text:
Vol. 5, No. 1:
August - September 2011
(For this issue in PDF format, click here.)
Paying for EBM: Insights on Building Sustainable Financing for EBM over the Long Term
Tundi's Take: Private Sector Investment in EBM Makes Good Business Sense
Making Marine Spatial Plans Adaptable to a Changing Climate: Interview with Robin Craig
Notes & News: Marine extinction event - Integrated coastal zone management - Oceans and sustainable development - Transition to EBFM - Marine conservation ecology
EBM Toolbox: Quantifying, Mapping, and Valuing Ecosystem Services
Management requires funding. Likewise, sustainable management requires sustainable funding. A cornerstone of EBM is that it ensures ecosystems will continue over time to provide the services that people require and want (e.g., food, clean water, biodiversity). Without dependable ways of financing management over the long term, EBM projects are at risk of failure.
Unfortunately, in these economically austere times the traditional stream of government funding for resource management is weakening. So practicing integrated, science-based management at the scales required by EBM means it is in managers' interest to develop new and diverse streams of support. EBM may have to rely on innovative financing mechanisms to sustain planning, research, monitoring, enforcement, and other management activities over long time frames.
Fortunately, there is a growing body of knowledge on developing alternative funding strategies - from user fees, to lotteries, to endowments and trusts, and more. Several projects and publications have emerged in recent years to inform planners and managers about new financing methods for management (see box "Resources on alternative funding mechanisms", following this article). In addition, the science of measuring the societal and financial value of ecosystem services - such as clean water - is informing how charges can be applied to ecosystem use that reflect actual value (see "The EBM Toolbox: Quantifying, mapping, and valuing ecosystem services", this issue).
Despite these advances, the field of alternative financing for ocean management is still new, and securing dependable long-term funding remains a significant and central challenge for EBM practice. In this issue, MEAM asked three practitioners - an EBM funder, a project director, and a fisheries manager - for their insights on making EBM financing sustainable. Notably, even with their different backgrounds, they each pointed out the importance of aligning EBM goals with the interests of management and stakeholders.
A. Turning EBM into "business as usual" can help lead to financial sustainability
By Bernd Cordes
[Editor's note: Bernd Cordes is a program officer at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The foundation's Conservation and Science Program provided funding for several site-based marine EBM projects in the Western Pacific. Some of the projects were funded previously by the foundation's Ecosystem-Based Management Initiative for Sustainable Coastal and Marine Systems, which was active from 2004-2009. A report with lessons from that initiative is available at www.packard.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Synthesis-Report-for-the-EBM-Initiative.pdf.]
[Editor's note: Bernd Cordes is a program officer at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The foundation's Conservation and Science Program provided funding for several site-based marine EBM projects in the Western Pacific. Some of the projects were funded previously by the foundation's Ecosystem-Based Management Initiative for Sustainable Coastal and Marine Systems, which was active from 2004-2009. A report with lessons from that initiative is available at www.packard.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Synthesis-Report-for-the-EBM-Initiative.pdf.]
On EBM sustainability in general
EBM is big, multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder, etc. A sustained EBM effort would require, at a minimum:
• A well-defined spatial area or linked habitats;
• A distillation of a limited, relevant set of ecosystem- or habitat-level indicators that point to ongoing environmental health (or lack thereof);
• A core set of scientists and citizen scientists (read: trained and skilled volunteers and observers);
• A very clear mechanism by which information and analyses are linked to decision-makers who can use the information to change resource use (if not, why do it?); and
• A funding source to continue the data collection and analysis. That funding source would have to be a combination of consistent and committed government allocations (state, provincial, national) to cover that basic, core level of monitoring over time (the "must know"; and to do this, you probably need legislation), along with grants from a combination of corporate and other private sector stakeholders (e.g., foundations, individual donations, and the industries utilizing resources in the area). The grants could fund the "above and beyond" minimum set - the information that would be "important to know" and not just the "must know".
• A well-defined spatial area or linked habitats;
• A distillation of a limited, relevant set of ecosystem- or habitat-level indicators that point to ongoing environmental health (or lack thereof);
• A core set of scientists and citizen scientists (read: trained and skilled volunteers and observers);
• A very clear mechanism by which information and analyses are linked to decision-makers who can use the information to change resource use (if not, why do it?); and
• A funding source to continue the data collection and analysis. That funding source would have to be a combination of consistent and committed government allocations (state, provincial, national) to cover that basic, core level of monitoring over time (the "must know"; and to do this, you probably need legislation), along with grants from a combination of corporate and other private sector stakeholders (e.g., foundations, individual donations, and the industries utilizing resources in the area). The grants could fund the "above and beyond" minimum set - the information that would be "important to know" and not just the "must know".
Six years ago in the Conservation and Science Program's original request for proposals for site-based EBM initiatives, we asked each group of implementers to describe how - after the EBM initiative began - they were going to communicate the results and analyses to the people who could use the information to make decisions on a large scale. How was the information going to get into their hands and what would the mechanism be by which behaviors would change and resource use would alter over time? I don't remember any of the proponents - including the ones we funded - ever really giving a good answer to that question, because it is one of the hardest to answer. It is the key to longevity, for both financing and governance (which are tied, of course). Most of the groups we funded made it up as they went along - and a couple actually did pretty well in the end.
But even that explanation of sustainability is incomplete. I find it hard enough to describe financial sustainability for a marine protected area, and EBM is so much more amorphous. It borders on "everyone is involved and responsible, so no one is ultimately accountable." That is a bit of an overstatement, perhaps, but not by much, especially when a large spatial area starts to overlap political lines and jurisdictions.
On making EBM financially sustainable
To make EBM financially sustainable, you need, of course, a long-term vision. It is not a sprint: it takes a long time to put the many pieces into place. There will never be just one or two sources of funding. First some entity or consortium funds EBM design at a particular place or, say, in a particular fishery. Then you establish baselines, observe use patterns, and monitor for many years, allowing enough time to establish the work being done as "the norm". You need the EBM (the way people actually utilize the resources and the way that use is measured and adapted to changing conditions) to become ingrained and ultimately seen as "business as usual" or best practice - by management and by stakeholders. It should, over time, become almost routine.
But to become routine, it has to have direct value to the relevant government agencies and the private sector actors and communities that most often interact with or live in that spatial area. Otherwise the EBM just maintains its status as a project - an addendum rather than core to the way people live and interact with their environment. You have to make it matter environmentally, socially, and financially to the actors that have the most vested interest in upsetting the ecosystem or maintaining it. Otherwise it will be much more expensive (and less financially sustainable) to implement over the long term.
This is true for MPAs, too, of course. It is one reason why we are devoting more time and energy in our grants toward financial sustainability and long-term governance in the Western Pacific program for which I am responsible. To make financial sustainability more likely, we are investing more in trust mechanisms that are closer to the places where the MPAs are being established. The Micronesian Conservation Trust, which supports biodiversity conservation and related sustainable development for the people of Micronesia, is an example (http://mctconservation.org). We are experimenting with marine conservation agreements, and investing in the conservation and organizational management skills of people who are going to be the next generation of environmental leaders. In addition, we are doing more to help local environmental law groups in, for example, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, to help set the policy framework for government allocations of their budgets or for enforcement or, as in Palau, for the creation of "green fees" that are charged to tourists and help fund MPA networks. We are also investing in the design of specific tools to determine the costs of MPA management at specific places.
For more information: Bernd Cordes, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Los Altos, California, US. E-mail: email@example.com
B. Sustainability without government revenue
By Sibylle Riedmiller and Eleanor Carter
[Editor's note: Sibylle Riedmiller is project director of Chumbe Island Coral Park in Zanzibar, Tanzania; she is also the park's founder and main investor. Eleanor Carter is a former manager and ongoing adviser to the project. The park, a no-take MPA officially recognized by the Zanzibar Government, is run by a private company - Chumbe Island Coral Park Ltd. - that also manages the island's terrestrial environment, which includes a forest reserve and an ecotourism operation (www.chumbeisland.com). The company's goal is to create a model of sustainable management where ecotourism revenue provides full support for conservation and environmental education. It amounts to a small-scale EBM initiative: integrating land and water management, protecting ecosystem services, and providing alternative livelihoods to locals who work as rangers, ecotourism staff, administrative staff, and in other capacities.]
[Editor's note: Sibylle Riedmiller is project director of Chumbe Island Coral Park in Zanzibar, Tanzania; she is also the park's founder and main investor. Eleanor Carter is a former manager and ongoing adviser to the project. The park, a no-take MPA officially recognized by the Zanzibar Government, is run by a private company - Chumbe Island Coral Park Ltd. - that also manages the island's terrestrial environment, which includes a forest reserve and an ecotourism operation (www.chumbeisland.com). The company's goal is to create a model of sustainable management where ecotourism revenue provides full support for conservation and environmental education. It amounts to a small-scale EBM initiative: integrating land and water management, protecting ecosystem services, and providing alternative livelihoods to locals who work as rangers, ecotourism staff, administrative staff, and in other capacities.]
On financial sustainability through tourism
Since the year 2000, 100% of our park management operations - including all surveillance, enforcement, and monitoring and our core environmental education program for local schools - has been funded by tourism. This has even been the case when the occupancy rate was rather low: for example in 2000-2001, amid election turmoil in Zanzibar, the rate was only 37%. Notably, despite the current worldwide economic downturn, occupancy has been 70% these past two years. In other years it has been as high as 86%.
With our heavy dependence on tourism, there is a degree of vulnerability to global economic factors and this is certainly something we monitor closely. [Editor's note: a large share of Chumbe tourists are drawn from Europe.] However, being privately managed means that operations are maximized for efficiency and cost-effectiveness. We also ensure there are always sufficient funds available to "tide-over" any difficult periods. So far we have managed to remain operational despite fluctuations in tourism numbers. Should ever the global economic situation (or massive local problems that affect tourism) mean a more prolonged lack of income to the program, we would consider exploring temporary support from donors to get through such a period.
On creating efficient management
In government-run sites, costs can often be inflated due to a range of factors. A significant one is that staff who are not performing well in civil servant positions often still retain job security. This may result in higher-than-necessary staff numbers, and has the knock-on effect of demotivating other staff who are prepared to work hard. This reduces the efficiency of all park operations.
In donor-funded operations there is often little incentive to explore ways to maximize cost-effectiveness and keep expenditures efficient. This is especially the case in areas where funds "must be spent" by certain periods, and/or when yearly budgets consider gross expenditure from previous years (creating incentives for over-spending on occasion to ensure a healthy budget is maintained for subsequent periods).
Where funds come directly from either government or donor sources, there may be little link in park staff's minds to the root source of these funds (i.e., taxpayers' money, monies earned by an individual and given through a philanthropic gift, etc.) since staff throughout the vertical chain of management are removed from having to consider such issues. This can lead to a lack of cost/benefit assessment or deeper consideration of sustainability of "expenditure processes", and tends to focus on sustainability of incoming revenue (getting more funds from somewhere the following year[s]).
In contrast, in a situation like Chumbe where the staff is on the frontline of both ensuring funds are earned (through ecotourism operations) and spent (on management), the connection between the two is clear. There is strong motivation for all concerned to ensure both sides of the equation are effective and sustainable.
On reducing costs and increasing revenue by engaging stakeholders
Managers can reduce costs considerably if they build up good relations with the private sector. In Tanzania, that is namely the tourism industry. Dive operators can help with patrolling, reporting, and monitoring, and hoteliers may be willing to help with education programs for local schools and other support to local communities. They may also collect donations from their guests for small well-designed projects where success is visible. There is often goodwill from the local tourism sector if they see the site is well-managed!
In large management areas where fuel costs for patrolling are a significant expenditure, engaging community members in management activities becomes vital. It ensures buy-in to the management program and compliance with zoning, and thereby reduces fuel costs associated with patrolling large areas.
For more information: Sibylle Riedmiller, Chumbe Island Coral Park, Ltd., Zanzibar, Tanzania. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
C. No simple, quick-fix answers to financial sustainability
By Kevern Cochrane
[Editor's note: Kevern Cochrane is Director of the Resources Use and Conservation Division of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). His responsibilities include oversight of many of FAO's activities on implementation of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, including the development and promotion of an ecosystem approach to fisheries and to aquaculture.]
[Editor's note: Kevern Cochrane is Director of the Resources Use and Conservation Division of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). His responsibilities include oversight of many of FAO's activities on implementation of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, including the development and promotion of an ecosystem approach to fisheries and to aquaculture.]
On general principles for sustainable financing of EBM
As with almost all big questions in fisheries and other sustainable uses of aquatic resources, there are no simple or quick-fix answers to achieving financial sustainability. What works for a commercial whitefish fishery in the North Atlantic, for example, will not necessarily work for a beach seine fishery in a tropical ecosystem along the coast of Africa or Asia. Nevertheless, there are some general principles that need to be respected as far as possible. The economic principles identified by the Convention on Biological Diversity provide important pointers that can be adapted to apply to EBM, namely:
• The ecosystem needs to be understood and managed in an economic context; and
• A management program should (a) reduce market distortions that adversely hinder implementation of EBM, (b) align incentives to promote EBM, and (c) internalize costs.
• The ecosystem needs to be understood and managed in an economic context; and
• A management program should (a) reduce market distortions that adversely hinder implementation of EBM, (b) align incentives to promote EBM, and (c) internalize costs.
Particular problems arise, of course, when the social importance of ecosystem services is high but the economic returns are low - i.e., it costs more to implement EBM than the direct financial benefits that are returned. In such cases it is important to explore possible means, within EBM, to add value to the services generated and thereby increase financial viability. However, care needs to be taken that this does not lead to undesirable losses in social benefits and equity.
On whether catch shares or other resource privatization can lead to financial sustainability in ecosystem-based fisheries management
There is widespread agreement that some acceptable form of limiting access to a resource and ecosystem to a designated group of users is important to ensure a long-term commitment by them to sustainable use. Catch shares are a common and often-important component of limiting access, and - particularly when the shares are transferable - can provide a vehicle for increasing economic efficiency.
Catch shares therefore provide an important tool for fisheries management in many cases. However, they are neither a panacea nor applicable in all cases. Difficulties that can be encountered include the costs of monitoring and enforcement, which can make them impractical in many cases, and problems in applying them in multi-species fisheries. In addition, unrestricted freedom to transfer rights, including catch shares, can lead to social problems. There are no shortcuts: in selecting strategies in each case, the desired social and economic objectives first need to be identified and then the optimal combination of measures selected to achieve those objectives.
On financial sustainability of resource privatization in other marine sectors
The current global economic crisis has highlighted our very poor grasp of the likely outcomes from different economic models. The debates that are currently raging are frequently driven more by ideology than by careful and rational thought. In the midst of this uncertainty, a careful blend of privatization and approaches providing social safeguards for the smaller players and the most vulnerable seems the sensible way forward, whatever the sector. Again, the form and nature of the blend in each case will depend on its unique characteristics and the pre-identified objectives.
For more information: Kevern Cochrane, FAO, Rome, Italy. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
BOX: Resources on alternative funding mechanisms
• The Little Biodiversity Finance Book
(Global Canopy Programme, 2010)
• Sustainable Financing of Protected Areas
• Payments for Ecosystem Services: Getting Started in Coastal and Marine Ecosystems - A Primer
(Forest Tends and The Katoomba Group, 2010)
• UN Convention on Biological Diversity: Economics, Trade, and Incentive Measures
• Marine Conservation Agreements: A Practitioner's Toolkit
• Ecosystem Marketplace
Tundi's Take:
By Tundi Agardy, MEAM Contributing Editor (firstname.lastname@example.com)
"Engage the private sector" has become something of a mantra in marine management. But thus far, direct financial involvement by the private sector in ocean management has been relatively limited. While industries such as commercial fisheries, shipping, and offshore energy have been granted use privileges, there has been little private sector interest in investing in management measures to sustain the benefits that well-managed ecosystems provide.
This is true for myriad reasons:
1) There is an enduring assumption that the public sector (government) will manage ocean resources and space sufficiently;
2) Without the development of markets, the vast majority of social and economic values associated with coastal and ocean areas remain unaccounted for in capital market transactions; and
3) The commons property regime existing in ocean space makes mechanisms for engaging the private sector not so apparent.
1) There is an enduring assumption that the public sector (government) will manage ocean resources and space sufficiently;
2) Without the development of markets, the vast majority of social and economic values associated with coastal and ocean areas remain unaccounted for in capital market transactions; and
3) The commons property regime existing in ocean space makes mechanisms for engaging the private sector not so apparent.
Incentives for private sector engagement have not been made very clear to this point, so any financing of management that originates in the private sector is viewed more as a tax than as an investment.
Surveys of how coastal ecosystems are currently protected show that innovative financing mechanisms that tap into private sector funds are rare. With a few exceptions, the management of these areas has generally fallen to the public sector. Inequities exist in the way coastal areas are managed, such that taxpayers shoulder most of the costs of protection, while industries receive a comparatively free ride in deriving the benefits coastal ecosystems provide. There is room for a dramatic shift in the engagement of business in EBM.
With growing recognition of the value of ecosystem services, new sources of potential market demand for such services are emerging. Markets that involve payments for the protection of ecosystem services (such as payments for carbon sequestration, water quality maintenance, or biodiversity maintenance) are expanding on land, and there is growing awareness of the potential for carrying this seaward among business, investment, and conservation communities. Marine management can and should be supported by the very industries that realize the benefits of coastal and ocean ecosystems: the fishing industry protecting nursery habitats, for instance, or the tourism industry restoring mangroves for their roles in water filtration and in buffering land from storms.
We cannot assume the business community will become engaged in EBM because it is the right thing to do. Yes, companies can derive public relations value from charitable contributions to marine management efforts (performed either by governments or by NGOs). But a truly effective and sustainable financing strategy will have to be based on business models that demonstrate the profitability of investing in management.
Due to human-induced climate change, sea surface temperatures are increasing. As a result, a gradual poleward shift in ocean ecosystems is underway. Described very simply, areas that were previously cold are becoming more temperate, and areas that were temperate are becoming more tropical. It is anticipated that, over time, ocean habitats and species ranges will follow the water temperature regime with which they are associated, provided there is adequate connectivity.
For marine spatial planning to provide for long-term, sustainable management of ocean ecosystems, the plans should take these future shifts into account. In other words, marine spatial planning must be adaptable to climate change.
However, despite the fact that spatial plans are typically crafted in an ecosystem-based manner, they do not automatically account for future alterations in marine ecosystems that climate change may bring. So although spatial plans can be revised every few years, that may not be adequate in and of itself: a plan that does not account for likely future changes could actually weaken the effectiveness of future revisions. As an example: a plan places an offshore wind farm in an area that is likely to become important habitat for commercially targeted fish populations, due to a shift in their species range.
Making MSP anticipatory and dynamic
How can marine spatial planning (MSP) be made adaptable? Robin Craig, professor and associate dean for environmental programs at Florida State University (US), is authoring a book on ocean governance for the 21st century (Comparative Ocean Governance: Placed-Based Protections in an Era of Climate Change, forthcoming Edward Elgar Press 2012). She suggests that MSP and the zoning of the ocean should be anticipatory (based on observed trends in ecological response to climate impacts and predictions about resulting management needs) and perhaps also dynamic (with zones that move as part of their design, following the shifting of habitats and species). Below, MEAM talks with Craig about these concepts and making MSP adaptable to climate change:
MEAM: The process of marine spatial planning and ocean zoning is often politically heated, and it can involve a lot of negotiation to get people to agree on a zoning plan. The concepts of anticipatory zoning and dynamic zoning would add even more variables to such negotiations, including estimates of how ecosystems will change in the future (for anticipatory zoning) and the potential for regularly shifting boundaries (for dynamic zoning). How would you respond to a manager or stakeholder who says, "It's hard enough to do zoning as it is - why do we need to add these additional variables to the process?"
Robin Craig: Because adding those variables allows them to anticipate climate change rather than just react to it. In terms of cost-benefit analysis, anticipation may be far more effective than reacting after the fact.
MEAM: Do you foresee a future in which all marine spatial planning is done with anticipatory and dynamic zoning?
Craig: I do not expect dynamic zoning to be workable - or even desirable - everywhere, and the usefulness of the techniques (dynamic and anticipatory zoning) will vary dramatically among marine ecosystems. For example, many of the world's largest MPAs protect coral reefs. Even with climate change, the basic substrate of a coral reef is not going to move very quickly, and evidence from the Great Barrier Reef suggests that rising sea temperatures may slow coral growth anyway. In these ecosystems, therefore, anticipatory zoning for the ecosystem as a whole may not be necessary.
However, for specific species within the larger MPA, or for particular sub-ecosystems or assemblages of species, anticipatory and dynamic zoning may be helpful tools. For example, many coral reef MPAs shelter sea turtle populations. Therefore, these coral reef MPAs might benefit from adopting dynamic fishing zones that help fishers (assuming fishing is allowed) avoid bycatch of turtles - especially if the turtles' range starts to shift. Similarly, if sea turtles and seabirds start shifting their nesting sites because of increasing temperatures, a zoning system that can anticipate those shifts and, for example, ensure that a new hotel is not built on a beach that looks like it will serve as future habitat would be a good system to have in place.
MEAM: In which cases would anticipatory zoning be most useful?
Craig: Anticipatory zoning is likely to continue to be most useful for preemptively protecting (a) new fishing grounds, either because ice is melting or fish species are moving (or both), and (b) shifting, faster-moving key ecosystems like kelp forests, which can migrate faster than, say, coral reefs. Given how quickly overfishing and overuse can destroy marine species and ecosystems, governments should probably already be anticipating new fisheries rather than reacting to market shifts, regardless of climate change.
MEAM: What effect will anticipatory and dynamic zoning have on the process of marine spatial planning?
Craig: The planning process does not need to be exceptionally longer than what currently occurs, especially as information regarding the local effects of climate change improves. One planning process, for example, could set up a "sea turtle avoidance zone" based on sea temperatures; the avoidance zone would then operate dynamically (and automatically) from that point forward, with fishing zones shifting daily based on sea temperature monitoring. Trend data could similarly allow for a scheduled shift in zones, triggered automatically from one planning process based either on timing (e.g., five years from now these beaches will be protected for seabird nesting) or on explicit biological/ecological/physical criteria.
MEAM: This sounds very precautionary.
Craig: That is basically what we are talking about here: How can managers employ a precautionary approach to marine management when the management baselines - water temperature, current patterns, ocean chemistry, species composition, species behavior, species range - are changing right before their eyes? I would argue that climate change makes a precautionary approach even more critical while it simultaneously makes a precautionary approach more difficult to implement. We need to start thinking about how to incorporate precautionary change - as opposed to just reactive change - into marine management. I hope these suggestions encourage some creative experimentation among marine managers.
For more information: Robin Kundis Craig, Florida State University College of Law, Tallahassee, Florida, US. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
A draft law review article in which Craig describes how to make marine spatial planning adaptable to climate change, including via the concept of anticipatory bidding for future use rights, is available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1887326.
Report: Significant marine extinction possible unless multiple ocean stressors reduced
Multiple ocean stressors - warming, acidification, overfishing, and more - together represent a great risk to marine and human life if the current trajectory of these stressors continues, including the possibility of a major extinction event of marine species. This is the conclusion of 27 ocean experts who gathered at an April 2011 workshop at the University of Oxford, convened by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO).
The workshop report concludes that the speed of climate-related changes to the ocean is near to or tracking the worst-case scenarios from scientific predictions, including from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Meanwhile marine ecosystems' resilience to climate change impacts is being compromised by stressors like overexploitation, pollution, and habitat destruction. Workshop participants called for immediate reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and urgent action to restore the structure and function of marine ecosystems. "The findings underscore the need for more effective management of fisheries and pollution and for strengthening protection of the 64% of the ocean that lies beyond the zones of national jurisdiction," states the workshop report. More information on the workshop and IPSO in general is at www.stateoftheocean.org.
Report explains need for integration in coastal zone management with examples
A new report provides an overview of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM), focusing on the concept of integration and why it is essential for management of coastal and marine resources. Produced by the Solutions for Environmental Contrasts in Coastal Areas project (SECOA), an EU-funded initiative, the report surveys several types of integration (integrated resource planning, integrated assessments, integrated maritime policy, and more) and how they have been implemented in practice.
The main aim of the publication is to inform the evaluation of specific ICZM mechanisms under particular country contexts. The SECOA project is studying the social, economic, and environmental systems of coastal cities in eight European and Asian countries (Belgium, India, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, UK, and Vietnam). The project is developing a handbook of best practices in ICZM, based on the evaluation of mechanisms from the SECOA partner countries.
The 39-page report "Towards Integrated Coastal Zone Management: A Toolkit for Practitioners" is available from co-authors Michelle Portman and Itay Fishhendler of Hebrew University of Jerusalem at firstname.lastname@example.com.
UN report released on oceans and sustainable development
In June the UN General Assembly released a report on oceans and sustainable development, with a focus on global progress to date in implementing ocean-related outcomes from major summits on sustainable development. The report also identifies gaps in implementation and science, and challenges to effective implementation, such as insufficient capacity, fragmented management, and enforcement difficulties.
Improved implementation of sustainable development goals will "require increased international and inter-agency cooperation and coordination, as well as continued efforts to build necessary capacity," states the report. "Political will and the targeted allocation of sufficient resources at all levels remain key components of the way forward." The report is intended for consideration by the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session, which begins in September 2011. The report is available at www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/66/70/Add.1.
Book describes transition to ecosystem-based fisheries management from species-based management
A new book outlines the process of transitioning fisheries management from a system focused on individual target species to one that accounts for a broad array of ecosystem considerations (i.e., ecosystem-based fisheries management, or EBFM). Focusing on the experience of the US Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, the book represents the findings of a series of workshops that the council convened in recent years.
The book is arranged in three sections: ecosystem science and planning; ecosystem social science and planning; and ecosystem policy. Each section starts with an assessment of the current state of fisheries management, examines the data sources and modeling systems used to advance EBFM, and ends with practical methods for more thorough global implementation. The 312-page book Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management in the Western Pacific, edited by Edward Glazier, is available in hardcover for US $174.50 at www.amazon.com.
New textbook on marine conservation ecology
A new textbook describes the elements of marine biodiversity, the structure and function of ocean ecosystems, and several approaches to marine conservation and management. Significant attention is paid to marine protected areas, including decision-making on size, boundaries, numbers, and connectivity of such sites. The book also addresses relationships between fisheries and biodiversity. Authored by John Roff and Mark Zacharias, the 320-page book Marine Conservation Ecology is available in paperback for US $59.95 at www.earthscan.co.uk.
Editor's note: The goal of The EBM Toolbox is to promote awareness of tools for facilitating EBM processes. It is brought to you by the EBM Tools Network, a voluntary alliance of tool users, developers, and training providers.
THE EBM TOOLBOX by Sarah Carr
Quantifying, mapping, and valuing ecosystem services
A growing number of tools help managers and policymakers to quantify, map, and value the many services that ecosystems provide to people. Tools can also help determine how management and policy decisions may affect such services. Three tools that aid in assessing ecosystem services are:
• ARtificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES; www.ariesonline.org). ARIES is a web-based tool for mapping and quantifying environmental assets and evaluating and comparing the impact of alternative policy and land/sea-use scenarios on the provision of ecosystem services. It has been used in projects involving carbon sequestration, flood and sediment regulation, water provision, aesthetics, recreation, subsistence fisheries, and coastal protection.
• Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST; www.naturalcapitalproject.org/InVEST.html). InVEST is a GIS toolbox for identifying where ecosystem services are provided and consumed, and how resource management decisions affect the economy, environment, and human well-being. It includes models for carbon storage, wave energy, recreation, fishery production, erosion control, habitat quality, water quality, crop pollination, and timber production.
• Multi-scale Integrated Models of Ecosystem Services (MIMES; www.uvm.edu/giee/mimes). MIMES is a suite of models for assessing the value of ecosystem services by linking the dynamics of the services to human welfare and simulating how the function and value of the services change under alternative management scenarios. The models are being used by the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership to examine trade-offs among different sectors in spatial planning.
Additional resources:
• The Decision Guide: Selecting Decision Support Tools for Marine Spatial Planning (www.ebmtoolsdatabase.org/resource/msp-guide) provides information on the tools above and their functionality.
• The Marine Ecosystem Services Partnership (www.marineecosystemservices.org) offers access to, and the ability to map, more than 2000 values of economic valuation data.
• The EBM Tools Network demonstration webinars (www.ebmtools.org/tools_training/presentations.html) provides recordings of webinars that provide detailed overviews of all of these tools and resources.
(Sarah Carr is coordinator for the EBM Tools Network. Learn more about EBM tools and the EBM Tools Network at www.ebmtools.org.)
Editor: John B. Davis
Contributing Editor: Tundi Agardy
Chair - David Fluharty, University of Washington
Sarah Carr, EBM Tools Network
Kevern Cochrane, UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Jon Day, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
Mark Erdmann, Conservation International
Ben Halpern, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
Karen McLeod, Oregon State University
Jake Rice, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada
Kristin Sherwood, EBM consultant
Kevin Stokes, Fisheries consultant
School of Marine and Environmental Affairs
University of Washington
3707 Brooklyn Ave. N.E.
Seattle, WA 98105, U.S.
Tel: +1 425 788 8185
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According to information regarding sales and traffic over Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN ) , Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY ) are looking like three big winners this shopping season. This time of the year can be financially significant for many companies, and the data is also highlighting some important long-term trends for investors to consider.
Amazon and the online retail revolution
Brick-and-mortar retailers are going through challenging times. The National Retail Federation estimates that spending during the Thanksgiving weekend fell by nearly 3% versus the yea- ago period. Retailers have been hurt by lackluster demand for quite some time now, so the news should not come as a big surprise.
Online retailers are in a very different position, though: According to ComScore, online sales grew by a remarkable 17.3% during Thanksgiving and Black Friday, with Amazon and eBay, in that order, being the two most visited online retail sites. ChannelAdvisor estimates that Amazon saw a whopping increase of 44.3% in revenue during Cyber Monday, while sales at eBay increased by 32.1%.
Online retail continues to outgrow brick-and-mortar by a wide margin, and Amazon is the undisputed online retail king. The company has gained market participation in different categories over the last several years and it has reached a massive scale and remarkable operational efficiencies, providing rock-solid competitive strengths for the long term.
Amazon has a loyal customer base, and the company has been consolidating its competitive position by growing its Amazon Prime Membership program, which strengthens its relationship with customers. The company doesn't disclose membership figures, but Morningstar and Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimated in March of this year that members were already surpassing the 10 million mark.
The online retailer has the competitive drive to operate with razor-thin profit margins in order to continue gaining market share, and is heavily investing in areas like warehouses, and futuristic projects like flying drones to deliver packages to consumers, in order to provide a better service.
Amazon is becoming stronger as it becomes bigger, and the company is remarkably well positioned to continue leading the online shopping revolution.
eBay for shopping and payments
eBay is not only benefiting from a sizable position in online retail as the second biggest player behind Amazon; its PayPal is an enormously valuable strategic asset for the company when it comes to digital payments. Furthermore, eBay has reported some really strong figures in both mobile shopping and mobile payments during Thanksgiving.
eBay said Thanksgiving visits across mobile devices were up by 130% versus 2012, and mobile orders grew by 127% in comparison with the previous year. Thanksgiving also saw a strong 91% increase in consumers shopping through PayPal mobile around the world, and mobile TPV -- total payments volume -- increased by 114.7% versus 2012.
As consumers move toward online shopping for comfort and price convenience, both Amazon and eBay stand to gain during the years to come. While Amazon rules in online retail, eBay is another sizable player in that business that also has a leadership position in digital payments due to the growing popularity of PayPal on a global basis.
Reports of the death of the iPad have been greatly exaggerated
Wall Street analysts have been quite concerned about growing market share for Android tablets versus Apple's iPad lately. But according to recent sales data, iPad demand has been remarkably strong in the first days of the shopping season, and that says a lot about Apple's place as the undisputed quality leader in the tablets business.
Retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy have offered big discounts for different iPad models, and customers have responded with avid demand for the product. Wal-Mart said it sold 1.4 million tablets on Thanksgiving, with the iPad Mini being a top seller. eBay was reportedly selling one iPad per second on Black Friday at midnight.
IBM reports that iOS is far outpacing Android when it comes to traffic and online sales. The company calculates that iOS traffic reached 22.4% of all online traffic, compared to 9.1% for Android. In terms of sales, IBM estimates that iOS represented 14.5% of all online sales versus 2.6% for Android during Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and Thanksgiving
Strong iPad sales and engagement figures bode particularly well for Apple in the key December quarter, as the company is reaching that crucial period of the year with a completely renewed line of products. According to this data, consumers are still pretty much in love with Apple's devices, and that says a lot about the company's medium- and long-term prospects.
Bottom line
Investment decisions should not be solely based on data from a short period of time, but the start of the shopping season can underscore some important long-term trends to consider. Amazon and eBay continue benefiting from growing online retail sales and digital payments, while Apple seems to be as strong as ever in terms of customer demand and user engagement. Information collected over the last week has relevant implications for investors thinking about the best companies to hold for years to come.
Which stock should be at the top of your list for the new year?
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subset: commoncrawl


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Evolution Revolution
Group think helped produce ant colonies and bee hives—and the heights of human culture.
At a certain point in their careers, great jazz musicians are almost bound to disappoint their fans. Think of John Coltrane venturing into free jazz in the late 1960s or Miles Davis going electric a few years later. The vision that made them great the first time pushes them into new territory, and the magnitude of their early accomplishments—and the number of admirers they have attracted—makes their public's sense of betrayal all the more bitter. All they can do is keep playing, undaunted by the dissent.
This reality comes to mind when reading Edward O. Wilson's "The Social Conquest of Earth," a sweeping argument about the biological origins of complex human culture. It is full of both virtuosity and raw, abrupt assertions that are nonetheless well-crafted and captivating, presented with equanimity and serenity even though a firestorm of disagreement surrounds them. It's not every book that is preceded by a critical public letter from more than 130 of the author's peers, as Mr. Wilson's was when a legion of biologists wrote to the journal Nature last year to register their belief that his current thinking is wrong.
The Social Conquest of Earth
By Edward O. Wilson
Liveright, 330 pages, $27.95
The controversy is due to the fact that he is challenging one of the central pillars of modern evolutionary biology—that natural selection acts far more strongly on individuals and genetic relatives than on broader social groups. In addition, "The Social Conquest of Earth" is a reversal of Mr. Wilson's own earlier view that the evolution of altruism was driven by kin selection rather than group selection.
This issue is brought to the fore by social insects like bees and ants, which exhibit the Darwinian paradox of evolved sterility. How can sterility evolve by a process that favors the best-reproducing? On the kin-selection theory, sterile workers that serve the hive were selected for because they were spreading their genes through helping their mothers, sisters and brothers reproduce. Now Mr. Wilson promotes the highly contested idea that group selection—the competition of one group against others—is the driving force, favoring self-sacrificial behaviors in individuals that benefit all group members, even those that aren't related.
At 82, Mr. Wilson is the world's indefatigable authority on the social life of ants. He has been at it all his life. Like most great naturalists, he was baptized into the discipline with his first walk in the woods. While I've always thought of ants as something to step on, he zeroed in on their every aspect. In mastering the minute details of the insect world, he saw the larger picture.
The field of biology is sprinkled with Mr. Wilson's landmark findings. His work in the late 1950s on chemical signaling systems, which analyzed the production and detection of pheromones, revealed the mechanisms of ants' social interactions. His book "The Theory of Island Biogeography" (1967), co-written with Robert MacArthur, was an early and important use of his rigorous, quantitative approach. First he studied the details of an island habitat. Then he got together with a mathematician to build a predictive model about how species would fare in a limited space, duly accounting for dozens of variables, like birth rate and the island's distance from others. The work revolutionized the field of ecology, pushing it away from taxonomy and toward empirical studies.
It wasn't until the early 1970s, however, that Mr. Wilson became a household name in and beyond the scientific community. His blockbuster book, "Sociobiology: The New Synthesis" (1975), was the event that popularized the idea that social behavior derives from genes. Genes controlled eye color, after all. Why not social phenomena too? Even though only one of the 27 chapters in "Sociobiology" was devoted to humans, Mr. Wilson was ruthlessly attacked by blank-slaters, social scientists, leftists and Marxists. So-called biological determinism was felt to be overreaching and taking the fun and challenge out of life. The battle lines were drawn, the character assassinations commenced, civility was out the window. It was like a Republican primary debate.
Sociobiology triumphed, with a generation of pioneering evolutionary biologists, including William Hamilton, John Maynard Smith, George Williams, Robert Trivers and Richard Dawkins, all involved. But as he recalls in "The Social Conquest of Earth," he was shocked, stunned, hurt by the initial reaction. Though battered, he came away with a new dimension to his scientific approach: He learned that throwing bombs isn't all bad. Now he obviously enjoys watching people squirm as they cling to their ideas while he offers alternatives. Indeed, he has forthrightly announced that the function of his new book is to upset the current apple cart on the nature of the human condition. He fully expects to be lambasted for his analysis.
During the controversy over sociobiology, Mr. Wilson was lumped together with advocates of individual selection, such as Hamilton and Mr. Trivers, and at the time he let it go. In this book, his long simmering true view gets expressed, and he basically jettisons his erstwhile companions. Mr. Wilson now seems cheerily free at last from his own earlier proposals. Not only social insects but humans too—especially art, religion and other unique facets of the human condition—are better viewed, he argues, through the lens of group selection. Indeed, some feel that back in the 1970s he never really cottoned to the idea of individual selection and always embraced group selection. In "Sociobiology," he wrote, "Although the theory of group selection is still rudimentary, it has already provided insights into some of the least understood and most disturbing qualities of social behavior."
Jazz artists improvise. Mr. Wilson does too as he goes through his argument in "The Social Conquest of Earth." I say "improvise" because he chooses not to give the reader the complete story, properly annotated with references that would capture the huge controversies that accompany almost all the facts he reviews. He first hooks the reader by sketching the life of Paul Gauguin and his quest to answer the riddles of "Where do we come from?," "What are we?" and "Where are we going?" as embodied in his painting that bears these questions as its title. The poignant introduction is followed by a quick tour of the history of biology and anthropology, from the story of early hominids right up to and including modern man. While Mr. Wilson may have tired of all the rancor, it would have been intriguing to have his full account of how he arrived at his conclusions.
He now sees group selection as key to understanding the handful of eusocial species (those that divide different kinds of labor among different members of a group, such as queen bees and worker bees). He believes that most eusocial life, which is primarily found in insects, can be explained without even resorting to kin selection as a facilitator. This is due to the unusual organization of groupings such as ant nests and bee hives, in which one "queen" produces all the offspring. Thus, Mr. Wilson argues, we should think of all the organisms in a hive or ant nest as a single "superorganism" rather than thousands of individuals. Other inhabitants of the nest are just "robotic extensions" of the queen's genome, with evolution of the species as a whole pitting one queen against another.
When it comes to the development of human eusociality, however, Mr. Wilson sees group-selection mechanisms as being mainly responsible. He is buoyed in his current stance by two Harvard colleagues, Martin Nowak and Corina Tarnita. They built a model showing that it wasn't relatedness (kin) that carried the water for eusociality but mechanisms promoting what is called assortativity—heterogeneous interaction rates among individuals. In short, the gene for high order sociality is not linked to kinship, but to social organization per se, which can be independent of kinship.
Though this is a continuing debate, Mr. Wilson goes all in and casts his vote forcefully: "Group selection shapes instincts that tend to make individuals altruistic toward one another (but not towards members of other groups). Individual selection is responsible for much of what we call sin, while group selection is responsible for the great part of virtue. Together they have created the conflict between the poorer and the better angels of our nature."
Mr. Wilson doesn't mention 40 years of work by such giants as Robert Trivers who identified the concept of reciprocity rather than kin or group selection as the key ingredient in human sociality. Indeed, Mr. Trivers's ideas on reciprocity captured how cooperative behavior becomes selected for and launched a field of evolutionary thinkers such as Richard Dawkins and many more. Many believe that it is the capacity for reciprocity that leads to moral emotions such as guilt, trust and gratitude as well as other wonders of the human condition. Again, Mr. Wilson knows all of this. He wrote about it with gusto in "Sociobiology."
In the end, Mr. Wilson comes down on the side of what is called multi-level selection—the view that evolution involves a combination of gene selection, individual selection, kin selection and group selection. Although he says his new theory opposes the idea of kin selection, in another sense he is simply maintaining that everybody is right. Genes are being selected to benefit the individual and their kin. Genes are also being selected that encourage the individual to participate in a group. And sometimes the drives produced by the different sets of genes conflict—thus the "poorer and the better angels of our nature." This takes Mr. Wilson back to answer the Gauguin trilogy of great questions—"Where from?," "What?" and "Where to?"—by saying we came out of biology, we are the greatest of all animals and because of our heightened social skills—our special human eusociality—we are being driven to greater cooperation and together will conquer the ills of the world.
I like jazz because each performance is unique and there is a good chance you will never hear quite the same tune again. That may be true here too, but setting all the controversies aside, it is fascinating to see such a distinguished scientist optimistic about the future.
Mr. Gazzaniga is director of the Sage Center for Study of Mind at the University of California, Santa Barbara.


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The final version of the policy was introduced last week as a compromise alternative to Freeholder Sam Fiocchi's proposal that he, as personnel committee chair, be given authority to sign off on new hires, rather than the freeholder liaisons to the county departments.
The resolution passed unanimously, and the only voice of dissent present regarding the matter came in the form of Cumberland County Sheriff Bob Austino, who was concerned his autonomy was at stake.
"I am the sole person who hires and fires at the sheriff's department, as long as there is money in the budget for it — that's the law," said Austino, addressing the freeholders. "The way this is written now is illegal."
However, Cumberland County Personnel Director Joe Rossi assured Austino that as sheriff, he would have all authority over new hires at his department.
He added that county officials would merely offer their input and, if requested, their guidance.
"If someone doesn't sign off on one of your hires, that just means they disapprove of it," Rossi told Austino. "But they're still hired."
As introduced last month, the resolution required approval from six individuals before a new employee can be hired — the appointing authority, the county's chief financial officer, the relevant freeholder liaison, the freeholder personnel committee chair, the freeholder director and the county administrator.
However, Freeholder Bill Whelan requested the resolution be tabled due to concerns about members of the board other than the director being given veto powers.
However, according to county solicitor Brenden Kavanagh, the new forms would be "subordinate" to any vote by the freeholders regarding division or department heads.
This, officials said, should alleviate any veto fears regarding those hires.
However, for all other employee decisions, including transfers and promotions, both cases on which the freeholder do not vote, the issue remained a concern.
The resolution approved Tuesday gives the freeholder director the final word on such matters.
"The buck stops at the freeholder director," said Rossi. "The freeholder liaison and the freeholder personnel committee chair can offer their advice and input, but it's the director with the final decision."
Contact Jason Laday at (856) 451-1000, ext. 416 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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It was the hallowed home of the Sixers and the Flyers.
It was a shrine for the shrieking fans of the Grateful Dead, not to mention nearly every other top musical act of the last 40 years.
And soon it will be gone.
The Spectrum, South Philadelphia's storied sports and entertainment venue, which opened in 1967, will be demolished this month. But from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, the public was to be let in to claim one last memory.
In an "If You Can Carry It, You Can Keep It" free-for-all, folding chairs, bar stools, used TVs, office furniture, leather couches, computer equipment, coffee and bar tables, lamps, and other collectibles were to be arrayed on the arena's floor.


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Trying to close its budget gap, the state plans to borrow $3.2 million in local property tax revenue and take nearly $1 million in redevelopment money.
The state will be required to repay the borrowed tax revenue with interest within three years.
"The fixes that the state came up with are not fixes at all," city spokeswoman Gail Ortiz said.
The state's decision means the city will need to dip into Santa Clarita's reserves.
"This is a lot," she said. "It would pretty much wipe out our rainy-day fund."
Several capital projects are on hold indefinitely as a result of the fiscal fiasco, Ortiz said.
No matter what, she said, Santa Clarita will continue to have a balanced budget.
"We always budget for the worst-case scenario," she said. "We never have a deficit."
The city's spending plan for the 2009/10 fiscal year is about $172 million, including a general fund of nearly $78 million.


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The Boeing 757 occupies a unique market niche at the top end of the narrow-body market. With a two-class capacity of 189 seats, and a 3,900 mile nautical mile range, this aircraft was once a staple of the transcontinental US market and, following the addition of winglets, has carved out a niche on flights from the US East Coast to nonhub European destinations. The 757 has largely been replaced on US trans-con routes by the Boeing 737-800, a somewhat smaller aircraft that is less costly to operate and much less expensive to purchase when both aircraft were in production.
Produced from 1982-2004, many of the 1,049 757s produced are nearing retirement, and with no direct successor in sight, the question of which of today's narrow-body alternatives can best fill its mission requirements is a critical question as airlines consider alternatives.
The contenders in the market today are the Airbus A321neo and the Boeing 737900ER. In this report, IAG compare the two aircraft, analyze their mission capabilities, and compare their advantages and disadvantages. Neither of these aircraft has the payload/range capabilities of the 757, which can handle trans-Atlantic flights of 3,900nm with a full passenger and cargo load. Which of the two aircraft comes closest to meeting airline requirements for replacing the 757, and how do they compare, is the focus of this study.
The Boeing 737-900ER
The Airbus A321 and 321NEO
Comparative Specifications
Comparative Economics
- Boeing
- Airbus


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Please click on the link below to download the latest version. Thanks!
A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that 82 percent of Americans believe we are still in a recession, despite new numbers indicating economic growth. They say they won't be ready to celebrate until they see real changes in their lives. Most Americans don't believe the recession is over yet -- and for good reason. Unemployment is stuck at nearly 10 percent and could go higher.
"We work in an industry that has lost a lot of jobs and we haven't started rehiring yet," Maclom McMullen said. "We both work as managers, who would be responsible for hiring, we are just not."
Two-thirds of Americans, 74 percent, say they are worried about the direction of the nation's economy, while 60 percent are worried about their own family's finances. Some don't even have enough for the basics.
"We can't afford groceries anymore to the standard that we're used to," Alicia Gagnon said.
So why is it that the nation's top economists see things so differently?
"Well economics isn't like sports, there is no buzzer that ends the game suddenly and jubilation for one side and despair for the other. It just ends very slowly," Robert Brusca, chief economist for Fact & Opinion Economics, explained.
Meanwhile, 75 percent of the nation's wealthiest think the country is still in a recession, while 84 percent of Republicans and 79 percent of Democrats agree with that assessment.
Economy Growing, But Americans Aren't Buying It
GDP Growth Gives Economy Glimmer of Hope
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The "Trump train" was derailed in Wisconsin as voters in the Badger State gave Ted Cruz a major victory over "The Donald." The big question now is – are the Republicans headed for a contested convention this summer?


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Serena Williams is healthy again, which is bad news for women heading to the U.S. Open. And now there's word Li Na won't complete when the tournament begins Aug. 25.
Li has a nagging knee injury and has been advised not to play in the Open, she announced Thursday on her Facebook page. The only way the joint will heal is to rest.
U.S. OPEN: Tourney info | Men's champions | Women's champions | Rafael Nadal's wrist injury
That takes the world's No. 2-ranked player out of the women's competition. Williams is No. 1.
Li has problems with both knees. She pulled out of an April tournament in Europe because of her left knee, and she had her right knee taped at Wimbledon.
It appears she will rest to be able to play in the Wuhan Open back home in China, which begins Sept. 22.
After winning the Australian Open, Li lost in the first round at the French Open and in the third round at Wimbledon.
Men's and women's players are heavily involved in preparatory tournaments, with competitions ahead in Cincinnati and Toronto.
Williams is playing her first matches since defaulting in a Wimbledon doubles match. She looked healthy and seemed enthused in a 7-5, 6-2 victory on Wednesday. She had a viral infection during the fortnight, losing early in singles competition and quitting her doubles match.
"I thought I played well," Williams said of her play in Stanford, Calif. "I'm on the right path, I'm excited and I'm looking forward to my next match."
That will be either fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic and qualifier Carol Zhao, a Stanford sophomore playing in her first WTA event.
Williams deflected questions about her health.
"I'm still taking it a match at a time," she said. "It worked out. I was feeling fine. I made some silly errors early because I was not on my toes enough."


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UNION TWP. — Three people were taken to the hospital today following a two-car accident on Route 173 near Route 614.
The early-afternoon crash occurred near Route 78, which was already experiencing lengthy delays due to a crash near Exit 24 (Oldwick) earlier in the day.
The three people hurt in the accident on Route 173 were taken to the hospital by Pattenburg and Clinton Rescue Squads.
Responding to the accident were the NJ State Police, Pattenburg Fire Department, Pattenburg Rescue Squad, and Clinton Rescue Squad. Troopers at the Perryville station are investigating the crash.
More Hunterdon County news: NJ.com/hunterdon • Facebook • Twitter


text: On Sun, Aug 31, 2003 at 02:32:45PM -0700, Joyce Cao Traugott wrote: > > Can you create a news entry for PenLUG? Also please remove the Done. > > 2-year-old entries (dated 2001) as they make the site look stale. The page shows whichever news aren't expired. The problem is that we don't have enough new news, or they have expired and aren't shown anymore. Then, it goes back up to the last piece of news that doesn't expire. > > Suggested text: > > > > "SVLUG member Bill Ward has started PenLUG (Peninsula LUG), a new > > Linux group which meets at the Oracle campus in Redwood Shores." > > (Link "PenLUG" to http://www.penlug.org) > > > Would you be able to put this news to the website? I was trying to do it, > but I think I did something wrong. I just edited /home/httpd/html/svlug-news.txt Marc -- "A mouse is a device used to point at the xterm you want to type in" - A.S.R. Microsoft is to operating systems & security .... .... what McDonalds is to gourmet cooking Home page: http://marc.merlins.org/ | Finger marc_f at merlins.org for PGP key


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National Skill Development Council (NSDC) is established to confer vocational training and skill development to the ever growing workforce of the country through its various skill training programs. NSDC is an initiative taken under a first of its kind Public Private Partnership (PPP). NSDC, with its 62 alliances, is going to train around 74 million people in the next 10 years in India. The organization focuses on private sector and contributes to the upliftment of the unorganized sector in India by imparting skill improvement training.
It also engages in support and training programmes, in-depth research to find skill gaps in the Indian workforce, and developing accreditation norms. NSDC has been set up under PM's National Council on Skill Development with the primary mandate of enhancing, supporting and coordinating private sector initiative for skill development.
Skill Tree Consulting (P) Ltd is associated with NSDC with an objective to cater to healthcare sector by providing specialized, internationally accredited training services through a structured and qualitative curriculum. It has also made certain that the skill development programmes that it has developed help the rural India to elevate the existing condition of unorganized sectors in the country.
The prevailing education system must be attuned to the universal environment by encouraging creativity and upgrading the quality of education as well as training at all levels. Countries that have had the most rapid increases in educational attainment, as well as sustained economic growth, have upgraded education sequentially. Skill Tree in alliance with NSDC provides tertiary education (in healthcare sector) to develop core capabilities and core technical skills; and further means of achieving lifelong learning.


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Update, 3:15 p.m.:
Authorities have identified the shooter as 49-year-old Ricky Don McCommas of Granbury.
Lonny Haschel, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a prepared statement from Granbury police and the Hood County Sheriff that McCommas shot at a sheriff's deputy in the head about 10 miles north of Granbury.
That deputy was transported to John Peter Smith Hospital and his injuries are life-threatening, officials said. They did not release his name.
Deputies called for backup after the incident, Haschel said and McCommas drove the white van with windows shot out into the Granbury City Hall parking lot. The suspect opened fire on officers and shot an officer, Chad Davis "in an upper extremity," the statement said.
Police returned fire and McCommas died from those gunshot wounds.
Davis' injuries are not life-threatening and he is being treated at the Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth.
Haschel said the investigation is ongoing and is being handled by Hood County Sheriff's Office, Granbury Police and the Texas Rangers.
Original post:
A shootout that ended outside Granbury City Hall this morning left a police officer and sheriff's deputy wounded and the suspect dead.
The conditions of the officers have not yet been officially released, but the Granbury police officer was transported to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital what are said to be non-life-threatening injuries. The Hood County News reports that the deputy who was wounded was shot in the head and flown to a Fort Worth hospital by CareFlite.
The suspect was armed with an assault rifle with a large drum-style magazine.(NBC 5)
The unidentified gunman died in the exchange of gunfire on the Town Square. It's believed he was armed with an assault rifle (pictured below) and dressed in military-style fatigues.
The altercation began shortly before 11 a.m. on Edgecliff Court in the Oak Trail subdivision on Lake Granbury, northwest of town. A deputy was shot there, triggering a chase into Granbury. It's unclear what prompted officers to confront the suspect, who was driving a white van.
The pursuit ended on Houston Street in downtown, where another officer was injured in a hail of as many as three dozen bullets. The gunman was hit multiple times and died at the scene, where his body remained there this afternoon, covered by a white sheet.
City Hall is cordoned off and closed for the rest of the day.


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By Acclaim Entertainment | Released: 1990
The first Double Dragon for the NES was a capable and compelling coin-op conversion, but this sequel was superior to that original in many ways, primarily because it kept a core feature of the franchise, co-op play, intact on the home system. Brawling brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee were once again playable in both single-player mode, but for the first time on the 8-bit Nintendo you and a friend could team up to punch, kick and hair-pull your foes to death simultaneously through an all-new set of side-scrolling beat-'em-up stages. The game also offered the sibling heroes an upgrade to their fighting repertoires, with several impressive new skills like the unforgettable Cyclone Spin Kick, and some iconic new set pieces in which to do battle, like a stage that took place aboard a helicopter in-flight thousands of feet above the ocean. There really is nothing quite like punching a guy in the gut, jump-kicking him in the face and watching him fall backwards out of a chopper's open side-door, then imagining his terror as he plummets to a watery death in the waves below. Bye-bye, Abobo.
What stuck out most for me about Double Dragon II was how varied the game was. It was much harder than the first game, which I liked, and even though I played through it a couple of times, it didn't leave me with a "been there, done that" feeling that so many other games did. Oh, and they advertised this sucker like crazy in comic books at the time (no, really).
- Jeremy Dunham, IGN Games Editorial Manager


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A heartfelt thanks to the many young people who spent Saturday, May 28, decorating the graves of the various military branches and to the parents who lined the roads within Eternal Valley and along Sierra Highway to make it all possible.
Even a decade or more of scouting and witnessing this memorial ritual does not prepare one for the impact when it is one of your own being so honored for the first time. The number of different youth and age groups participating, wearing their uniforms and insignia was an amazing sight. They demonstrated pride in their units, and did their task with great solemnity.
It was moving to see the individual groups smartly salute the flags they posted at the head of the grave sites.
Returning Sunday morning while the dew was still on the lawns and a gentle breeze was fluttering, the flags brought tears to the eye. I'm so grateful that those who served their country in so many diverse ways and are responsible for the well-being we so enjoy, though often take for granted, are so well-remembered.
I'm a proud wife of a World War II Navy man.


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Mobility limitations are common in older adults, affecting the physical, psychological, and social aspects of an older adult's life.
To identify mobility risk factors, screening tools, medical management, need for physical therapy, and efficacy of exercise interventions for older primary care patients with limited mobility.
Evidence Acquisition
Search of PubMed and PEDro from January 1985 to March 31, 2013, using the search terms mobility limitation, walking difficulty, and ambulatory difficulty to identify English-language, peer-reviewed systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and Cochrane reviews assessing mobility limitation and interventions in community-dwelling older adults. Articles not appearing in the search referenced by reviewed articles were also evaluated.
The most common risk factors for mobility impairment are older age, low physical activity, obesity, strength or balance impairment, and chronic diseases such as diabetes or arthritis. Several tools are available to assess mobility in the ambulatory setting. Referral to physical therapy is appropriate, because physical therapists can assess mobility limitations and devise curative or function-enhancing interventions. Relatively few studies support therapeutic exercise to improve mobility limitation. Strong evidence supports resistance and balance exercises for improving mobility-limiting physical weakness and balance disorders. Assessing a patient's physical environment and the patient's ability to adapt to it using mobility devices is critical.
Conclusions and Relevance
Identification of older adults at risk for mobility limitation can be accomplished through routine screening in the ambulatory setting. Addressing functional deficits and environmental barriers with exercise and mobility devices can lead to improved function, safety, and quality of life for patients with mobility limitations.
OT indicates occupational therapy; PT, physical therapy.
aPreclinical limitations can be elicited by asking this question of older adults who report no difficulty in mobility tasks.
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Author Interview
JAMA 2013-09-17, Vol. 310, No. 11, Author Audio Interview
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In the last three and a half years if you have seen TMO perform, listened to our music, or been in touch with our firstname.lastname@example.com account, you will have likely in some capacity experienced the force that is Chandler McMurray-Ives. Coming on four years ago, we wrote Chandler an email from an internet cafe somewhere in Berlin. We said, "We love you, we think you are awesome, will you be our manager?" She wrote (not verbatim), "Are you crazy…and Yes!" With relatively no managerial experience, but serious charisma and a knack for throwing perfect events, we engaged in a nearly 4 year long working relationship and friendship that has seen the band grow in the most incredible and unimaginable ways. We all learned so much together these last years. To a great degree, we learned patience, understanding, and trust for one another. We have loved each other, hurt each other but more than that we have grown together beyond any guess any of us could have made. Chandler has truly put her entire everything into the workings of this group and will for many reasons be apart of the continuing growth and success of TMO. But for now, she is saying goodbye to TMO for both personal and professional reasons.
Chandler is an artist, a romantic, a mover, a friend but most importantly a catalyst for art to be experienced. Chandler runs a not for profit arts society called Ambiguous Arts Festivals Society ( http://www.ambigarts.com/ ). From the website :
"Since 2004, Ambiguous Arts Festivals Society has stood for maintaining artistic integrity, passion and innovation, and showcasing up and coming artists and performers alongside the established."
It is in this context that TMO truly got to experience Victoria as its home town and place of community in those formative years. We will truly miss you, Chandler, and wish nothing but the best for you in your new endeavours and have no doubt that your life will continue to blossom and enrich the lives of everyone you touch.


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Pro-family groups have accused the Obama administration of dragging its feet when it comes to safeguarding children from questionable television content.
At the center of the allegation is indecent material that was broadcast several years ago on the ABC and Fox networks.
The Federal Communications Commission issued fines in each of the cases, but New York's 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the FCC's broadcast policy was "unconstitutionally vague" and would create a "chilling effect" on speech.
Pro-family groups, like Concerned Women for America, believe the administration is trying to run the clock so it won't have to enforce decency standards.
"The Justice Department must appeal this case unless President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder are fine with throwing all standards of decency and all protection of children out the window when it comes to the television airwaves," CWA Chief Executive officer Penny Nance said in a released statement.
"Those airwaves belong to the public and no one supports dropping F-bombs on Good Morning America in the morning, or Dr. Phil in the afternoon, or American Idol in the evening. These activist judges have thumbed their noses at Congress, the FCC, and American families," she added.
"Broadcasters filed this case in New York because they knew this was a liberal activist court unlikely to uphold the decency standards. So the ball is in Obama's and Holder's court. Will they defend American families and children or not?" Nance asked.
The Parents Television Council has warned that inaction could make broadcast television look a lot like programming on the pay movie cable channel Home Box Office.
FCC Passes Controversial 'Net Neutrality' Rules
FCC Defends Broadcast Decency Law
Federal Communications Commission
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The recreation areas at Blue Marsh Lake and the Union Canal trails along the Tulpehocken Creek in Berks County have reopened.
The beach and boat launches at the lake and the creek trails downstream were closed Tuesday after heavy rains raised the lake's level by about three feet, forcing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release a substantial amount of water.
"The level of the pool at Blue Marsh Lake has receded to a point that permits the project to open the Dry Brooks Day Use Area and all boat launches to the public," said Scott Sunderland, supervisory natural resource management specialist. "Visitors should use caution as numerous objects could have floated into the lake or been deposited on the lake bottom and shoreline."
The Berks County Parks and Recreation Department has also completed the necessary maintenance to reopen the Tulpehocken Creek trails.


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Looking down at his cuffed hands, Peter Murphy said he didn't think creating a Facebook page would get this far.
The 19-year-old was arraigned this morning before District Judge James Stocklas on misdemeanor harassment charges for allegedly creating the "Exposing Easton Hoes" Facebook page.
"I wish I never did it," Murphy, of Newark, told a reporter while sitting in the Downtown Easton district courtroom. "I want to apologize to who was on the page."
The page featured photo after photo, supposedly of local women and girls, along with their full names and blurbs filled with vulgarities and their supposed sexual escapades.
The page reached 1,500 "likes" within a weekend in March before being shut down by Facebook after being contacted by The Express-Times. The page appeared to contain links to individual's legitimate Facebook pages.
Murphy said he didn't have to search for the content he allegedly posted. He said people sent him information and links that he then copied and pasted onto the page.
In earlier questioning with the police, Murphy admitted to setting up the page out of "spite and revenge" after having been featured on a similar page in the past, according to court records.
Easton police launched an investigation after receiving complaints about the page. Police said they served search warrants to Facebook, Yahoo and Optimum Online and tracked the Internet Protocol address of the page's creator to
Murphy's mother's home in Newark, according to an arrest warrant.
"It's a lesson learned; that's something he knows he won't be doing again, ever," his mother, Adrienne Murphy, said. "If he has a comment about someone, he'll keep it to himself."
She said they lived in Easton until moving to Newark recently. She declined to comment further about the incident.
Peter Murphy's preliminary hearing is set for 11 a.m. June 7. Stocklas set bail on the harassment charges at $5,000.
Murphy was already in Northampton County prison in lieu of $75,000 bail on unrelated burglary charges from a May 19 incident in the 300 block of Palmer Street in Easton.


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Congenital atresia of the tricuspid orifice is a rare condition and to make this anomaly compatible with life, it becomes necessary that there be patent foramen ovale or at least an opening in the interauricular septum and that the two ventricles communicate. Associated with these, there may also be a patent ductus arteriosus. When the conditions mentioned above are the only anomalies, such a case is spoken of in the literature as an uncomplicated case. Of such we have been able to find records of eight cases to date. As complicated cases may be considered those in which there are further anomalies, such as transposition of vessels. The case which we have had under observation is as follows:
E. L., 8½ months old, was admitted to Michael Reese Hospital Nov. 5, 1914, and died Nov. 12, 1914, after having been under our observation for about four months.
The child had
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Iconoclast® Front Orthopedic Boot
Iconoclast® Front Orthopedic Horse Boots feature Double Sling Straps® for unparalleled lateral support that's evenly distributed to the suspensory branches. These lightweight, flexible neoprene horse boots lift and cradle the horse's legs while reducing joint interference and restriction. Perfect all around boots for any discipline! Read more...
The Iconoclast® Front Orthopedic Horse Boot with patented Double Sling Straps® delivers unparalleled lateral support. Evenly distributed support of the suspensory branches sets the Iconoclast boot apart as the only one that truly lifts and cradles the horse's leg. Designed to reduce joint interference and restriction, this neoprene horse boot makes an ideal all-around boot for every equine discipline. It can help your horse feel more confident with each step he takes, in and out of the arena. Endorsed by veterinarians and horsemen, this method of support has never before been provided for the equine athlete through a strap-on, non-restricting device. This boot helps to protect against flexion injury and also helps during rehabilitation from a previous injury. To determine your horse's size, use a soft tape measure to get the circumference of the largest part of the fetlock. Pair.
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The Milwaukee School Board is holding a special meeting Wednesday night to consider employment, compensation and job performance of the MPS superintendent.
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* natgas deal with Shell
* revs/profits boost from wholly-owned TA travel centers
* activist investors (Icahn former right hand guy) is all over RMR this could be HUGE
* management's outlook for 2013
On the HPT conference call, the company made two comments regarding TA. First, that TA had a good qtr, and second, the locations that TA bought were under-performing. That's the reason HPT passed on purchasing these locations.
What TA will report is anyone's guess. I've said this before, I like the business model, but I don't trust this management to execute it. If management makes excuses like they did in other qtrs, that's it, I'm out.
Sentiment: Hold
It seems that that comment on the new sites are under performing is excuse to it investor to not allocate more asset in this space of real estate which was alluded to before by them. Now the story changes. However, it is also expected the current purchased will not be best performers because they were of another brand and management before TA bought them for cheap. Hence why they were able to low ball them. Once the site is fully branded under TA it will become part of a established network utilized by huge fleets. So this transaction will take a bit of time but it will eventually show up in the numbers soon.
Good list and spot on.
The interesting thing about the list is that only one of them (in my opinion) is meaningful to the company's (as opposed to the stocks) performance - the contribution of the wholly-owned sites. Nat gas will not be a meaningful contributor in any way for at least 5 or 10 years.
That said, it is likely that any of the other three (natgas, activist, outlook) will probably have a bigger impact on the stock (as opposed to the company) performance.....which is why investing is still not an exact science, more like part analysis, part psychology, part gut feel, part chart, etc.
Fun stuff.


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NEDBANK says it will forfeit about R67m a year in noninterest revenue by scrapping all noncash Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transaction fees, such as balance enquiries and prepaid purchases.
This is part of a strategy to retain and grow the bank's customer base, as pricing is increasingly becoming a competition issue among the big four banks.
Nedbank has the smallest customer base of about 5.6-million and has been targeting the low-end market for growth.
Moira Sharp, product specialist manager pricing and analytics at Nedbank said on Friday the strategy was an acquisition strategy, but it had to be the right customer that was acquired.
As banks cut transactional fees for the benefit of the customers, it put pressure on them to enlarge their customer base and attract good quality transacting clients in order to offset the noninterest revenue lost from cutting fees.
Ms Sharp said for Nedbank's Savvy Account, the bank was reducing the charges for transactions made in non-Nedbank ATMs, as the bank was out of market compared to others.
The new pricing structure is effective on January 1. Nedbank said it would reduce cash deposit fees on the account aimed at clients with higher transactions.
Ms Sharp said the bank was the first to introduce technology in South Africa that reduced successful online banking fraud attempts by more than 99%, thus saving the bank millions of rand.
Nedbank's pricing announcement comes just two days after Standard Bank said it would not increase fees next year for a second year in a row.
"We note the recent reduction in monthly fees by some banks on certain bundled products and encourage our clients to review their transacting behaviour and not only the headline monthly fee," Anton de Wet, managing executive for client engagement at Nedbank said last Friday.


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Anything but. Lipsitz, who was working in New York on the Justin Bieber 3-D concert film, watched as her Magical Elves production company's Top Chef defeated the long-dominant (and seven-time winner) Amazing Race.
"Everyone just went nuts," says Lipsitz. "My phone, my Blackberry, it was all going crazy. Then [coproducer] Dan [Cutforth] calls me from backstage and says, 'I can't believe you're not here!' "
From across the country, says Lipsitz (the Emmys took place in Los Angeles), "I heard that funny story of Padma Lakshmi hitting Phil Keoghan [of Amazing Race] before the awards and saying, 'We're taking you down this year!' "
But how did the Bravo cooking contest take down the CBS's Amazing competition? "I think people were ready for a change," Lipsitz says. "We poured our hearts and souls into Top Chef, and it's so rewarding we were recognized. We were definitely the underdogs, the scrappy little show that could."
Could another possible reason be that the Las Vegas season of Top Chef whetted the TV Academy voters' appetites?
"We had such a high level of talent in terms of the chefs that it really stood out," says the producer, "and hopefully reflected in how much we care about storytelling and the look of the show and casting and all that stuff."
Besides, how could one go wrong with the cooking Voltaggio brothers? "We have not ever seen another set of sibling chefs," Lipsitz says. "We wouldn't not do it again, but that was definitely a unique story – and sort of Shakespearean – when it came down to the two brothers."
See what other readers have to say about this story – or leave a comment of your own


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ōHistory from the Margins: Borderlands and Frontiers in the Americasö
March 31st to April 1st, 2006
Louisiana Tech University
Ruston, Louisiana
The Gulf Coast Consortium of Latin American Colonialists invites paper proposals from faculty, graduate students and independent scholars on topics related to the conferenceÆs theme. Proposals on any topics related to colonial Latin America are also welcome. Proposals should be no more than 200 words in length and are due no later than January 12th, 2006. Papers will be due by March 17th 2006. Attendance by all interested scholars is heartily encouraged.