“China can build its way to a more energy efficient future – one house, apartment and retail store at a time — by improving the rules regulating these structures, according to a study by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. PNNL scientists at the Joint Global Change Research Institute, a partnership with the University of Maryland in… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
December 2013 Global State of the Climate report
“Temperature anomalies and percentiles are shown on the gridded maps below. The anomaly map on the left is a product of a merged land surface temperature (Global Historical Climatology Network, GHCN) and sea surface temperature (ERSST.v3b) anomaly analysis developed by Smith et al. (2008). Temperature anomalies for land and ocean are analyzed separately and then merged… Continue Reading
NOAA: 2013 was warmer and wetter than average for contiguous United States
News release: “In 2013, the contiguous United States (CONUS) average temperature of 52.4°F was 0.3°F above the 20th century average, and tied with 1980 as the 37th warmest year in the 119-year period of record. The 2013 annual temperature marked the coolest year for the nation since 2009. The 2013 CONUS average temperature was 2.9°F cooler than the 2012… Continue Reading
GAO Report on Recent Trends in Federal Civilian Employment and Compensation
FEDERAL WORKFORCE: Recent Trends in Federal Civilian Employment and Compensation, GAO-14-215, Jan 29, 2014 “From 2004 to 2012, the federal non-postal civilian workforce grew by 258,882 employees, from 1.88 million to 2.13 million (14 percent). Permanent career employees accounted for most of the growth, increasing by 256,718 employees, from 1.7 million in 2004 to 1.96 million in… Continue Reading
Presentation on CBO’s Projections of U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2014 to 2023
Presentation by Michael Bennett, CBO Analyst, at the CRS Seminar titled The Cost of Nuclear Weapons Program and Budget Issues for Congress, January 29, 2014. Continue Reading
CBO’s Analysis of Health Care Policy
CBO’s Analysis of Health Care Policy, Presentation by Doug Elmendorf, CBO Director, to the Healthcare Leadership Council, January 29, 2014. Continue Reading
Free definitive guide to verifying digital content for emergency coverage
“Authored by leading journalists from the BBC, Storyful, ABC, Digital First Media and other verification experts, the Verification Handbook is a groundbreaking new resource for journalists and aid providers. It provides the tools, techniques and step-by-step guidelines for how to deal with user-generated content (UGC) during emergencies.” [Currently available on the web. Printed, ePub and free PDF versions… Continue Reading
CFPB – Servicemembers, you have new mortgage protections in 2014
Via Holly Petraeus, CFPB – “It’s no secret that the housing crisis in recent years was particularly hard on military families. Servicemembers and their spouses at installations around the country, and even abroad, cited problems with mortgages as some of their most serious financial challenges. But now, the CFPB has written new mortgage rules that can… Continue Reading
Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy
CRS – Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy. Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs, January 17, 2014. “Afghanistan has a history of a high degree of decentralization, and resistance to foreign invasion and occupation. Some have termed it the “graveyard of empires…The Obama Administration policy goal is to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a safe haven for… Continue Reading
CRS – Identity Theft: Trends and Issues
Identity Theft: Trends and Issues, Kristin Finklea, Specialist in Domestic Security. January 16, 2014. “Policymakers continue to be concerned with securing the economic health of the United States—including combating those crimes that threaten to undermine the nation’s financial stability. Identity theft, for one, poses both security and economic risks. By some estimates, identity fraud cost Americans nearly $21 billion in… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, Critical Infrastructure Protection
SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RELIEF ACT – Information on Mortgage Protections and Related Education Efforts, GAO-14-221, Jan 28, 2014: “The number of servicemembers with mortgages eligible for Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) mortgage protections is unknown because servicers have not collected this information in a comprehensive manner. Based on the limited and nongeneralizeable information that GAO obtained from the… Continue Reading
Report – Fixing the Broken Textbook Market
U.S. PIRG: “The cost of college textbooks has skyrocketed in recent years. To students and families already struggling to afford high tuition and fees, an additional $1,200 per year on books and supplies can be the breaking point. As publishers keep costs high by pumping out new editions and selling books bundled with software, students are… Continue Reading
