NOAA Deepwater Horizon Library

NOAA http://www.noaa.gov/deepwaterhorizon [From NOAA Press Release] NOAA today unveiled a web archive of the maps, wildlife reports, scientific reports and other previously released public information used by emergency responders, fishermen, mariners and local officials during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill…. “This website serves as a valuable learning tool and resource for scientists, students and historians [...]

Africa Water Atlas

UNEP http://www.unep.org/pdf/africa_water_atlas.pdf [From UN Pulse Summary] UNEP has published the Africa Water Atlas. This Atlas vividly illustrates the importance of Africa’s water resources in supplying millions of people with life-giving water and in supporting activities that are crucial to the ecosystems and economies. This is revealed through 224 maps and 104 satellite images as well [...]

High Mountain Glaciers and Climate Change: Challenges to Human Livelihoods and Adaptation

UNEP http://www.unep.org/pdf/himalayareport_screen.pdf [From UN Pulse Summary] This report is an outcome of the 8-10th June, 2009 climate conference initiated by the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),and was hosted by the Norwegian Polar Institute.The report presents an update based on presentations and working group discussions at the [...]

Regulatory Report: NOAA’s Enforcement Practices

Institute for Policy Integrity, NYU School of Law http://policyintegrity.org/files/publications/NOAAs_Enforcement_Practices.pdf [From executive summary] In 2010, the Department of Commerce’s Office of Inspector General uncovered a “troubling pattern” of regionally inconsistent enforcement of the nation’s laws on fishing and the protection of marine life. In particular, the Northeast Region of the country appeared to use “excessive” fines [...]

Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2010: Recent Trends and Developments

UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific http://tinyurl.com/25kdkfc [From UN Pulse summary] The Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2010 notes that the strong performance of exports and trade in general is the result of a vibrant China which imports intermediate goods from the rest of Asia and exports finished goods to the [...]

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Litigation Database

Environmental Law Institute http://tinyurl.com/23eraeh The myriad consequences of the spill have already spurred an onslaught of litigation, with allegations ranging from personal injury and property damages to violations of RICO and securities law. As more damages are discovered, plaintiffs will likely continue filing new claims. This database attempts to track the ongoing litigation so people [...]

A High-Resolution Human Contact Network for Infectious Disease Transmission

PNAS /Marcel Salathe, Maria Kazandjieva, Jung Woo Lee, Philip Levis, Marcus W. Feldman, and James H. Jones http://www.pnas.org/content/107/51/22020.full.pdf+html [Abstract] The most frequent infectious diseases in humans—and those with the highest potential for rapid pandemic spread—are usually transmitted via droplets during close proximity interactions (CPIs). Despite the importance of this transmission route, very little is known [...]

A Framework to Diagnose Barriers to Climate Change Adaptation

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, December 21, 2010 (v107 n51 p22026-22031)/Susanne C. Moser and Julia A. Ekstrom http://www.pnas.org/content/107/51/22026.full.pdf+html [Abstract] This article presents a systematic framework to identify barriers that may impede the process of adaptation to climate change. The framework targets the process of planned adaptation and focuses on potentially challenging but malleable [...]

Reducing Nitrogen Fertilizer Use to Mitigate Negative Environmental Impact in China

Baker Institute, Rice University / Yao Huang, Ronald L. Sass, Wenjuan Sun, Wen Zhang, and Yongqiang Yu http://tinyurl.com/25wpzpc [Introduction] Although agriculture in China utilizes only 7% of the world’s arable land area, it feeds some 22% of the global population. Substantial growth in the use of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer in China since the 1970s [...]

Do Public Subsidies Sell Green Cars? Evidence from the U.S. Cash for Clunkers Program

Belfer Center, Kennedy School / C. Edward Huang http://tinyurl.com/2cldnsk [From Introduction] The efficacy of [Cash for Clunkers] has been at the center of public interest. In particular, there is concern that consumers may have been taken advantage of the subsidies and purchased vehicles they would have bought anyway. In this case, the program itself could [...]