological and physiographic information about land surface features. The work was commissioned by the intergovernmental… Continue Reading
Proposed efficiency standard may eliminate noncondensing gas furnaces
EIA: “Following a court challenge that caused a previous proposal to be sent back for further analysis, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a new proposed rulemaking to increase the minimum efficiency standards for gas furnaces, which are mostly fueled by natural gas but also include propane furnaces. Gas furnaces are one of… Continue Reading
Household Debt Continues Upward Climb While Student Loan Delinquencies Worse
NY Fed news release: “In its Q4 2014 Household Debt and Credit Report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced that outstanding household debt increased $117 billion from the third quarter. The one percent increase puts total household indebtedness at $11.83 trillion as of December 31, 2014. Total debt has gone up $326 billion… Continue Reading
Finding Good Health Information on the Internet
Fact Sheet – “Millions of consumers get health information from magazines, TV, or the Internet. Some is reliable and up to date, some not. How can you tell the good from the bad? If you use the Web, look for an “about us” page. Check to see who runs the site. Focus on quality. Be… Continue Reading
The Politics of Selecting the Bench from the Bar: The Legal Profession and Partisan Incentives to Politicize the Judiciary
Bonica, Adam, and Maya Sen. “The Politics of Selecting the Bench from the Bar: The Legal Profession and Partisan Incentives to Politicize the Judiciary.” HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP15-001, January 2015. “The American judiciary has increasingly come under attack as polarized and politicized. Using a newly collected dataset that captures the ideological positioning… Continue Reading
New Research Paper: How Uncertainty in Climate Science Turns Good News Bad
News release: “Can good news actually be bad news when it comes to the effects of global climate change? That is the question Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Professor Richard Zeckhauser and his co-authors are attempting to answer in a new HKS Faculty Research Working Paper. Their report, titled Climate Sensitivity Uncertainty: When is Good News… Continue Reading
Persons Sentenced: Where Does Your Judge Rank?
“The number of persons sentenced by individual federal judges varies widely, with the top ranking judge in the nation — Robert C. Brack of New Mexico — having sentenced 6,708 defendants in just the last five years. This total is nearly 2,000 more than the next judge on the list. “It tears at my heart,”… Continue Reading
