Earthrise on Christmas Eve

	Earthrise December 24, 1968 Peace on earth, good will to all

A mountain wind falling on oak trees

	not one girl I think who looks on the light of the sun will ever have wisdom like this — Sappho, Fragment 56, in Anne Carson, If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho (2002)
Worshiping Women: Ritual and Reality in Classical Athens: [T]he commanding female deities in the Greek pantheon . . . . [l]ike most gods in most cultures . . . are moody, contradictory personalities, above-it-all in knowledge but quick to play personal politics and intervene in human fate.

The wonders of a pitiful, dreadful life

Almost precisely a year to the day after the publication of Other People's Children and Marie Reilly's meditations on the Bailey Building & Loan Association comes Wendell Jamieson's fantastically insightful reexamination of It's a Wonderful Life:

“It’s a Wonderful Life” is anything but a cheery holiday tale. . . . “It’s a Wonderful Life” is a terrifying, asphyxiating story about growing up and relinquishing your dreams, of seeing your father driven to the grave before his time, of living among bitter, small-minded people. It is a story of being trapped, of compromising, of watching others move ahead and away, of becoming so filled with rage that you verbally abuse your children, their teacher and your oppressively perfect wife. It is also a nightmare account of an endless home renovation.

I wholeheartedly agree. This year's obligatory viewing of It's a Wonderful Life reminds me that any wise man would swiftly trade all the places, geographic and metaphysical, that he can reach through planes, trains, automobiles, and an Ivy League degree — fifteen countries, four continents, and three languages, if you insist on counting — for devotion worthy of Mary Hatch Bailey and his children's confidence that he really can fix everything complex as well as he can build a rose.

Multimedia bonus: It's a Wonderful Life

Literary Warrant [39]

Sequentia, Aquitania: Christmas Music from Aquitanian Monasteries, 12th Century ([Germany]: Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, p1997)
A gem of a recital of early music celebrating Christmas. Happy holidays, all.--DCR

• Kevin A. Borden & Susan L. Cutter, Spatial Patterns of Natural Hazards Mortality in the U.S., International Journal of Health Geographics, 7:64 (doi:10.1186/1476-072X-7-64) (December 17, 2008)
  
  "Studies on natural hazard mortality are most often hazard-specific (e.g. floods, earthquakes, heat), event specific (e.g. Hurricane Katrina), or lack adequate temporal or geographic coverage. This makes it difficult to assess mortality from natural hazards in any systematic way. This paper examines the spatial patterns of natural hazard mortality at the county-level for the U.S. from 1970-2004 using a combination of geographical and epidemiological methods."—Abstract.


• Committee for Review of the Federal Strategy to Address Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Needs for Engineered Nanoscale Materials, Committee on Toxicology, National Research Council of the National Academies, Review of Federal Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research (Prepublication copy) (2008)
  
  "The field of nanotechnology relies on the ability to engineer, manipulate, and manufacture materials at the nanoscale1. Nanotechnology is already enabling the development of an industry that produces and uses engineered nanomaterials in a wide variety of industrial and consumer products, such as targeted drugs, video displays, remediation of groundwater contaminants, high performance batteries, dirt-repelling coatings on building surfaces and clothing, high-end sporting goods, and skin-care products. Over the next five to ten years, increasingly widespread use of complex engineered nanomaterials is anticipated in such products as medical treatments, super-strong lightweight materials, food additives, and advanced electronics. The increasing use of engineered nanoscale materials in industrial and consumer products will result in greater exposure of workers and the general public to these materials. Responsible development of nanotechnology implies a commitment to develop and to use these materials to meet human and societal needs while making every reasonable effort to anticipate and mitigate adverse effects and unintended consequences."—Summary.

Read the rest of this post . . .

• Manuel A. Diaz, Mayor of Miami, President & Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director, United States Conference of Mayors, "Ready to Go": Jobs and Infrastructure Projects, Mainstreet Economic Recovery (Release no. 2) (December 8, 2008)
  
  "Today we are reporting that in 427 cities of all sizes in all regions of the country, a total of 11,391 infrastructure projects are 'ready to go.' These projects represent an infrastructure investment of $73,163,299,303 that would be capable of producing an estimated 847,641 jobs in 2009 and 2010." Includes approximately 600 pages of tables enumerating projects.


• Miguel Esteban et al., United Nations University, Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), Innovation in Responding to Climate Change: Nanotechnology, Ocean Energy and Forestry (2008)
  
  "In this report we begin by highlighting specific examples of how technological innovation is being implemented, some of the potential advantages of these innovations and the new challenges they in turn raise. The main conclusion is that solutions to the energy problem already exist. They are the result of decades of research and development, and are already at the first stages of commercialization. Furthermore, these solutions are the result of considerable investment in research and development by the private sector. It is therefore possible that, given adequate government leadership, clear market signals and regulatory frameworks, the private sector will continue to play a significant role in developing innovative responses to climate change."—Executive Summary.


• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Declaration of the Ministerial Conference on Water for Agriculture and Energy in Africa: The Challenges of Climate Change (Sirte/08/Declaration) (December 15-17, 2008)
  
  "The Conference, which brought together ministers from 53 African countries, recognized that the challenges faced by the continent concerning food security, achieving the Millennium Development Goals, increased energy demand and combating climate change required all countries to move together."—Press release.


• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Natural Resources and Environment Department & FAO Sub-Regional Office for the Pacific Islands (SAP), Climate Change and Food Security in Pacific Island Countries (2008)
  
  "The overall purpose of this paper is to address food security and poverty reduction in the face of climate change and energy security. It attempts to bring to the fore food security threats associated with climate change in the food production and supply environments, as well as the broader livelihood and ecological changes that will occur as a consequence. Recognizing the different geographical regions around the Pacific and how climate change would impact on their food security situations opens up new opportunities for understanding why changes happen. An attempt will also be made to address how Pacific Islanders can be assisted to enhance their capacity to reduce risk and make optimal use of current climate resources in order to capitalize on benefits that may arise due to the changing climate. In doing so, it will attempt to highlight some of the current impacts of climate change reported by Pacific Island Countries in their national communications to the UNFCCC and their National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs), and what attempts have been made to seriously address these issues. It is recognized that climate change is an additional stress that needs to be managed by the agricultural and broader development communities but it should also be emphasized that climate change will further exacerbate current development stresses that are already plaguing the agriculture community and national governments. This paper will try to draw out these links and discuss ways to proactively address the situation now rather then later."—Introduction.


• William O. Jenkins, Jr., Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues, United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Actions Taken to Implement the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (November 21, 2008)
  
  "This letter describes the actions FEMA and DHS have taken in response to the act’s provisions, areas where FEMA and DHS must still take action, and any challenges to implementation that FEMA and DHS officials identified during our discussions with them. In general, we found that FEMA and DHS have made some progress in their efforts to implement the act since it was enacted in October 2006. For most of the provisions we examined, FEMA and DHS had at least preliminary efforts underway to address them. However, we have identified a number of areas that still require action, and it is clear that FEMA and DHS have work remaining to implement the provisions of the act. This letter provides information, at a high level, on the status of implementation efforts for the entire act. We have not made an assessment of the quality or likely outcomes of any of the actions that have been taken. Additional focused evaluation in selected areas, and, in some cases more time for efforts to mature, will be required in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken to implement the law on enhancing the nation’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters."


• Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security, On the Homefront (blog), Climate Change Activity Today (December 11, 2008)
  
  "First, the California Air Resources Board today approved an October 2008 plan to aggressively combat climate change in the state.
  
  "On another note, the U.S. Senate Minority Environment and Public Works Committee released a Minority Staff report which cites a coalition of 650 international scientists skeptical of man-made global warming as further evidence that challenges common notions about climate change."


• Miriam Rotkin-Ellman et al., Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Deepest Cuts: Repairing Health Monitoring Programs Slashed Under the Bush Administration (NRDC Issue Paper) (December 2008)
  
  "During the eight years of the Bush Administration, the federal government has quietly eliminated or crippled more than a dozen essential monitoring programs. Budget cuts, restructuring, program termination, and removal of industry reporting requirements have been steadily undermining or eliminating the information that alerts us to problems in our air, water, food, or communities. Programs that directly track human health have also been slashed, creating gaps in our information about infectious disease outbreaks, chemical exposures in people, and chronic disease."—Executive Summary.


• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), New Climate Change Publications
  
  Includes links to full text of some publications. See also UNEP and Climate Change for additional new reports on partnerships and UNEP strategy.


• United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Carbon and Biodiversity: A Demonstration Atlas (2008)
  
  "This atlas demonstrates the potential for spatial analyses to identify areas that are high in both carbon and biodiversity. Such areas will be of interest to countries that wish to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land use change and simultaneously conserve biodiversity."—Introduction.


• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznań (December 1-12, 2008)
  
  "At Poznań, the finishing touches were put to the Kyoto Protocol’s Adaptation Fund, with Parties agreeing that the Fund would be a legal entity granting direct access to developing countries. Progress was also made on a number of important ongoing issues that are particularly important for developing countries, including: adaptation; finance; technology; reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD); and disaster management."


• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Inspector General (OIG), EPA’s California Waiver Decision on Greenhouse Gas Automobile Emissions Met Statutory Procedural Requirements (Office of Counsel Legal Review, Report No. 09-P-0056) (December 9, 2008)
  
  "This is in response to your January 2, 2008, letter requesting that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigate whether the decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deny California's request for a waiver to implement a law to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from automobiles deviated from standard protocols. As I noted in my March 17, 2008, correspondence to you, we have narrowed the focus of our review to address whether the statutory requirements related to the waiver decision were met.... As discussed below, we determined that the statutory requirements were met."—Letter from Bill A. Roderick, Deputy Inspector General, to the Honorable Dianne Feinstein Chairman Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Committee on Appropriations United States Senate.


• United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Disaster Recovery: FEMA’s Public Assistance Grant Program Experienced Challenges with Gulf Coast Rebuilding (Report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, GAO-09-129) (December 2008)
  
  "GAO was asked to examine the amount of PA grants FEMA has provided for rebuilding the Gulf Coast; challenges in the day-to-day operation of the PA program; and human capital challenges; as well as actions taken to address them. Toward this end, GAO reviewed relevant laws, PA regulations and procedures, and analyzed data from FEMA’s National Emergency Management Information System. GAO also interviewed federal officials from FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding as well as more than 60 officials from state government and eight localities in Louisiana and Mississippi."—Why GAO Did This Study.


• United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Federal Efforts to Assist Group Site Residents with Employment, Services for Families with Children, and Transportation (Report to Congressional Requesters, GAO-09-81) (December 2008)
  
  "FEMA located more than 500 group sites, housing over 20,000 households over time, throughout counties in Louisiana and Mississippi. About another 106,000 households received trailers that were placed on their property while repairs were being made to their homes. The majority of group sites had less than 50 households, although some group sites had several hundred households residing in them. Most of the households who were placed in group sites reported that they were renters before the storm. While the majority of individuals who received a FEMA trailer reported being employed, about 65 percent reported less than $20,000 in income. About one-fifth reported no source of income, in some cases, they were unemployed and disabled. While FEMA does not update data on group site residents to reflect current employment status or income levels, some state and FEMA officials we spoke with in early 2008 stated that those who remained in the sites the longest were the hardest to serve people including the elderly, persons with disabilities, and unemployed people."—Results in Brief.


• United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Flood Insurance: FEMA’s Rate-Setting Process Warrants Attention (Report to the Ranking Member, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate, GAO-09-12) (October 2008)
  
  "In response to the questions that have been raised about NFIP’s financial condition, this report evaluates (1) FEMA’s process for setting full-risk premiums to determine whether it produces rates that accurately reflect the risk of flooding and (2) the process that FEMA uses to set subsidized rates and their financial impact on NFIP."—Letter from Orice Williams, Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment, GAO, to the Honorable Richard C. Shelby Ranking Member, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, United States Senate (October 30, 2008)


• United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Flood Insurance: Options for Addressing the Financial Impact of Subsidized Premium Rates on the National Flood Insurance Program (Report to the Ranking Member, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate, GAO-09-20) (November 2008)
  
  "The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agency that administers the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), estimates that subsidized properties—those that receive discounted premium rates that do not fully reflect the properties’ actual flood risk—experience as much as five times the flood damage as properties that do not qualify for subsidized rates. Almost one in every four residential policies has subsidized rates that are on average 35-40 percent of the full-risk rate. Unprecedented losses from the 2005 hurricane season and NFIP’s periodic need to borrow from the Department of the Treasury to pay flood insurance claims has raised concerns about the impact that subsidized premium rates have on the longterm financial solvency of NFIP. GAO designated NFIP as high-risk in March 2006; as of June 2008, NFIP’s debt stood at $17.4 billion.
  
  "This report (1) provides information on NFIP’s inventory of subsidized properties and (2) examines NFIP’s current approach to subsidized properties and the advantages and disadvantages of options for reducing the costs associated with these properties."—Why GAO Did This Study.


• United States Senate, Environment and Public Works Committee, U. S. Senate Minority Report: More Than 650 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims Scientists Continue to Debunk "Consensus" in 2008 (December 11, 2008)
  
  "Over 650 dissenting scientists from around the globe challenged man-made global warming claims made by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and former Vice President Al Gore. This new 231-page U.S. Senate Minority Report—updated from 2007’s groundbreaking report of over 400 scientists who voiced skepticism about the so-called global warming "consensus"—features the skeptical voices of over 650 prominent international scientists, including many current and former UN IPCC scientists, who have now turned against the UN IPCC. This updated report includes an additional 250 (and growing) scientists and climate researchers since the initial release in December 2007. The over 650 dissenting scientists are more than 12 times the number of UN scientists (52) who authored the media-hyped IPCC 2007 Summary for Policymakers."—Introduction.


• Henry A. Waxman, Chairman, Committee on Government and Oversight Reform & James L. Oberstar, Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, United States House of Representatives, Letter to President-elect Barack Obama (December 16, 2008)
  
  "We are writing to provide you with the results of an extensive joint investigation by our Committee staffs that finds that the federal government's Clean Water Act enforcement program has been decimated over the past two years, imperiling the health and safety of the nation's waters. We are forwarding a memorandum that summarizes the investigation and provides the results of a review of more than 20,000 pages of documents produced to the Committees by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers."

Dogs know

Friederike Range of the University of Vienna confirms what dog owners have always known: dogs don't appreciate being treated unfairly. The popular press calls it envy; Dr. Range prefers the term inequity aversion. Either way, dogs know. And in case we've forgotten, so do people.

Literary Warrant [38]

Handelingenkamer Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal den Haag from Candida Höfer, Libraries (London: Thames & Hudson, 2005)

"The spirit of rhetoric trumps the spirit of modern philosophy—not quite canceling its dark vision but placing it in a context of ongoingness exemplified by the sense that invention is always available if one can stop fretting over matters of identity."—Charles Altieri, The Art of Twentieth-Century American Poetry: Modernism and After 208 (Oxford: Blackwell, 2006)
(on John Ashbery's Pyrography)

• American Bar Association (ABA), Legal Services Corporation, National Legal Aid and Defender Association & Pro Bono Net, National Disaster Legal Aid
  
  "A new Web site launched by four national legal organizations will help victims of disasters find valuable information and assistance to speed recovery from hurricanes, fires, floods or other disasters."—Press release (November 17, 2008)


• Ingrid Barnsley, United Nations University, Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing countries (REDD): A Guide for Indigenous Peoples (Pocket Guide) (2008)
  
  "In the context of the increasing global focus on climate change, attention is being paid to the role of the forestry sector in contributing to and fighting climate change. In particular, this includes a recent focus on opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries known as 'REDD'. Such activities can present both risks to and opportunities for the interests and rights of Indigenous peoples. For this reason, it is vital that Indigenous communities have accurate information to help them make, and participate in, REDD-related decisions that may affect them."—About this Guide.

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• Deloitte & Touche LLP, How Green is the Deal? The Growing Role of Sustainability in M&A (2008)
  
  "The 'greening' of products and business operations has become a central theme in virtually every industry. In today’s environment, companies that have strong corporate responsibility and sustainability (CR&S) programs in place are likely to be rewarded for their efforts. As CR&S wields growing influence on the strategy and operations of a company, so too will it become an increasingly important aspect of mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
  
  "In this paper, we provide an outline of six key areas of focus for executives, and discuss how greater consideration of sustainability related issues, when evaluating potential M&A transactions, can help to improve deal success."


• DLR, Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, Department of Systems Analysis and Technology Assessment, Stuttgart, Germany, energy [r]evolution: A Sustainable World Energy Outlook
  
  "The energy [r]evolution is an independently produced report that provides a practical blueprint for how to half global CO2 emissions, while allowing for an increase in energy consumption by 2050. By dividing the world into 10 regions, with a global summary, it explains how existing energy technologies can be applied in more efficient ways. It demonstrates how a ‘business as usual’ scenario, based on IEA’s World Energy Outlook projections, is not an option for environmental, economic and security of supply reasons."


• Jeffrey Greenblatt, Google.org, Clean Energy 2030: Google's Proposal for Reducing U.S. Dependence on Fossil Fuels (November 20, 2008)
  
  "The energy team at Google has been analyzing how we could greatly reduce fossil fuel use by 2030. Our proposal—"Clean Energy 2030"—provides a potential path to weaning the U.S. off of coal and oil for electricity generation by 2030 (with some remaining use of natural gas as well as nuclear), and cutting oil use for cars by 44%."—Summary.


• David W. Guth & Gordon A. Alloway, University of Kansas, Untapped Potential: Evaluating State Emergency Management Agency Web Sites 2008 (Findings of the University of Kansas Transportation Research Institute-funded study "Crisis Communications: Evaluating Effectiveness of State Emergency Management Web Sites") (Project Number: FED45344)
  
  "The analysis of the data suggests that state emergency planners need greater recognition of the value of the Internet and other social media. This is especially true when communicating with the public and journalists during crises. While the public information officers who responded to the online survey indicated that the public was the primary focus of their agency’s Web sites, the content analysis of those sites suggested that their focus was actually directed toward internal publics, such as first responders and local emergency management officials. The study went on to suggest that greater strategic planning of agency Web sites is needed. Considering these findings, it should not come as a surprise that public information officers said they felt that journalists and legislators have a greater understanding of their agency’s mission than the public. And while survey respondents said the Internet is of some value as a medium of emergency communications, most felt it was not as valuable as traditional media, such as radio and television. This attitude conflicts with the experience of recent natural disasters, such as the California wildfires and the Virginia Tech shootings."—Executive Summary.


• International Energy Agency (IEA), World Energy Outlook 2008 (WEO)
  
  "In the WEO-2008 Reference Scenario, which assumes no new government policies, world primary energy demand grows by 1.6% per year on average between 2006 and 2030—an increase of 45%. This is slower than projected last year, mainly due to the impact of the economic slowdown, prospects for higher energy prices and some new policy initiatives. Demand for oil rises from 85 million barrels per day now to 106 mb/d in 2030—10 mb/d less than projected last year. Demand for coal rises more than any other fuel in absolute terms, accounting for over a third of the increase in energy use. Modern renewables grow most rapidly, overtaking gas to become the second-largest source of electricity soon after 2010. China and India account for over half of incremental energy demand to 2030 while the Middle East emerges as a major new demand centre. The share of the world’s energy consumed in cities grows from two-thirds to almost three-quarters in 2030. Almost all of the increase in fossil-energy production occurs in non-OECD countries. These trends call for energy-supply investment of $26.3 trillion to 2030, or over $1 trillion/year. Yet the credit squeeze could delay spending, potentially setting up a supply-crunch that could choke economic recovery."—Press release (November 12, 2008)


• Nicholas S. Kelley & Michael T. Osterholm, University of Minnesota, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), Pandemic Influenza, Electricity, and the Coal Supply Chain: Addressing Crucial Preparedness Gaps in the United States (November 2008)
  
  "A coal shortage during an influenza pandemic portends grim outcomes. With this report, we attempt to conceptualize what happens when a pandemic disrupts the supply chain for coal, the fuel nearly half of the United States relies upon for electricity—the cornerstone of public health and organizational continuity. We believe the nation must reduce the risk that a pandemic poses to the generation of electricity and prevent the collateral damage the nation faces without electricity. We offer four recommendations based on our analysis of the coal supply chain and government guidance and plans."—Abstract. Registration required.


• David M. Morens, Gregory K. Folkers & Anthony S. Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Emerging infections: a perpetual challenge, The Lancet, v.8 (November 2008)
  
  "Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, and their determinants, have recently attracted substantial scientific and popular attention. HIV/AIDS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, H5N1 avian influenza, and many other emerging diseases have either proved fatal or caused international alarm. Common and interactive co-determinants of disease emergence, including population growth, travel, and environmental disruption, have been increasingly documented and studied. Are emerging infections a new phenomenon related to modern life, or do more basic determinants, transcending time, place, and human progress, govern disease generation? By examining a number of historically notable epidemics, we suggest that emerging diseases, similar in their novelty, impact, and elicitation of control responses, have occurred throughout recorded history. Fundamental determinants, typically acting in concert, seem to underlie their emergence, and infections such as these are likely to continue to remain challenges to human survival."— Abstract.


• National Academy of Public Administration, Saving Our History: A Review of National Park Cultural Resource Programs (Octboer 2008)
  
  "Historically, NPS [National Park Service] has allocated funding and staff primarily based on assessments of parks’ needs. Since the mid-1990s, NPS has developed various systems and tools to set strategic goals, measure performance, and factor performance and efficiency into budget allocations and management decisions at all levels. Although NPS managers now have many useful measures and tools to inform decision-making, the Panel finds room for improvement in NPS stewardship of park cultural resources."—Executive Summary.


• National Parks Conservation Association, Mandates, Economic Impacts, and Local Concerns: Who Should Manage Mount St. Helens? (November 20, 2008)
  
  "Congress established Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument to, 'protect geologic, ecologic, and cultural resources,' while simultaneously recognizing the irreplaceable opportunity for scientists and tourists alike to observe the natural recovery of a devastated environment. These purposes require both protection of the Mount St. Helens landscape, as well as development of access to the educational and recreational opportunities the mountain has to offer. We conclude in this Report that these dual goals would be best achieved if Congress placed Mount St. Helens under the management of the National Park Service ('NPS'). The NPS has the appropriate mandate, the appropriate funding mechanisms, and the appropriate management experience to properly balance the competing interests of use and preservation to meet the goals that Congress established and the promise that Mount St. Helens holds for future generations."—Introduction.


• National Wildlife Federation, More Variable and Uncertain Water Supply: Global Warming’s Wake-Up Call for the Southeastern U.S. (2008)
  
  "The Southeast should plan for increasing variability in water supply. By making better use of existing water infrastructure and improving water-use efficiency, the water system can be made more reliable and resilient. Riskbased, integrated watermanagement will help meet the multiple demands from communities, agriculture, and industry, while still addressing flood control, reducing energy usage, and protecting clean water, fish, and wildlife."


• Julie Rehmeyer, Science News, Florence Nightingale: The Passionate Statistician (November 28, 2008)
  
  "Nightingale created many novel graphics to present statistics that would persuade Queen Victoria of the need to improve sanitary conditions in military hospitals. The area of each region shows the number of soldiers who died of wounds, disease, or other causes, during each month of the Crimean War."


• Scott Russell, Nanotechnology: What Is It and Why Do Law Librarians Need to Know About It? (November 30, 2008)
  
  "Future studies linking nanotechnology to any adverse issue could lead to litigation for a firm client. It is here where a basic knowledge of what nanotechnology is, or at least a knowledge of where to go to get information on it, could prove helpful for law librarians. Concerns about exposure could lead to various tort claims, as well as cases involving consumer fraud. From an employment law perspective, workplace exposure or disability claims could be filed. Intellectual property disputes have already been filed regarding licensing issues on certain nanotechnologies both in the U.S. and U.K. It is too soon to say if this emerging technology will lead to any mass litigation, but it is clear that use and exposure to nano materials will grow in the coming years."


• Corinne J. Schuster-Wallace et al., United Nations University, International Network on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), Safe Water as the Key to Global Health (2008)
  
  "Access to safe and affordable water is considered a basic human right. Policies at various levels and their implementation, however, do not reflect this principle. Improved access to clean water can reduce diarrhoea and waterborne diseases by at least 25%; improved sanitation is accompanied by more than a 30% reduction in child mortality. This urgent global challenge is pragmatically achievable, politically feasible and ethically important."—Summary for Decision-Makers.


• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Atmospheric Brown Clouds: Regional Assessment Report with Focus on Asia (2008)
  
  "The build-up of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and the resulting global warming pose major environmental threats to Asia’s water and food security. Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, halocarbons and ozone in the lower atmosphere (below about 15 km) are the major gases that are contributing to the increase in the greenhouse effect.
  
  "In a similar fashion, increasing amount of soot, sulphates and other aerosol components in atmospheric brown clouds (ABCs) are causing major threats to the water and food security of Asia and have resulted in surface dimming, atmospheric solar heating and soot deposition in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan-Tibetan (HKHT) glaciers and snow packs. These have given rise to major areas of concern, some of the most critical being observed decreases in the Indian summer monsoon rainfall, a north-south shift in rainfall patterns in eastern China, the accelerated retreat of the HKHT glaciers and decrease in snow packs, and the increase in surface ozone. All these have led to negative effects on water resources and crop yields. The emergence of the ABC problem is expected to further aggravate the recent dramatic escalation of food prices and the consequent challenge for survival among the world’s most vulnerable populations. Lastly, the human fatalities from indoor and outdoor exposures to ABC-relevant pollutants have also become a source of grave concern."—Summary for Policy Makers.


• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data for the Period 1990­-2006 (November 17, 2008)
  
  "Greenhouse gas emissions of 40 industrialized countries rose by 2.3 per cent between 2000 and 2006, while still about 5 per cent below the 1990 level, according to United Nations figures released today, two weeks before a major review conference on the issue.
  
  "For the smaller group of industrialized countries that ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol setting reduction targets, emissions in 2006 were about 17 per cent below the Protocol’s 1990 base line, but they still grew after 2000. The pre-2000 decrease stemmed from the economic decline of transition countries in Eastern and Central Europe in the 1990s."—Press release.


• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: Facts and Figures 2007 (EPA530-R-08-010) (November 2008)
  
  "This report describes the national municipal solid waste (MSW) stream based on data collected for 1960 through 2007. The historical perspective is useful for establishing trends in types of MSW generated and in the ways it is managed. In this Executive Summary, we briefly describe the methodology used to characterize MSW in the United States and provide the latest facts and figures on MSW generation, recycling, and disposal."—Executive Summary.


• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency (November 2008)
  
  "This Vision for the National Action Plan for Energy Effi ciency establishes a goal of achieving all cost effective energy efficiency by 2025; presents ten implementation goals for states, utilities, and other stakeholders to consider to achieve this goal; describes what 2025 might look like if the goal is achieved; and provides a means for measuring progress. It is a framework for implementing the fi ve policy recommendations of the Action Plan, announced in July 2006, which can be modifi ed and improved over time."—Executive Summary.


• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Proposed Guidelines to Control Pollution from Construction Sites (November 19, 2008)
  
  "EPA is seeking comments on its proposed guidelines to control the discharge of pollutants from construction sites. The proposal would require all construction sites to implement erosion and sediment control best management practices to reduce pollutants in stormwater discharges."—Press release.


• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Superfund National Accomplishments Summary Fiscal Year 2008
  
  "EPA continues to make significant progress in cleaning up America’s most contaminated hazardous waste sites and making them ready for productive use. EPA’s annual summary of the Superfund program’s accomplishments shows that construction was completed at 30 sites in 2008, for a cumulative total of 1,060 sites or approximately 67 percent of the sites on the National Priorities List. Superfund is the federal government program that cleans up the most serious hazardous waste sites across the country."—Press release (November 17, 2008)


• United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 2008 Report on Ethanol Market Concentration (November 17, 2008)
  
  "As of September 2008, 160 firms produced ethanol in the United States – a one-year increase of 57 firms. The largest ethanol producer’s share of capacity has continued to fall each year as new firms have entered the market and existing firms have added capacity. Currently, the largest producer accounts for approximately 11 percent of domestic ethanol capacity, down from 16 percent in 2007, 21 percent in 2006, 26 percent in 2005, and 41 percent in 2000."—Press release.


• United States House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence & Global Warming, 110th Congress Staff Report (October 21, 2008)
  
  "This Final Staff Report details the findings and recommendations of the Select Committee staff. Part I of the report addresses the challenges posed by the climate crisis and America’s growing energy needs. Part II provides recommendations on a series of 'win-win' solutions that will bolster America’s energy security while achieving the reductions in global warming pollution needed to save the planet. Part III presents the findings and recommendations resulting from the Select Committee’s oversight activities. Part IV discusses international issues, and reviews the findings of the Select Committee Congressional delegations to Greenland and the EU, Brazil, and India."—Executive Summary.


• Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor, City of Los Angeles, Energy Management Initiative (November 20, 2008)
  
  "During the last several months, the Mayor’s Office of Homeland Security and Public Safety has worked very closely with the Emergency Management Department (EMD), Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and other City agencies to develop a comprehensive initiative to enhance our preparedness and planning efforts. This initiative, set forth in more detail below, involves several components to enhance the City’s planning and preparedness efforts, train city employees in disaster response, better prepare the community in disaster preparedness, and modernize the City’s antiquated emergency management structure."—Introduction.


• David C. Wyld, Robert Maurin Professor of Management and Director of the Strategic e-Commerce/e-Government Initiative, Southeastern Louisiana University, Government in 3D: How Public Leaders Can Draw on Virtual Worlds (IBM Center for the Business of Government E-Government/Technology Series) (2008)
  
  "In time, we will see that tangible, real-world results will come from the collaboration, learning, and interactions that come about in virtual-world environments. We will also see public sector executives increasingly willing to shift financial, technology, and human resources to virtual-world projects as these success stories come about, and as we see cost savings and positive environmental impacts from lessening the 'economy of presence.'"—Executive Summary.