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Daily Archives: May 14, 2017

Threats on Tap: Widespread Violations Highlight Need for Investment in Water Infrastructure and Protections

NRDC: “America has a drinking water crisis. An NRDC study has found that contaminants that may harm human health are found in tap water in every state in the nation. Established in 1974, the Safe Drinking Water Act is one of our bedrock environmental laws, consisting of rules that regulate about 100 contaminants found in drinking water. NRDC has documented serious problems with our outdated and deteriorating water infrastructure, widespread violations and inadequate enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act for more than 25 years. Our analysis shows that in 2015 alone, there were more than 80,000 reported violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act by community water systems. Nearly 77 million people were served by more than 18,000 of these systems with violations in 2015. These violations included exceeding health-based standards, failing to properly test water for contaminants, and failing to report contamination to state authorities or the public. What’s worse, 2015 saw more than 12,000 health-based violations in some 5,000 community water systems serving more than 27 million people.”

Freedom of the Press 2017 – Press Freedom’s Dark Horizon

Key Global Findings 2017 “Global press freedom declined to its lowest point in 13 years in 2016 amid unprecedented threats to journalists and media outlets in major democracies and new moves by authoritarian states to control the media, including beyond their borders. Only 13 percent of the world’s population enjoys a Free press—that is, a… Continue Reading

Global Open Data Index 2016/2017

The Global Open Data Index 2016/2017 – Advancing the State of Open Data Through Dialogue – “The Global Open Data Index (GODI) is the annual global benchmark for publication of open government data, run by the Open Knowledge Network. Our crowdsourced survey measures the openness of government data according to the Open Definition. By having… Continue Reading

Trends in Prevailing Wage Laws, 2017

Council of State Governments: “Prevailing wage laws are laws created by state governments or local municipalities to set a rate of pay that is thought to be standard for a labor group contracted to do public-sector projects in that area. The standard rate of pay is oftentimes determined by analyzing local wage data and identifying… Continue Reading

NYT – With New Digital Tools, Even Nonexperts Can Wage Cyberattacks

The New York Times: “The ransomware tactic behind a global cyberattack on Friday was nothing new. But new digital tools mean that hackers “don’t even need to have any skills to do this anymore.” Attack May Worsen Monday, It Is Feared – “The effects of Friday’s attack could be magnified as workers return to their… Continue Reading

Paper – Using Facebook Ads Audiences for Global Lifestyle Disease Surveillance: Promises and Limitations

Using Facebook Ads Audiences for Global Lifestyle Disease Surveillance: Promises and Limitations – “Every day, millions of users reveal their interests on Facebook, which are then monetized via targeted advertisement marketing campaigns. In this paper, we explore the use of demographically rich Facebook Ads audience estimates for tracking non-communicable diseases around the world. Across 47… Continue Reading

Paper – Demographics of News Sharing in the U.S. Twittersphere

Demographics of News Sharing in the U.S. Twittersphere – “The widespread adoption and dissemination of online news through social media systems have been revolutionizing many segments of our society and ultimately our daily lives. In these systems, users can play a central role as they share content to their friends. Despite that, little is known… Continue Reading

Climate change already forcing 17 U.S. communities to move, new analysis says

“…a new report, released (May 3) by the Center for Progressive Reform, lays out other ways for indigenous communities to buy land as their homes buckle from melting permafrost or are swallowed by rising seas. One of the report’s three authors, Loyola University law professor Robert R.M. Verchick, said he hopes that the analysis achieves two things: That… Continue Reading