Energy Security in the United States, May 9, 2012 “Energy use is pervasive throughout the U.S. economy. Households and businesses use energy from oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear power, and renewable sources (such as wind and the sun) to generate electricity, provide transportation, and heat and cool buildings. In 2010, energy consumption represented 8.4 percent… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: May 2012
CRS – Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues
Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues – Alison M. Smith, Legislative Attorney, May 9, 2012 “The recognition of same-sex marriages generates debate on both the federal and state levels. Either legislatively or judicially, same-sex marriage is legal in seven states. Other states allow civil unions or domestic partnerships, which grant all or part of state-level rights, benefits,… Continue Reading
OCLC Report – Lasting Impact: Sustainability of Disciplinary Repositories
“This report offers a quick environmental scan of the repository landscape and then focuses on disciplinary repositories–those subject-based, often researcher-initiated loci for research information. Written by Senior Program Officer Ricky Erway, Lasting Impact: Sustainability of Disciplinary Repositories is intended to help librarians support researchers in accessing and disseminating research information. The report includes profiles of… Continue Reading
DHS OIG – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Privacy Stewardship
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Privacy Stewardship, OIG-12-78, April 2012 “CBP has made limited progress toward instilling a culture of privacy that protects sensitive personally identifiable information. This is in part because it has not established a strong organizational approach to address privacy issues across the component. To strengthen its organizational approach to privacy, CBP… Continue Reading
Pew – Three-quarters of smartphone owners use location-based services
Mobile, Social Networking Three-quarters of smartphone owners use location-based services, by Kathryn Zickuhr, May 11, 2012 “A new report finds that 74% of smartphone owners use their phone to get real-time location-based information, and 18% use a geosocial service to check in to certain locations or share their location with friends. Over the past year,… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: Defense Management, Homelessness, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Unconventional Oil and Gas Production Opportunities
Defense Management – Actions Needed to Evaluate the Impact of Efforts to Estimate Costs of Reports and Studies, GAO-12-480R, May 10, 2012 Homelessness – Fragmentation and Overlap in Programs Highlight the Need to Identify, Assess, and Reduce Inefficiencies, GAO-12-491, May 10, 2012 Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute – Review of the Audit of the Financial Statements… Continue Reading
Chairman Bernanke – Banks and Bank Lending: The State of Play
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke At the 48th Annual Conference on Bank Structure and Competition, Chicago, Illinois. May 10, 2012 Banks and Bank Lending: The State of Play: “The banking sector overall also has substantially improved its liquidity position over the past few years. Indeed, large banks in the aggregate have more than doubled their holdings… Continue Reading
FDIC strategy for esolving systemically important financial institutions
Remarks by Martin J. Gruenberg, Acting Chairman, FDIC to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Bank Structure Conference; Chicago, IL – May 10, 2012 “Today I would like to take the opportunity to discuss one of those challenging issues the orderly resolution of systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs). The Dodd-Frank Act provided important new… Continue Reading
The Economist: New data on the amount of plastic washing around the Pacific
The Plastic Ocean: “Much of the plastic swirling around the sea ends up in the North Pacific Gyre, where four great ocean currents meet to create a swirl of water moving clockwise that is twice the size of the United States. Its less polite name is the North Pacific Garbage Patch. A new study led… Continue Reading
Census Bureau Reports Foreign-Born Households are Larger, Include More Children and Grandparents
“The U.S. Census Bureau reported today that foreign-born households are, on average, larger than native households, have more children under age 18, and are more likely to be multigenerational. The average size of foreign-born households (3.4 people) was larger than that of native-born households (2.5 people). About 62 percent of foreign-born family households included children… Continue Reading
EIA – 2011 Domestic Uranium Production Report
2011 Domestic Uranium Production Report, May 2012 “U.S. uranium exploration drilling was 5,441 holes covering 3.3 million feet in 2011. Development drilling was 5,156 holes and 3.0 million feet. Combined, total uranium drilling was 10,597 holes covering 6.3 million feet, 47 percent more holes than in 2010. Expenditures for uranium drilling in the United States… Continue Reading
EIA – Vietnam Country Analysis Brief
Vietnam: “Over the course of two decades Vietnam emerged as an important oil and natural gas producer in Southeast Asia. Vietnam has boosted exploration activities, allowed for greater foreign company investment and cooperation in the oil and gas sectors, and introduced market reforms to support the energy industry. These measures have helped to increase oil… Continue Reading
