Posted on August 22, 2011 …

The Gulf of Mexico at a Glance: A Second Glance

NOAA | US Census Bureau | EPA http://stateofthecoast.noaa.gov/NOAAs_Gulf_of_Mexico_at_a_Glance_report.pdf [From Press Release] The report…provides economic and ecological highlights about the Gulf’s coastal communities, economy, and ecosystems. This report is an update to NOAA’s original Gulf of Mexico at a Glance, published in June 2008.  

Grand Challenges in Earthquake Engineering Research: A Community Workshop Report

National Research Council http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13167 [Description]   As geological threats become more imminent, society must make a major commitment to increase the resilience of its communities, infrastructure, and citizens. Recent earthquakes in Japan, New Zealand, Haiti, and Chile provide stark reminders of the devastating impact major earthquakes have on the lives and economic stability of millions of … Continue reading »

Sustainability and the U.S. EPA

National Research Council http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13152 [Description]   Sustainability is based on a simple and long-recognized factual premise: Everything that humans require for their survival and well-being depends, directly or indirectly, on the natural environment. The environment provides the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Recognizing the importance of sustainability to its … Continue reading »

Climate Change Education Goals, Audiences, and Strategies: A Workshop Summary

National Research Council http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13224 [Description]  The global scientific and policy community now unequivocally accepts that human activities cause global climate change. Although information on climate change is readily available, the nation still seems unprepared or unwilling to respond effectively to climate change, due partly to a general lack of public understanding of climate change issues … Continue reading »

Equity of Evolving Transportation Finance Mechanisms

National Research Council http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13240 [Description]  TRB Special Report 303: Equity of Evolving Transportation Finance Mechanisms addresses the equity of alternatives to current transportation finance mechanisms, notably mechanisms based on tolling and road use metering (i.e., road pricing). The committee that developed the report concluded that broad generalizations about the fairness of high-occupancy toll lanes, cordon … Continue reading »

Oil Biodegradation and Bioremediation: A Tale of the Two Worst Spills in U.S. History

Environmental Science and Technology (published online: June 23 2011) via Lawrence Berkeley Lab site / by Ronald Atlas, and Terry C. Hazen http://esd.lbl.gov/files/about/staff/terryhazen/2011Atlas_Hazen_EST.pdf [From Press Release] One year after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and two decades after the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, the scientific … Continue reading »