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Contact Pacific Southwest Waste Program
Pacific Southwest, Region 9
Serving: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Pacific Islands, Tribal Nations
Solid Waste Management on Tribal Lands
Open Dump Cleanup on Tribal Land
On This Page:
Open Dump Regulations
EPA defines an "open dump" as a multi-family dumpsite of any size or content.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Subtitle D, prohibits open dumping of solid waste.
For dumpsites posing an imminent and substantial endangerment, EPA can enforce closure under RCRA Section 7003 or RCRA Section 4005(c)(2). Citizens can bring federal civil suits under RCRA Section 7002 for potential or actual violations of RCRA.
Tribes can also develop codes and ordinances against open dumping and enforce them. For guidance on developing codes and ordinances, see "Developing Solid Waste Codes and Ordinances."
Illegal Dumping Prevention and Enforcement
The Illegal Dumping Prevention Guidebook (PDF) (33 pp, 1.1M) guide gives tips for developing an illegal dumping prevention program, including information on site maintenance and controls, community outreach and involvement, targeted enforcement, and program measurement.
The Tribal Waste Journal – Respect our Resources: Prevent Illegal Dumping (PDF) (22 pp, 1.3M) guide has interviews with tribal leaders and tribal-specific tips for preventing illegal dumping.
Chapter 3 of the Decision-Maker's Guide to Solid Waste Management (PDF) (14 pp, 610K) discusses how implementing and enforcing solid waste codes can be critical to preventing and prosecuting illegal dumping.
Coming soon – Illegal Dumping Enforcement Mechanisms on Tribal Lands
Currently in development, this guide will highlight creative and innovative dump enforcement mechanisms that have been used by tribes in Region 9.
Illegal Dumping Outreach and Education
- Kwis and Tiio in "The Dump" – Example of an educational cartoon from the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe.
- Tribal Decision-Makers Guide to Solid Waste Management – Chapter 6 (PDF) (14 pp, 526K)
Public Education and Community Outreach
Dump Assessment
Open Dump Survey
The Open Dump Survey Form (PDF) (Please SAVE TO YOUR COMPUTER and then fill out the saved form) (2 pp, 255K) and Guide (PDF) (14 pp, 76K) can help characterize an open dumpsite and develop risk-based prioritization for cleanups. EPA and Indian Health Services (IHS) also use this form to characterize sites. In order to have your tribal dumpsite listed on IHS's Open Dump List or on IHS's Sanitary Deficiency System List (SDS) (critical for being eligible for dump cleanup money under some grant programs); please send a completed form on each site to an EPA Tribal Solid Waste Team Member or contact your IHS area representative.
Indian Health Service (IHS) Sanitary Deficiency System (SDS) List
The Sanitation Tracking and Reporting System (wSTARS) is an inventory of the sanitation deficiencies of American Indian and Alaska Native communities, which consist of needed water, sewer and solid waste facilities for existing homes. The sanitation deficiencies data are identified by each of the 12 Indian Health Service Area Offices across the nation in consultation with the respective tribes in those Areas. The projects are scored based on several factors including health impact, cost, deficiency level, tribal priority, and O&M capacity. The list is used by Congress to fund projects. Recent historical funding levels for projects on the SDS list have been about $3.5M.
To see a current list of SDS projects:
- Go to the wSTARS web site.
- Click on the IHS area map or the region of interest.
- Click the "public access" link at the bottom of the page.
- Click the "one-line listing" link. The resultant list includes the projects in the SDS system. Project number, name (including in most cases the name of the tribe), priority, and cost are shown.
Tribal Example – Reno Sparks
The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony uses GIS to manage open dumping on tribal lands. Using GPS data collection methods in the field, the Solid Waste division has had success in gathering accurate in-the-field data on open dumping issues. Data collected in the field are managed in the office using GIS. The software has allowed the tribe to better organize, manage, and analyze their data in order to plan for the management of open dumps on tribal lands.
Illegal Dumping Economic Assessment (IDEA) Cost Estimating Model
The IDEA model, created by the Illegal Dumping Prevention Project, is an easy-to-use tool for assessing a variety of costs associated with illegal dumping activities, primarily in urban areas. Intended users include (1) state, tribal, and local government authorities and; (2) community groups and civic organizations. Specifically, the model can be used to: estimate the costs of cleanup activities; assess indirect costs; and conduct cost analyses.
GIS Software for Tribes (PDF) (23 pp, 4.0M)
Available through Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) and BIA, this software can be used to map and catalogue open dumpsites.
Dump Cleanup
Funding Dump Cleanup
The Funding Opportunities Web page includes information on dump characterization and dump cleanup funding available from federal, state, and foundation grant programs.
Technical Advice for Cleanup
The Technical Advice for Cleanup Web site includes tips and samples for writing open dump cleanup, site remediation, health and safety, and public participation plans associated with the cleanup of open dumpsites on tribal land.


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Eat Bulaga September 21, 2016
Eat Bulaga September 21, 2016 unparalleled and being the longest running early afternoon theatrical presentation in the Philippines created by Television And Production Exponents Inc. (TAPE) and publicized by GMA Network. The show telecasts from The New TAPE Studios (Eastside Studio) at the GMA Broadway Centrum in New Manila, Quezon City. Eat Bulaga! is circulated Weekdays at 12:00 NN to 2:35 PM and Saturdays at 11:30 AM. The show is likewise telecast worldwide through GMA Pinoy TV.
MAIN HOST: Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon
READ MORE: Wikipedia

subset: commoncrawl


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Music Review: Nickelback's Here and Now
Nickelback's seventh studio album is everything you would expect it to be and not much more
Venturing into the studio for the seventh time, Nickelback's latest attempts have yielded what one might expect from a radio-rock band repeatedly accused of being tried, unimaginative and in many cases stale: a run-of-the-mill radio-rock album that is tried, unimaginative and in many cases, stale. Here and Now shocks no one; complete with all the interchangeable, cookie-cutter parts the band is known for - themes centering around sex, drugs and rock n' roll, power chords laced over a heavy baseline and the all-to-familiar gravely vocals of frontman Chad Kroeger – it is a formulaic release from a formulaic band and that's just the way they want it.
Nickelback has never been interested in pandering to critics and haters; they make music their core fan base knows and loves and that seems enough considering they ranked 11th on the list of best-selling music acts of the 2000s. They're following a tried and true trail to the top, blazed by forerunners like AC/DC and KISS: make music that rocks because music that rocks sells. The critics can say what they want; this is a business where dollars speak louder than any of their words and Nickelback has a whole fistful of them.
And they'll make plenty more with Here and Now. The album starts in their usual fast pace tempo, wasting no time tackling the big three themes Nickelback can't seem to exhaust: whiskey, women and getting wild. Turns out "they love their whiskey, [they] drink that shit 'til its dry" and they love their women "who smoke a little homegrown and drink a little Cuervo." The first four tracks all seem to bleed into one long party (and song) and just as you thought they were going to seriously pull out an album not catering to a pay check it falls into the familiar radio sound with the acoustic ballad "Lullaby," and the forcibly conscientious "When We Stand Together." "Kiss it Goodbye" takes a few easy pot shots at fake nature of Hollywood and "Everything I Wanna Do" is just short of lyrical porn; they throw in a few more made-for-radio tracks like "Holding on to Heaven" and "Don't Ever Let It End" for balance and call it a day at a lofty 39 minutes.
Which is really more than enough. Once we hit refrains like "you and me, sitting in a tree, F-U-C-K-I-N-G" most would agree we've exhausted the talent pool. Nevertheless, the album will certainly appeal to the rabid fan base and most definitely annoy the critics pining for progression. Their sound is neither refined nor reinvented; it is not better or worse than any album before it. It is just another chapter in a bands boring book that will sell millions and millions of copies.
Best Tracks: "This Means War," "Bottom's Up," "Midnight Queen"
Skip These: "Everything I Wanna Do," "Don't Ever Let it End," "Holding on to Heaven"


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"Ruffy had a fantastic time- he is missing his little friend! Thanks so much for your wonderful..."
"Thanks Kalina for taking care of our little Flash! "
"Thanks again back had a lovely holiday:)"
"Miki is lovely, dependable and very caring."
"Olivia did a house and pet sit - was lovely,reliable, sent photos, walked and played with Millie,..."
"Thanks so much Flossy! Lexi had a great time :)"
"Aria was a great person to have look after Cleo. She was happy to take us on short notice. Came out ..."
"Amy is a fantastic house sitter, very responsible and loves dogs, Billy just loves her right back..."
"Kath was absolutely wonderful. She took wonderful care of our two lovely greyhounds and our home...."
"not sure who it would have been as my dog doesnt get along with other pets "
"Tammy was lovely! Our pets were very well looked after during our time away and we won't hesitate..."
"Amy was very reliable and flexible and I can highly recommend her services! We came home to two..."
"This is a great organisation that is reliable and trustworthy!"
"Roco loved his 2 week stay with Annastasia where he was very well looked after! I hope he's not..."
"I was very nervous about leaving my "baby" with a dog sitter, that is, until I met Rayna. Rayna is ..."
"The boys had a good time and were well looked after. "
"Awesome sitter! Recommend =)"
"Easy to use app and a great service!"


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Characteristic of or associated with persons afflicted with insanity; used when a person is so disturbed it would not be particularly shocking to see them go out wearing a full cow suit. Extra points for using the word "utter" preceding the phrase i.e. "He's utterly cow suit crazy"
"She called into that conservative talk radio show AGAIN? That woman is cow suit crazy."
by dislocatedelbows(the real one) January 02, 2009


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GeekMom Amy Kraft and I took off last Wednesday for Grand Rapids, Michigan and the ArtPrize 2012 exhibition–at least our faces and our dreams did. Amy and I were participants in honorary GeekMom and artist Cheryl Frey's "I Am Immortalized" Kickstarter portrait installation project, and along with 98 other models, agreed to be painted and quoted for the endeavor. Cheryl explains in her ArtPrize web page:
Everyone wants to be immortalized–here is your chance! We are all heroes to someone and we all deserve for our lives to be remembered. Even if we only touch the lives of one person, we are still ripples in the pond. This piece consists of 100 different portraits of real people and their stories in their own words. Each portrait measures 8×8″ and is painted in a pop comic style.


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He apparently waited for Casal in the garage, brandishing some type of metal implement, and then went on a sneak attack, according to Ray Casal.
He said his 145-pound son was struck by the assailant 15 or more times in the head and body.
For a few hours, doctors sutured numerous deep cuts to the side and back of Casal's head. By the time doctors were finished, the young boxer's wounds were closed by more than 300 staples and stitches.


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Hi! I'm helping with the annual National Winter Loss Survey the AIA began conducting in 2007. Could you help us out by taking this survey this year? If so, go to
We have 1,000's of backyard beekeepers responding, but very few commercial and mid-size/part-time operators. There are questions in this year's survey that can help determine management practices you may be doing that would explain differences in colony losses between you and your piers. The results will be much more useful for commercial beekeepers if more participate. We need statistical power to show possible results of differences in management, like what types of mite control used, antibiotic use, etc. These results are presented on http://beeinformed.org/
More backyard beekeepers would be extremely helpful too, just saying we really, really need more beekeepers participating that keep more than 50 hives. And we really, really, really need more respondents that keep over 500 hives. Please take a few minutes to respond. Its open open from 30 March 2012 through 20 April 2012.
Thank you,


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Start both of them. No-one else is flex-worthy.
How about I pick up Starks and include him, too.
I'll need to think about it.
I would offer you the **** pics that Rudyy got in return for our trade, but I don't know if that would help or hurt my chances....yeah, think about it, lol.
Another week of Romo...
I'm the Giants of the league
Could be a tough week for Rudy Rectum.


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PEC to meet today
September 25, 2013Tweet
The Professional Employees Council (PEC) will hold its regular meeting from 3:15–4:30 p.m. today, Sept. 25, in AD-148. PEC, the officially recognized organization of professional employees at Binghamton University, meets every other Wednesday. PEC meetings are open to all professional employees. For more information, go online.


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How can companies like CM Storm keep up with gaming?
Posted on 12th Nov 2014 at 14:47 by Matthew Lambert with 20 comments
Unfortunately, CM Storm has nothing new to announce at present. After all, it's had numerous launches in the past few months, including the Sirus-C, the Quick Fire Rapid-I, the Resonar and most recently the NovaTouch TKL. This latter one is the division's most important product for at least the rest of the year, as it is the new flagship keyboard (it even has its own microsite). Bram is rightfully very proud of the NovaTouch TKL – it's a fantastically crafted piece of kit.
Of course, no company will do too well without a strong product catalogue, but our conversation got me thinking about how there is now so much more beyond this for CM Storm and other such companies and brands when it comes to success in the world of gaming peripherals.


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In this progress proof the rooks are larger and clearer than in previous proofs. The ploughman's legs have been clearly defined and there is a new shadow in the foreground. The trees have greater definition.
Heysen owned a progress proof of Spring (Shirley 7 h) and remarked: 'I am particularly impressed with "Spring" … – of course I love them all – for each has its own particular merits ... Spring – I have always thought a particularly lovely & happy thing' (Heysen [1947?], NLA MS 5073/1/2283).


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It's not where you start, but where you end up.
Each year, women who started their college careers elsewhere transfer to Hollins. They come for many reasons, but what they all find is a place that puts them first. Here, you'll find the freedom to follow your interests and be guided by a faculty uncommon in their dedication to your success.
Admission Requirements
To be considered for admission, you must:
- Complete the application for admission in its entirety.
- Have a GPA of 2.5 or better on a 4.0 scale on all college level work.
- The admission office highly recommends applicants visit the campus and interview with an admission counselor.
To schedule a campus visit and an interview, please call the admission office at 1-800-456-9595.
How to Apply
Hollins accepts transfer applicants for fall or spring semester on a rolling admission basis.
In addition to your application, you must submit:
- Official transcripts from every high school and college you have attended
- A College Official's Report from the most recent college you attended
- An official copy of your SAT or ACT score report
- Hollins' SAT code is 5294; ACT code is 4360
- This may be waived if you have completed two years of college.
- Secondary School Report completed by high school guidance counselor (from last school attended). This may be waived if you have completed two years of college.
Scholarship Opportunities for Transfer Students
Transferring Credits
- A student will receive credit for courses taken at a regionally accredited college or university that are comparable to Hollins courses.
- The student must earn at least a "C" grade to receive credit.
- The registrar evaluates each transcript on an individual basis.
- Prospective students will receive a "Transfer Credit Evaluation." Transfer students must submit an academic catalog or copies of the course descriptions from all colleges attended. We will provide prospective transfer and Horizon students with a Transcript Credit Evaluation if they have also submitted an application for admission with their college transcript(s).
- If you are currently pursuing an associate's degree at one of Virginia's community colleges, you may want to review the Community College Transfer Module below.
- This provides a list of classes you may take at your school that will satisfy the general education requirements at Hollins.
- Completion of this module is equal to 41 semester credits at a VCCS institution.
Hollins also has a transfer guide listing all transferrable credits from the Virginia Community College System accepted by Hollins.
Additional Credit
Advanced Placement
Hollins grants four credits for a score of 4 or 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement Tests.
Dual Enrollment
A student who is enrolled in high school and an accredited college or university will receive Hollins credit if all of the following conditions are met:
- Hollins offers a comparable course
- The college or university course is recorded on an official college transcript
- The student earns at least a C in the course
International Baccalaureate
Hollins awards college credit to students who have received an International Baccalaureate diploma with a score of 30 or higher. Students must also have no score less than four in any one of the six examination groups.
Community College Transfer Module
To complete the transfer module students must select from the following Virginia Community College System (VCCS) courses. All courses must be completed within the VCCS and students must earn a grade of C or better in each course if they wish to transfer the set as a module.
This package will fulfill the Hollins general education core (Education through Skills and Perspectives). Students do not have to complete the associate's degree to fulfill the Hollins Transfer Module.
English (6 credit hours)
- ENG 111-112: College Composition
Humanities (6 credit hours)
- ART 101, 102: History and Appreciation of Art
- MUS 121,122: Music Appreciation
- ENG 241, 242: Survey of American Literature
- ENG 243, 244: Survey of English Literature
- ENG 251, 252: Survey of World Literature
- HUM 201, 202: Survey of Western Culture
- PHI 101, 102: Introduction to Philosophy
- PHI 211, 212: History of Western Philosophy
- PHI 220: Ethics
- CST 141, 142: Theatre Appreciation
- HUM 111, 112: Great Books
- REL 200: Survey of the Old Testament
- REL 210: Survey of the New Testament
- REL 230, 231, 232: Religions of the World
- REL 247: History of Christianity
Social Science (6 credit hours)
- ECO 201, 202: Principles of Economics
- GEO 221, 222: Regions of the World
- GEO 210: People and the Land: Intro to Cultural Geography
- GEO 220: World Regional Geography
- PLS 211, 212: U.S. Government
- PLS 241, 242: International Relations
- PSY 200, 201, 202: Introduction to Psychology
- PSY 215: Abnormal Psychology
- PSY 216: Social Psychology
- PSY 225: Theories of Personality
- PSY 230: Developmental Psychology
- PSY 231, 232: Life Span Human Development
- PSY 235: Child Psychology
- PSY 236: Adolescent Psychology
- SOC 200, 201, 202: Introduction to Sociology
- SOC 211, 212: Principles of Anthropology
- SOC 215: Sociology of the Family
- SOC 266: Race and Ethnicity
Science (8 credit hours in one sequence, including lab)
- BIO 101-102: General Biology
- BIO 141-142: Human Anatomy and Physiology
- BIO 231-232: Human Anatomy and Physiology
- CHM 101-102: General Chemistry
- CHM 111-112: College Chemistry
- PHY 101-102: Introduction to Physics
- PHY 201-202: General College Physics
- PHY 241-242: University Physics
- GOL 105-106: Physical and Historical Geology or the combination of GOL 105: Physical Geology with NAS 130: Elements of Astronomy
- NAS 131-132: Astronomy (cross-listed as PHY 141-142)
History (6 credit hours)
- HIS 101, 102: History of Western Civilization
- HIS 111, 112: History of World Civilization
- HIS 121, 122: U.S. History
Mathematics (3 credit hours)
- MTH 151: Mathematics for Liberal Arts I
- MTH 152: Mathematics for Liberal Arts II
- MTH 154: Quantitative Reasoning
- MTH 155: Statistical Reasoning
- MTH 163: Precalculus I
- MTH 166: Precalculus with Trig. (5 cr.)
- MTH 173: Calculus with Analytic Geo. (5 cr.)
- MTH 175: Calculus of One Variable
- MTH 181: Finite Mathematics I
- MTH 240: Statistics
- MTH 241: Statistics I
- MTH 270: Applied Calculus
- MTH 271: Applied Calculus I
- MTH 273: Calculus I (4 cr.)
- Also, VCCS MTH courses offered prior to Fall 1994
- MTH 161: College Algebra and Trig.
- MTH 165: College Algebra
- MTH 171: Precalculus Mathematics I
Oral Communication (3 credit hours)
CST 100: Principles of Public Speaking
CST 105: Oral Communication
CST 110: Introduction to Speech Communication
Total credit hours = 38


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Shoemaker, Juanita
K. Juanita Shoemaker, 80, of Coomer Street, Morenci, Mich., died April 29, 2006 at Herrick Memorial Hospital in Tecumseh.
She was born Feb. 4, 1926 in Morenci, Mich., the daughter of Jonas and Mildred (Metcalf) Speelman. She married Oney Shoemaker on Feb. 9, 1946 in Weston, and he preceded her in death Oct. 8, 1990.
Juanita was a homemaker who lived all her life in the Morenci area. She was a member of the Seneca Community Church and a member of the Morenci Millinery Mavens.
Juanita is survived by two daughters, Patricia (and James) Baker of Clinton and Jaclynn (and Ralph) Reckner, Jr., of Morenci; two sons, Dennis (and Norma) Shoemaker and Larry (and Vicki) Shoemaker, both of Morenci; two granddaughters, Erica (and Kyle) Kruse and Marisa (and Tyler) Sutherland; seven grandsons, Brian and Gregory Shoemaker, Daryn (and Heather) Baker, Devyn Baker, Jason (and Amy) Reckner, Curtis (and Sharilyn) Shoemaker and Dustin (and Jenny) Reckner; 10 great-grandchildren, Brett and Joshua Baker, Emily, Rebekah and Rachel Shoemaker, Hannah, Collin and Emma Reckner and Destini and Ty Kruse; three sisters, Ella Barnhart of Adrian, Betty Pfund of Morenci and Florence "Dutch" Lane of Hudson and four brothers, Arthur "Boze" Speelman and Earl "John" Speelman, both of Morenci; Wade "Popeye" Speelman of Fayette and Eugene "Gene" Speelman of Adrian.
Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Flora Montague.
Funeral services were May 2 at Eagle Funeral Home-Charles Fink Chapel in Morenci with Rev. William VanValkenburg officiating. Burial was in Oak Grove Cemetery in Morenci. Memorial contributions may be made to the Seneca Community Church.


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Leonte is the name of a person who is a loving person. Leonte is the sexiest, cutest, nicest person you'll ever meet. He's smart, good-looking, and an amazing person. He is a good friend, but better boyfriend and if you ever get to date a Leonte never let him go. Leonte is also an amazing athlete. It's that he tries hard or just physically well built but he is still athletic. Leonte isn't shy at all and is really outgoing but isn't a ladies man. He is trustworthy and will never cheat on his girlfriend. He is great in bed and loves to cuddle. He has the best ways to make a girl feel better about herself and always compliments girls to make them smile. Leonte loves to sing and dreams big. Leonte is always the sexiest
by Alexandert109 May 07, 2013


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Share your style: #myonepieceAdd Your Photo
Curved Olive Wood Spatula Item # E9003
Our Curved Olive Wood Spatula is handmade in France by Michel Carre, who inherited his passion for woodworking from his father. Carre's company, established in the Provence area of France in 1980, uses olive wood from centenary trees that no longer produce fruit.
- 100% olive wood with leather hanging strap
- Hand wash and dry thoroughly
- Use food-safe mineral oil to preserve and prevent the wood from drying out
- Imported from France
Product Specifications
Need to know all about the details of this product? Get the full set of specs right here.
Want to chat?
We'd love to help you pick the right product or answer any questions you may have. Try our or call us at 888-401-1900.
Customer Service
Need assistance with handcrafted solutions?
Call 1-888-401-1900
email customer service.


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Pros : This hybrid can be struck with confidence from every possible lie i.e. tight lie, rough, hard pan ect. I hit down on the ball and achieve a nice high trajectory.This club may also sweep the ball off the deck.Cons: This club needs a smooth swing not a "hit".
very easy to hit. very good distance. i bought a kbs hybrid shaft and am very pleased. very good on offcenter hits. a great alternative to a 3 iron and i have no trouble with a 3 iron.
Adam's golf has not been around as long as some of the other competitor's but they sure do know how to choose some of the best players to use their equipment. They have sponsored everyone from one of the world's best, Tom Watson, all the way down to new and uprising stars, Ryan Moore. But generally everyone who gets sponsored by the PGA Tour, exclusively uses that brands clubs. Adams golf has revolutionized the new and upcoming club called the hybrid. Hybrid's have only been around for a short period of time because research and development teams couldn't comprehend the utilization of an iron fused with a wood. But now with new technology, we aren't just able to produce this new phenomonen for it's performance but, Adams Golf has been able to revolutionize it's use and make it look second-to-none. If you haven't noticed, some of the world's best players use Adams Golf hybrid's because they are simply the best. Even Ricky Fowler plays with an Adams hybrid, and he has a full Titleist sponsorship. If Tour pros are realizing that Adams has THE best hybrids in the game, shouldn't you switch too? The price is small to pay for the wonders it will do for your game. This club comes in a variety of lofts ranging from 16-26 degrees. For a hybrid, this club has maximum forgiveness, almost anywhere you hit on the face will give you a great shot. It has a this sole so that it is easier to compress the ball to the ground at impact. If you did have a thicker sole, you wouldnt be able to compress the ball, simply because you would just slide across the fairway and not get under the ball to take a large divot. So why would you choose any other club besides the new Adams Idea Pro Black hybrid. Tour Pros have made the switch, have you?
Wanted the right hand model, but was accidentally sent a LH hybrid. Response and service to their error was super impressive. Will use GG for years to come.


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Books & Periodicals
Indiana Department of Public Instruction et seq. Indiana School Directory. 1916-2000.
IND 379 I385d
Hill, Willie Warren. The case for Indiana school reorganization. (1957)
Marion County, Ind. School Reorganization Committee. A comprehensive plan for the reorganization of school corporations of Marion county, Indiana. 1959-1961. (1961)
Young, Roland Edward. The history of school district reorganization in the state of Indiana. (1968)
Indiana League of Women Voters. Your schools and you! (1959)
Ip 379.11 NO. 23
Indiana. Laws, statutes, etc. The facts and the law on school corporation reorganization. (1960)
Ip 379.11 NO. 25
Indiana. Laws, statutes, etc. The school corporation reorganization act of 1959.
Ip 379.11 NO. 25
Indiana--Chamber of Commerce. Facts-in-brief about Indiana's school reorganization program. Sound school planning is in your hands. (1960)
Ip 379.11 NO. 26
Indiana State Teachers Association. Citizens control their schools in reorganization program. (1960)
Ip 379.11 NO. 27
Indiana State Chamber of Commerce. Education Department. Progress in Indiana school reorganization. (1961)
Ip 379.11 NO. 30
Indiana--Department of Public Instruction. Newly reorganized school corporations under Chapter 202 of the 1959 Acts and subsequent acts amendatory thereto (including corporations taking effect Jan. 1, 1961, July 1, 1961, Jan. 1, 1962, and July 1, 1962.
Ip 379.11 NO.31
Indiana. State Commission on Reorganization of School Corporations. Report. (1962, 1965, 1967)
Ip 379.11 NO. 32
Indiana--State Commission for the Reorganization of School Corporations. Progress report, school corporations reorganization. (1963)
Ip 379.11 NO. 33
Indiana--State Commission for the Reorganization of School Corporations. Preliminary reorganization plan and final comprehensive reorganization plan. (1963)
Ip 379.11 NO. 34
Kohlmeyer, John Byron. School corporation reorganization in Indiana. (1963)
Ip 379.11 NO. 36
Indiana--Department of Public Instruction. Reorganization school corporations. (1965)
Ip 379.11 NO.38
Indiana State Chamber of Commerce. Education Department. Four years of Indiana school reorganization; school reorganization legislation 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, attorney general opinions, suits filed in the courts, reduction of units since 1959.
Ip 379.11 NO. 43
Schools—One Room


text: Cutting-edge British label, Alexander McQueen, is characterized by its dark, rebellious aesthetic. Since Lee McQueen's tragic death in 2010, longtime friend and assistant, Sarah Burton, has been infusing structured tailoring, sumptuous knitwear and elevated basics with a new wave of femininity. The brand's theatrical runway shows are always the talking point of the season and the theme translates to everything from the couture-worthy gowns to anything-but-simple T-shirts and tops. Note the carefully construction; a thick peplum hem, precision-placed prints or intarsia and that famous skull motif are all nuances that set these pieces apart. Start small and build a capsule wardrobe with fine-spun jersey tees, gauzy chiffon shirts and embellished tanks, investing in sculptural knits and leather bodices for the most important events on your social calendar.


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The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a trade deal being negotiated behind the backs of Congress and the people of th United States with the help of almost 600 corporate advisers. It threatens to undermine democracy by entrenching corporate power in virtually every area of our lives. From food safety and the environment, to workers rights and access to healthcare, the TPP is about much more than trade. TPP's Regulatory Coherence and Investment chapters drive a global race to the bottom, threatening critical public interest policie and making corporations more powerful than nations. threatens US sovereignty and democracy. I refuse to vote for this November and in future elections for any Senator or Representative who does not publicly commit to vote against TPP.
The Obama administration recently completed secret negotiations with trade officials from eleven Pacific Rim nations - Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand,...
The Obama administration recently completed secret negotiations with trade officials from eleven Pacific Rim nations - Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam - to create a massive international agreement described by public interest advocates as "a corporate power tool" that will help the 1% get richer at the expense of our jobs, health, and environment.
So what's in the Trans-Pacific Partnership?
Some leaked TPP texts have given us an idea of what's being discussed in secret. The drafts don't look good. If Congress does succeed at passing Fast Track and getting the TPP signed into law, here's what will happen:
Fast Track, also called Trade Promotion Authority, was voted on by Congress last summer and will allow the President to sign the TPP and then send it to Congress for a rapid up or down vote without the ability to make changes. This would subvert a democratic and transparent process. It will allow the TPP to be rammed through without evaluation of the impact it will have on protection of consumers, workers and the planet.
Tell Congress: Vote NO on TPP!


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Miniature modern dairy farm created to showcase current dairy facilities.
by Patti Hurtgen, Online Media Manager, Hoard's Dairyman
With advancing technologies, how many (other than producers) have seen a working modern farm? The red barn, white fence and silo are not commonplace anymore. Thousands of guests, both rural and urban, visit the historic National Dairy Shrine museum annually. They will now see modern agriculture in a new display.
The Hoard's Dairyman Farm was chosen as the "model" dairy to replicate. It is now on display at the National Dairy Shrine Museum and Hoard Historical Museum. It features the milking parlor and free stall barns, along with mini Guernsey and Jersey cows, calf hutches and tractors.
The creators of the replica live not far from the museum, in Watertown. John and Pat Klettke have been designing model farms for many years. They were featured on the cover of Toy Farmer magazine and regularly bring their model farms to area toy farm shows.
The history collections of these two organizations are housed under one roof in Fort Atkinson, Wis. They are open between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday. There is no admission charge, but cash donations are gratefully accepted.
For more information, find the National Dairy Shrine online at www.dairyshrine.org and Hoard Historical Museum at www.hoardmuseum.org. Call 920-563-7769 or send email to firstname.lastname@example.com.
The next time you are in the area, stop to see the replica, or contact Hoard's Dairyman (at least three business days in advance) to tour the actual dairy, located two miles from the museum. Call 920-563-5551, extension 137, and speak with Andrea Haines or email firstname.lastname@example.com to schedule a tour.
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text: 11 Jun 2013 Sign Language: week 260 Previous slide Next slide 1 of 22 View All Skip Ad Another helping of amusing and confusing signs sent in by readers on their travels. This week's funniest sign Lorry laughs Location: Dorset Spotted by: Melvyn Hayward Melvyn wins a copy of the "Sign Language 2" book! Read on to see more of this week's best entries... Send us your signs! Can you do better? Send your strange signs to email@example.com . The sender of the best entry will win a copy of the Sign Language 2 book. Please read our terms and conditions Back to image


text: Good morning, Cbz and good morning, Zoners, Still a bit cool here. (9F) so the Mrs and I booked a trip to Lost Wages, Nevada for early April. We're taking my younger son along as a 21st birthday present. It's good to have something to look forward to. Everybody have a great day.


text:
UN.GIFT Publications
IOM International Conference. "Improvement of International Cooperation in Counteracting Human Trafficking" Russian
2011-01-13 12:00:00.0
Download right click "save as"
On September 29th-30th, 2009 CIS Executive Committee in cooperation with the Bureau of IOM in Moscow organized an international conference "Enhancing International Cooperation in Counteracting Human Trafficking". The conference was held as a joint activity within the framework of the CIS Member States' Programme for Combating Human Trafficking for the period 2007-2010 and IOM-implemented counter-trafficking projects, funded by the European Union, governments of USA, Switzerland and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The conference was aimed at strengthening the cooperation between the CIS and EU Member States, UN institutions and other international organizations at bilateral and multilateral levels.


text:
Can control theory save the economy from going down the tubes?
Brian Hayes
In 1949, faculty and students at the London School of Economics gathered to observe a demonstration. At the front of the room was a seven-foot-tall contraption assembled out of plastic pipes, tanks, valves and other plumbing hardware. The device, later dubbed the MONIAC, was a hydraulic analog computer for modeling the flow of money through a national economy. When the machine was powered up, colored water gurgled through the transparent tubes and sloshed into reservoirs. Various streams represented consumption, investment, taxes, savings, imports and exports. Crank-wheels and adjustable cams allowed the water levels and flows to be regulated—the hydraulic equivalent of setting interest rates or tax policies. This was real trickle-down economics!
The MONIAC attracted much attention, and it lives on in folklore. Later generations of students called it the "pink lemonade national income machine." Punch magazine tried to satirize the device, but their cartoon was really no more outlandish than the construction drawings for the machine itself. There are tales of leaks; according to one source, the machine couldn't cope with inflation, which caused red fluid to squirt out through a hole in one of the cylinders. And then there's the story about the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England; when they were given a turn at the controls, the results showed "why the U.K. economy was in the state it was."
This is all good fun, but the MONIAC was not just a toy or a joke. It embodied a style of thinking about economic problems that may still be worth revisiting, especially at a time when real economies are leaking liquid assets at an alarming rate.
The principal architect (and plumber) of the MONIAC was A. W. H. Phillips, a New Zealander who had been an electrical engineer before he turned to economics. It's easy to see the influence of his engineering background. A hydraulic simulation of the economy makes sense only if you believe that the circulation of money through a society obeys definite, mathematical laws, like those that govern real fluids and other physical systems. And the crank-wheels and cams on the MONIAC imply that the behavior of an economy is not only predictable but also controllable. If we twiddle the knobs and nudge the levers in just the right way, all the streams will flow smoothly and the various basins where wealth accumulates will never run dry or overflow.
This notion of engineering an economy was and is controversial. Adam Smith and other classical economists had argued that markets are self-correcting; meddling with them can only impair their efficiency. By the 1930s, however, the British economist John Maynard Keynes was making a case for a specific kind of intervention by governments and central banks: They could and should act to stabilize economies, he said—to smooth out cycles of boom and bust. Phillips was one of Keynes's many followers.
The basic idea in Keynesian economic policy is to counteract any oscillatory tendencies. When an economy overheats, with business activity growing at an unsustainable pace, the central bank raises interest rates and thereby restricts the money supply. At the same time, governments raise taxes or reduce spending, which also cools the economy. Conversely, when business slumps, the aim is to spur growth by lowering interest rates and by letting the government run a deficit, spending more than it takes in through taxes.
Keynes has gone in and out of fashion, but even many of his detractors now accept the idea that controlling wild excursions of the business cycle is an appropriate policy goal. In the current economic downturn, it is taken for granted that governments will do their best to speed recovery and mitigate damage. In the U.S., both the recently departed Republican administration and the new Democratic one have enacted huge "stimulus" plans, and the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates to near zero. Everyone waits anxiously to see how well these measures will work.
The economics profession, naturally, has much to say about these matters, but there is another intellectual tradition that may also offer useful counsel: control theory, the branch of applied mathematics and engineering that deals with feedback systems. Devising a scheme to suppress oscillations, like those seen in the business cycle, is a common task for control theorists. The theory also identifies certain unfortunate situations where attempts to impose control can actually make matters worse, destabilizing a system that might otherwise have found its own equilibrium.
On first acquaintance, the idea of feedback control seems straightforward enough. Consider the design of a cruise-control system for an automobile. A minimal version measures the current speed of the car, compares it with the desired speed, then adjusts the throttle by an amount proportional to the difference. If the car slows somewhat—perhaps on an upgrade—the controller senses the discrepancy and opens the throttle wider, so that the car regains some of the lost speed.
But there is more to control theory than this simple proportional-feedback mechanism. A drawback of pure proportional control is that the car never quite attains the requested speed; as the error diminishes, so does the feedback signal, and the system settles into a state with some nonzero offset from the correct velocity. The offset can be eliminated by another form of feedback, based not on the error itself but on the integral of the error with respect to time. In effect, the integral measures the cumulative error, which keeps growing if the speed differs even slightly from the set point. Thus integral control ensures that over the long term the net error approaches zero and the average speed converges on the set-point speed.
Yet integral control has drawbacks of its own. Suppose the car cannot maintain a commanded speed of 60 on an upgrade; an integral controller might compensate by going 80 on the other side of the hill, which could get you a speeding ticket. More generally, integral control has a tendency to overshoot and oscillate around the set point. A remedy is to add still another form of feedback, based on the time derivative of the error signal. Derivative feedback opposes rapid changes in speed and thus tends to damp out oscillations.
Proportional, integral and derivative control (together known as PID) are basic tools of control theory. In designing a control system, an engineer sets the "gain" of each type of feedback—the amount of correction applied for a given error magnitude. High gains yield a sensitive controller that promptly detects and corrects any disturbance. But a controller that responds too vigorously risks destabilizing the system, magnifying departures from the set point rather than suppressing them.
The hazard of controller-induced instability is most acute when there are delays, or time lags, built into the feedback circuit. The nature of this problem is familiar in everyday life. You step into the shower and find that the water is too cool, so you twist the temperature-control valve counterclockwise. Nothing happens for a few seconds, and so you turn the valve a little more. When the hot water finally makes its way to the shower head, you find you've gone too far. You dial the valve back a little, but the water continues to get hotter, so you turn the control further clockwise. Soon, you're shivering. The temperature oscillations can keep growing until the shower is alternately emitting the hottest and the coldest water available. (In this situation the average temperature might be just right, but no one would count that a success of the control system.)
Cruise control and a shower valve are examples of control systems that regulate a single variable, such as speed or temperature. An aircraft autopilot, in contrast, might have to maintain a constant altitude and heading as well as controlling motion around the roll, pitch and yaw axes. All of these variables are coupled; a change in one affects others. Similarly, a controller for a distilling column in an oil refinery might need to regulate temperature, pressure and several flow rates. Again, the variables cannot be considered separately; turning up the heat alters pressures and flows.
Solving such multivariable control problems was difficult and tedious with early design methods, which are now characterized as classical control theory. Those methods assess the performance of any given control law but leave to the intuition of the engineer the task of choosing which laws to test. Beginning in the 1960s, modern control theory introduced a new computer-intensive methodology that not only evaluates given laws but also searches for the best attainable laws under stated constraints. This collection of techniques, known as optimal control, identifies the control law that comes closest to satisfying a given criterion.
A number of further variations have grown out of optimal control. Robust control finds laws that deliver reasonable performance even if the real system differs somewhat from the mathematical model that represents it. Stochastic control tolerates noise or errors in the measurements of the system's state. Adaptive control applies the feedback principle to the control laws themselves, allowing the controller to continue working as the system evolves.
Even without any external controls, economic systems are laced with multiple feedback loops. Adam Smith's price mechanism is the best-known example: When demand exceeds supply, prices rise, thereby curtailing demand and allowing prices to fall back toward their original level. This is a negative-feedback loop, which has a stabilizing influence. Other loops introduce positive feedback, as with the inflationary spiral: Rising prices bring demands for higher wages, which lead to still higher prices.
Smith believed that built-in feedback mechanisms are the best possible regulator of an economy; left alone, the system will find its own equilibrium, balancing production and consumption. Keynes agreed that economies tend toward equilibrium, but he pointed out that the same economy might wind up at many different points of equilibrium. A thriving economy has a high level of production balanced by a high level of consumption; for a depressed economy, supply and demand remain in balance, but both are at lower levels. The aim of Keynesian economic policy is to nudge us from a recessionary equilibrium toward a more prosperous one.
Keynes did not formulate his ideas in the vocabulary of control theory, but some of his followers did. Phillips took this approach not only in the design of the MONIAC but also in later essays that explore PID control laws for economic variables. At about the same time, Arnold Tustin, a British engineer, published a treatise on "the problem of economic stabilisation from the point of view of control-system engineering." These works and a few others from the same era include block diagrams and stability graphs that would be perfectly at home in a text on industrial control problems.
With the advent of optimal control a decade later, there was another surge of interest in control theory as a tool for solving economic problems. In the early 1970s a series of joint conferences brought economists together with control engineers, and dozens of publications explored the synergies of the two disciplines. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve began experimenting with control-theory methods in the suite of statistical and mathematical tools that inform its policy deliberations. A 1974 review article by Michael Athans of MIT (a control theorist) and David Kendrick of the University of Texas at Austin (an economist) remarked on the atmosphere of excitement in a new interdisciplinary area that seemed to have bright prospects.
To create a control system for an economy, a first step is to identify economic equivalents of engineering concepts such as sensors and actuators. Filling the role of economic sensors are measurements of business activity, such as employment levels, trade balances and statistics on income, savings and spending. The actuators are monetary and fiscal policies. Monetary policy is how a central bank controls the supply of money. (Printing currency is a minor part of this process; the major part is regulating terms of credit.) Fiscal policy has to do with government revenues and expenditures, and especially the balance between these amounts. Because the government is typically the largest single participant in the market, a government surplus or deficit can have a decisive effect on the overall demand for goods and services.
As control tasks go, regulating a national economy looks to be a major challenge. One notable difficulty is the wide range of time scales. Some economic events play out in a matter of hours or days (the 1987 stock market crash, the collapse of Lehman Brothers). At the other end of the spectrum, major trends can last for a decade or more (the Great Depression). Data from stock markets and commodity exchanges flow in minute by minute, but other statistics (retail sales, unemployment, corporate earnings) are calculated on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis. On the actuator side of the control process, monetary policy is usually revised every month or two, but most aspects of fiscal policy are set annually. Because of all these time lags, regulators can never really know the current state of the economy they are trying to control; they have to act on the basis of measurements made over an interval that extends months into the past, and their actions will not produce their full effects for months into the future.
Another issue is that economic control is a multivariable problem, even though policymakers often speak as if there were a single dial, like a thermostat, that governs the overall pace of business activity. Control actions have different effects on lenders vs. borrowers, workers vs. investors, tenants vs. landowners, importers vs. exporters. A boon to farmers may be a burden to food buyers. The effects on various sectors of the economy cannot be adjusted independently; all the variables interact, much like temperature and pressure in an industrial process.
Still another question is whether governments and central banks actually have the power to tame the business cycle. No algorithm can keep a car up to speed if the engine lacks the oomph to climb a hill. Likewise, agencies trying to correct a severe economic downturn may simply lack the resources to restore prosperity. In the case of monetary policy, it is often pointed out that interest rates are a blade with only one edge: You can raise them as high as you wish, but you cannot lower them below zero. (On the other hand, bailout packages for banks are tantamount to a negative interest rate: The banks are being paid to borrow.)
Among all these impediments to effective control, the most worrisome are the time lags between measuring the state of the economy and applying corrections. Such delays, if combined with overly zealous control actions, bring a risk of controller-induced oscillations—of getting scalded or frozen in the shower. We might still be trying to stimulate a sluggish economy when it is already on the verge of overheating; then in the next phase of the cycle we might overreact in the other direction.
Control theory offers well-defined criteria for deciding whether a system will eventually settle down to a steady state or will enter some runaway regime of exponential growth or unbounded oscillations. Control engineers employ those methods to calculate stability margins—a measure of how closely the system approaches the edge of instability. As far as I know, such stability analyses are not routinely performed for monetary and fiscal controls applied to major economies. Perhaps it is not possible to do so given our imperfect knowledge of the state of the economy; if that's the case, however, then we also cannot know how the economy will respond to our policies.
Viewing economics through the lens of control theory amounts to treating the economy as a machine. The machine may be an unwieldy one—something like a heavily laden supertanker, slow to start and stop, difficult to steer—but it still obeys deterministic laws of motion. In particular, a machine never tries to second-guess or outwit the controller. But a human society is not a machine.
In 1976 Robert E. Lucas, Jr., of the University of Chicago presented a caustic critique of mathematical modeling as a tool for setting economic policy. Models, he said, predict the effect of policy changes without acknowledging that rational agents will alter their behavior under the new policies in ways that invalidate the assumptions on which the models were built. For example, if everyone knows (or can infer) the rule by which the Federal Reserve sets interest rates, borrowers and lenders will anticipate any changes in rates, adjusting their behavior in ways that tend to neutralize the effect of the policy change. It's as if the supertanker, with a mind of its own, could change the shape of the rudder in order to resist commands from the helm.
The Lucas critique attacks not just control theory and mathematical modeling but any reasoned strategy for managing an economy. The most extreme form of the thesis holds that if a policy can be predicted, it will be undermined and rendered ineffective. Thus the attempt to regulate the economy becomes a futile spiral in which people adjust to new policies, the policies are adjusted to account for those adjustments, and so on.
Within the context of control theory, however, the kind of circularity cited by Lucas is not anything out of the ordinary. In any system with closed-loop feedback control—animate or inanimate—the controller affects the state of the plant, which in turn affects the state of the controller, which affects the plant, and so on. The circularity is an essential part of the design and does not lead to undefined behavior or an endless round of readjustments. Assuming that stability criteria are satisfied, the combined system of controller and plant converges on some definite and predictable equilibrium state.
Another branch of mathematics reaches a similar conclusion from somewhat different premises. In game theory, a contest like the one between a regulator and a population of economic agents generally has a fixed point (called a Nash equilibrium), where neither party can gain by making further changes in strategy. This idea has developed into a theory of "policy games," which strive to identify those economic models that remain controllable even when the players don't wish to be controlled.
From a more pragmatic point of view, it's not clear that real-world economic agents are as strongly motivated to "game the system" as Lucas supposed. Ray C. Fair of Yale University, using a model of the U.S. economy based on decades of empirical data, tested variations of the model in which agents could look ahead and base their behavior on predictions of future regulatory policies. The results suggest that such activity is not common in the real economy. Another series of studies by Glenn D. Rudebusch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco reached a similar conclusion.
Whatever the merits of the Lucas critique, it had the collateral effect of dampening enthusiasm for applications of control theory in macroeconomics. Research in the area did not end entirely, but the undertaking lost momentum, and control theory has never again been fully in the mainstream of economic thought. Nor has it become a common tool of those who put policy into practice.
With or without control theory, governments and central banks have not given up on attempts to smooth out business cycles. On the contrary, every major recession and inflationary episode in recent years has been met with a "counter-cyclical" response, regardless of the political ideology of those in power.
Feedback principles have probably helped to frame some of those counter-cyclical actions. In 1993 John B. Taylor of Stanford University proposed mathematical rules for setting central-bank interest rates in response to inflation and economic growth—rules that may well have influenced Federal Reserve decisions over the past decade. The Taylor rules constitute a rudimentary feedback mechanism. On the other hand, they do not exploit the full power of modern control theory. In particular, Taylor's formulas ignore the question of controller-induced instability, and they take no account of the uncertainties that enter into stochastic and robust control methods.
Until recently, the economic strategies of governments and banks seemed to be working rather well. The peaks and troughs of the business cycle have been shallow, with only mild inflation. By 2002, economists were calling our era the Great Moderation.
But confidence in a perpetually purring economy has been swept away by the financial crisis of the past year. Governments have taken extraordinary measures in an effort to stabilize the system. One would like to believe that those interventions were guided by scientific principles of some kind—that the timing and the magnitude of the stimulus plans were calibrated to produce the fastest possible recovery without the kind of overcorrection that might bring oscillations.
Needless to say, the cost of miscalculation is high. Ben S. Bernanke, a student of the Great Depression, has argued that timid and misguided policies of the Federal Reserve were partly to blame for the length and severity of the 1930s depression. Bernanke is now chairman of the Fed, and he has presided over a monetary response that is anything but timid. Since September 2008 the Fed has injected well over a trillion dollars into the U.S. economy.
Not all economists see timidity as the main peril. Athanasios Orphanides of the Federal Reserve has argued that overaggressive corrections in the 1970s contributed to the "stagflation" of that decade. And still another faction questions whether monetary adjustments really have much effect at all. Through an ingenious computer simulation, Christopher A. Sims of Yale imposed the policies of the modern Fed on the economy of the 1930s, and vice versa. Swapping the strategies had little effect on the outcome.
I don't know what to make of all these seemingly contradictory observations, and I find it unnerving that in a matter of such consequence there is so little consensus on basic principles. If the designers of an airplane disagreed so vehemently about the engineering of the flight-control system, the airplane would not leave the ground until the conflict had been resolved. But grounding the economy is not an option.
It was the economic catastrophe of the 1930s that led Keynes to propose a mechanism for moderating cycles of growth and contraction. Perhaps the current crisis will inspire a further examination of strategies for managing these fluctuations. The precepts of control theory suggest that one useful goal would be to reduce time lags in the feedback loop. On the sensor side, this would mean quicker collection and evaluation of basic business data, such as price levels and employment statistics. Speeding up the actuator side might be more problematic. Although the Fed and other central banks can act promptly on monetary policy, many aspects of fiscal policy are tied to the legislative calendar. The most promising approach may be greater reliance on "safety net" mechanisms such as unemployment compensation, which function automatically, without any need to enact new laws.
Standing in the middle between sensors and actuators are the control algorithms. Finding the optimal control law—and deciding what measure of economic wellbeing should be optimized—is the intellectually difficult and politically contentious part of the process. Maybe the answer is to power up the MONIAC again. We can let the cascade of colored water tell us how far to twist the hot and cold faucets.
©Brian Hayes
You can find this online at http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/num2/everything-is-under-control/2
© 2016 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society


text:
The game would basically be like the civilization games, only real time, and far less player controlled. The player would have choices about the climate of the planet, species dominance, fertility, etc. However, instead of directly creating a successful civilization, the player would simply create an environment in which several AI nations would develop. I could explain more in depth, but that is not the purpose of this post.
As i said before, my friends and I have very minimal knowledge of game developing, that said, we have already created some base equations that would decide the spread and growth of your species. I programmed these in a java, creating a kind of text based version of this game, but i haven't gotten past the creation of nations using random intrigal equations, and the said civilizations forming aggressive or passive personalities. I was hoping that one of the more experienced game developers on this forum could walk me through/ help me in creating a more complex and at least slightly visual version of my game, which i could then hand off (hopefully) to a larger company or more experienced developer to complete.
[RECRUITMENT WORDING DELETED BY MOD - Recruiting is not permitted in the discussion forums. Use the Classifieds.]
Edited by Tom Sloper, 03 July 2012 - 04:38 PM.


text:
General Education Goals and Outcomes
Please note that these goals and outcomes are aligned with the General Education curriculum in use prior to Spring 2012. Click here to review the goals and outcomes for the program beginning Fall 2012.
Goal: Persuasive speakingLearning Outcomes
- Students will communicate orally in an effective manner using linguistic structures and vocabulary appropriate to an academic setting.
- Students will possess the ability to formulate and answer questions, present topics and arguments with coherence, fluidity, and without repetition nor distracting gestures and movements.
- Students will effectively incorporate visual and/or audio materials in oral presentations as appropriate.
Goal: Critical analysis and synthesisLearning Outcomes
- Identify, evaluate and analyze evidence and data in an impartial manner.
- Differentiate between logically valid and invalid arguments and inferences.
- Draw logical conclusions based on the evaluation of carefully weighed and critically analyzed evidence and data.
- Independently formulate lines of inquiry and investigation.
- Formulate logically valid analogies and define accurate similarities when examining different events or phenomena.
- Possess the ability to self reflect, understand, and compensate for the reality that personal life experiences, upbringing, and education shape how individuals interpret facts and events.
Goal: Receptive listening.
Goal: Clear and rhetorically informed writingLearning Outcomes
- Writing that produces well organized, analytically constructed student papers that incorporate clearly worded thesis statements that are coherently defended by supporting evidence and by well reasoned, persuasive and logical arguments.
- Analyze and synthesize primary and/or secondary source materials in formulating thesis statements and supporting arguments.
- Develop effective strategies for creating, revising, and editing writing assignments.
- Produce writing that demonstrates proficiency in standard American English, including grammar, diction, and sentence structure.
Goal: Critical and engaged readingLearning Outcomes
- Identify and analyze the authorial thesis and main ideas.
- Identify and critically evaluate the supporting evidence for intellectual coherence and bias.
- Identify and analyze basic assumptions and inferences made by the author or authors of the text.
- Identify the strengths and weaknesses and the overall persuasiveness in the text's chain of argumentation.
- Critically evaluate the organizational strengths and weaknesses of the text.
Goal: Applications of technologyLearning Outcomes
- Locate information relevant to an assignment in print resources
- Locate information available electronically using appropriate search tools
- Identify and critically evaluate information from electronic resources
Approved by the Rhode Island College Committee on General Education, November 2010


text:
A natural born leader who takes initiative and dedication to get things done. He doesn't shy from challenges and always vocal to get his point across.
Hey, did you see that guy on the podium earlier? His speech was quite inspirational and motivating. He definitely has the characteristics of a Dayal.
by ds1983 March 29, 2011
A person who is of low intelligence, an idiot.
by Oxford Dictionary Representative April 22, 2008


text:
DownloadDownload the latest Amazon EC2 AMI Tools from Amazon S3:
The Amazon EC2 AMI Tools are available in the Amazon Linux AMI repositories as the
aws-amitools-ec2 package.
Version 1.5.7
ec2-upload-bundleadds STS credentials to sigv4-style request headers.
Version 1.5.6
- We have added support for the EU (Frankfurt) region.
Version 1.5.5
- Be more compatible with various versions of Ruby (1.8, 1.9, and 2.0).
Version 1.5.4
- Ensure that the filesystem features of newly created AMIs more closely match the features of the root filesystem that they were created from. This fixes a bug with the tools that prevented a rebundled 2014.09 Amazon Linux AMI from booting.
Version 1.5.3
- Fixed
ec2-upload-bundlebehavior when the upload bucket doesn't exist.
ec2-upload-bundlenow works with S3 buckets that contain dots '.'
- Removed dependency on 'which' shell builtin.
Version 1.5.2
- We have added support for the China (Beijing) region.
- We have added support for rebundling partitioned images. MBR/GPT partitioned AMIs may now be rebundled, which means that supported instance-store HVM AMIs may now be rebundled.
- Users can now execute an arbitrary script via the
--scriptflag. This script is executed after image cloning has been completed. An example use case would be a complex find command used to remove specific files from the cloned image before bundling begins.
For example, if we had a bash script named
rm-priv.sh with the following contents:
#!/bin/bash mnt_dir="${1}" find "${mnt_dir}" -type f -name "*.priv" -exec rm -f {} \;We could use it like this:
sudo ec2-bundle-vol -arch x86_64 --user XXXXXXXXXXXX --cert cert.pem --privatekey pk.pem --script /home/ec2-user/rm-priv.sh
--include and
--exclude wildcard
behavior. For example,
sudo ec2-bundle-vol --arch x86_64 --user
XXXXXXXXXXXX --cert cert.pem --privatekey pk.pem --exclude
/root/.ssh,/home/ec2-user/.ssh --include "/home/ec2-user/files/*.pem"
--clone-only flag to
ec2-bundle-vol. This allows users to stop the bundling procedure right after a copy of the user-specified volume has been created, and is useful for debugging if an image isn't bundling properly.
--grub-config to
ec2-bundle-vol. This enables specifying a specific grub configuration file to use during bundling, and is an alternative to directly editing the instance's grub configuration. At this time, only legacy grub(0.97) configuration files are supported.
Known Issues
- When rebundling EBS-backed HVM AMIs as instance-store, use
--block-device-mapping ami=sda,root=/dev/sda1,ephemeral0=sdb,ephemeral1=sdc,ephemeral2=sdd,ephemeral3=sde
- The EC2 AMI Tools will fail to generate a bootable image on systems that have SELinux enabled, due to permission errors at boot time. SELinux will need to be disabled before the bundling process begins, and a reboot will be required.


text: Generally I've shyed away from messing with spokes or lacing a wheel. I've done some trueing, but that's about it. I read a long time ago on the old How to make a fixie thread that for the best results you needed to redish the wheel if you are using a wheel that had a freehwheel cassette. The advice (as I remember it) was to loosen the non-drive side spokes half a turn and tighten the drive side spokes half a turn... is that right? Anyway, I am turning a 24" alloy mountain bike wheel into a single speed wheel with a BMX freewheel. I was wondering if the wheel has 2 different length spokes to accomplish the dishing for the cassette freewheel? If so, could I just take another matching wheel and swap out one side spokes so that I have all the same length spokes to rebuild the wheel? Am I explaining this right? HELP!!!


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What's up at The Warehouse
Week of April 4-11
April 4, 5, and 8-11: Open to students in 5th-12th grade from 3-6 p.m. Enjoy our gym, computer lab, Play Station 3, Xbox, Wii, board games, air hockey, foosball, carpet ball, food and more, all at no cost.
April 6: Dodgeball/Basketball from 7-10 p.m. for students in 5th grade – adults. No cost and free refreshments will be served. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for sign up to be placed on a team.
April 8: Adult open gym basketball from 7-9 p.m., no cost or pre-registration required.
April 10: Pine River-Backus Coalition Meeting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Warehouse is closed to students when the Pine River-Backus School has a scheduled or unscheduled closing or an unscheduled early out. For scheduling events/meetings contact Sharon at 218-587-5404 during office hours (generally noon to 6 p.m. on Monday-Friday). Check the Website at www.thewarehousepr.org for updates on events, closings and cancellations.


text:
Let's see if we can figure out what's causing your symptoms.
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When your mate says something ill (strange, funny or medically related comment) and you think that it would be a good idea for them to sing that word or phrase really loudly, you shout, SING THAT!! (it has to be said in an ill high pitched voice too). If your mate fails to sing the word or phrase, a common follow up is, SING IT!
Andrew - 'granulomatous inflammation'. Pete - 'SING THAT!' Andrew - 'GRANULOOOMATOUS INFLLLAAMAAATION!' Pete - 'you're ill.'
by the ill man December 28, 2011


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ACE Fit Share
Fish tacos have become all the rage in recent years and are a specialty of the Pacific coast of Southern California and Mexico. This is a simple recipe: all the components can be made ahead of time and the fish grilled at the last moment. You can also use halibut, sea bass or tilapia in place of the salmon.
Nutrition Profile:
Heart Healthy
High Calcium
High Fiber
High Potassium
Low Cholesterol
Low Sat Fat
Low Sodium
Serves 4
Prep Time 20 min
Total Time 20 min.
Step 1
Preheat grill to medium-high.
Step 2
Combine oil, chile powder, lime juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture liberally over salmon. Grill the salmon, skin-side down, until it is just cooked through, about 8 minutes. Cut each fillet lengthwise into 2 pieces and remove the skin.
Step 3
To serve, place 2 tortillas on each plate. Evenly divide the fish, Cabbage Slaw, Citrus Salsa and Cilantro Crema among the tortillas.
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This workout provides a challenging total-body workout that can be done from the comfort of home with no equipment other than bodyweight and space.


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COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, COLORADO -- Nissan does not stand behind their products. We purchased a NEW 2005 Nissan Xterra SE in May 2006 for my wife. Upon taking delivery and driving home the low tire pressure warning light came on. I returned the vehicle that evening to the dealership and was told by the service manager that the tire pressure was low because of the altitude in Colorado Springs. They aired the tire and the following morning the tire was flat. Guess that was a lot of altitude.
Called the dealership and they stated they did not have any tires in stock, and that it would be 5-7 business days before they got one and that I should put my spare on. I found a tire at a tire store 3 blocks from the dealership and told them they needed to do better than 5-7 days.
Approximately 6 months after the purchase, my wife started to complain about a strong sulfur smell when the car was at idle. We took it back to the dealership and they told her that it was the result of the agents in the fuel in Colorado, and that she should try another gas station. My wife is not a brand loyalist, and had been purchasing her fuel at whatever station was convenient. To appease the dealership, she began purchasing her fuel at a local Shell, but the issue persisted. Again the dealership stated it was the fuel and there was nothing they could do about it.
Several months later, the lower tire pressure warning began to go off again. She took it to the dealership, and they told her that there was a nail in the tread and the hole could not be repaired, but they could order us a new tire, at our expense, and have it the next day. Took the vehicle to the same tire store I mentioned previously and surprisingly, they were able to repair the damage. Tire lasted another 15000 miles.
The latest adventure with the Nissan dealership was in May of 2010, during a scheduled maintenance visit. While there I asked them to look at a paint peeling issue on the roof. Initially the service manager stated that it looked like a paint defect, but later recanted his position and stated it was a result of rock chips. I inquired as to how rock chips ended up on the roof rain gutters and he became agitated.
The vehicle had been in our possession for four years almost to the day, and I was told that paint is only covered for one year and that repair costs would be my responsibility. After the service managers insistence that it was not Nissan's responsibility, I contacted the Nissan Consumer Affairs division to attempt to get the issue resolved. Three weeks of playing phone tag with the representative, and I was again told that the damage was the result of rock chips, and that Nissan would do nothing to correct the issue.
My wife and I are now on a personal crusade to dissuade anyone from buying a Nissan product, and the roof of our 4-year old vehicle is beginning to rust. I can only hope it rusts through before the lapse of the 5-year warranty. Buyers beware!
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO -- After all prices and everything were solidified, on the way to the finance office, he informed her that the SUV comes with a "Clear Coat Package" and it cost an additional one thousand dollars. She did not want it because she lived in Denver, and we were planning on moving out of the state soon, so it would do her no good. He then informed her that he cannot sell her the Xterra without the "Clear Coat Package". She wanted it bad enough that she said she would purchase the vehicle anyway, even though it came with a package that she would not use.
I believed that the vehicle did not require the package and after doing further research with with corporate Nissan and found out that in fact, the "Clear Coat Package" was not required to purchase by anyone, anywhere. I then realized that we were forced to purchase something that we could not use, did not want or need, and was not required. Our salesman blatantly lied to us about a package that was worthless.
Then, during her trade-in appraisal, our salesman asked us about any issues or past accidents, and ** truthfully disclosed all information that she had. One thing that she mentioned was that she had a bent axle replaced. The salesman then told us that was frame damage, which sounded very suspicious to me. He then appraised her vehicle as having frame damage. This deducted over $2,000 from the total trade-in value. I then decided to do some research regarding the so-called frame damage.
Fortunately, a good friend of mine in my home town owns a frame and unibody repair shop. I called the owner, and explained the situation. He told me that I was scammed on this too. He also explained that the axle is a removable, replaceable part and that for all purposes including insurance and appraisal purposes. He explained that under no circumstances is a damaged axle considered part of a damage frame. He then went on to explain that the salesman most likely gave her the trade-in value of a damaged vehicle, but sold it as a functional vehicle.
This makes sense because the axle that ** had damaged was replaced prior to trading the vehicle in, so, at the time of trade-in, her car was in fully-functional, excellent condition, and there was never any frame damage either.
Now, here's the third and final action that was taken towards us. When we purchased the vehicle, it had eighteen-thousand miles on it. I personally checked the condition of the tires myself and they looked almost brand-new. ** and I were living in different cities at the time and I did not see the vehicle too much yet.
The next day after the purchase of the vehicle, she noticed that the tires were bald. She said that she didn't look at them before and just noticed it. She called and told me and I told her she had to be wrong, I checked them myself. So I looked at them when she visited the next time and I couldn't believe it. The tires were worn completely flat in places and had less than 3 mm of tread left in others. When she visited, it was a Sunday and your dealership was closed, so there was nothing I could do.
Therefore, when you add the one thousand dollars that she lost on the clear coat package with the additional two thousand+ dollars from the fake frame damage, plus an additional eight hundred dollars for four new tires, Erica was scammed out of approximately four thousand dollars by a single sales representative.
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO -- Recently purchased my 2016 Nissan Rogue from the guys at SCS Nissan. They made it such a quick and easy experience without missing any steps. I truly appreciate everything that they had did for us. We will definitely be back and would always recommend anyone to them.
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO -- We had a great shopping and buying experience at SCS Nissan. From the moment we walked in the door we were made to feel comfortable. Our sales guy, Jon, was great, and is still calling to check in and make sure everything is going smooth with the new truck! Cannot say enough about these guys!!!
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO -- I went to SCS Nissan looking to trade in my vehicle. I was assured that they could help me, and the sales staff were very friendly and helpful. I then decided on the vehicle I wished to purchase, and after running my information through their lender (Nissan Financial), I was told that I was approved for a loan, given the payments, and the amount that I would have to put down. This was in accordance to every other vehicle I have ever purchase (having previously owned 30 vehicles, I have done this a few times).
After being rushed through finance, I was assured that everything was good to go, and that the dealership would FedEx the paperwork to my co-signer for signatures and the deal was done. I then left with the car, at that time a happy customer.
Two weeks went by and my co-signer hadn't received the paperwork to sign, and after several days of trying to get a response from the finance department as to where the paperwork was, we were informed that despite the assurances I received, the loan had never been approved at the terms I was given. And that if we wanted to keep the car, we would need to pay an additional $3000 down and pay an extra $60 per month.
After speaking with representatives from both banks and other dealerships, all were astonished that we would be so blatantly lied to, and most were absolutely amazed that a dealership would not only lie about a loan approval, but allow a customer to leave with a car they didn't have a loan on.
I called and spoke with the general manager, who was very rude and confrontational, and the only useful statement he made was that this is their "standard business practice." Needless to say, I revoked all of my recommendations for business to this dealership, and anyone considering this dealership should heed the advice of their own general manager. Their standard business practice is to lie and mislead customers to make a sale.
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO -- I bought a 2007 Nissan Sentra at South Colorado Springs Nissan from one of the sales people there. He stated the MASS AIR FLOW sensor was out in the car I was looking to buy. He said he would take one from another Sentra and when the new part came in, he would then give me the new part and replace it. Mind you I have this all in writing on my contract. Well I called several times and the sales person kept stating that it is still on a national back order.
Finally I called the parts dept and they stated they had not one but 2 of the mass air flow sensors and that it was never on national back order. I called my salesman again and asked if the part was in and he quickly stated..."NO." I said, "well your parts dept states different." Well needless to say he told me to set up and apt and he would have the part switched out. He sent an email stating to find him so he could pull the car into service. I came in found him and told him I would need a receipt. He stated, "I will write something up for you" I told him nope that will not be good enough. I need something from service that states they worked on my car. With that I left.
Not 10 mins off the lot, he calls and leaves a VM stating, "come and get your car." I tried calling back and he was of course unavaliable. He then called me back 20 mins later stating, "it was never the mass air flow sensor, it was the intelligent key sensor." So upset I head back to the dealership. Not only did they lie to me from the word go, they were going to pretend they fixed the part.
I have a written contract stating I am entitled to the part and they will not give me the part. I went to the GM of the dealership and got nothing but attitude. When I asked for his manager he says, "I'm on top in here I'm the boss." Well I will NEVER EVER buy another Nissan nor ever take my car to South Colorado Springs Nissan for service. This problem is not resolved and I will not give until I get my part.
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO -- Had I rated this company a year ago, I would have rated it perfect. After buying two vehicles in two years, I once again returned to buy another. Everything was fine until I entered the finance office. The fast-talking, smooth-operating finance manager told me due to our multiple purchases, we would receive free maintenance and service contracts. After reviewing our records from home, we noticed we had been charged over four thousand dollars for those "free" maintenance contracts.
After contacting the dealer via certified mail, there has been no response. They had a loyal customer for life, but decided to throw that away for a lousy couple of thousand dollars. I would recommend Phil Long Ford, and as a Ford motor credit employee, I would be happy to offer anyone thinking of buying anything from Academy Nissan my employee X Plan discount for a new Ford purchase e-mail me at **.


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A system that includes the variable of local climate provides a fairer measure of carbon dioxide emissions
Michael Sivak, Brandon Schoettle
Increased concern about carbon dioxide emissions has resulted in efforts to create methods for ranking countries according to their emissions. Such rankings inform policy decisions on an international scale; the more comprehensive these rankings are, the better our chances of reducing emissions. It has long been recognized that comparing individual countries based on their absolute amounts of carbon dioxide emissions is problematic. So it is common to adjust the total amount of emissions in order to account for the size of each country's population and its overall economic output. These adjustments result in measures such as emissions per capita and emissions per gross domestic product (GDP).
We feel it is important to go a step further, taking into account another factor: the general heating and cooling demands that are imposed by the climate of a given country. The population of a country cannot choose the local climate, of course; that is determined by geographical location. Thus, people must deal with the temperature of their locale using the heating and cooling methods available to them. There are significant incentives for doing so: Effective indoor climate control results not only in increased comfort, but also in improved health and increased productivity. Consequently, in evaluating countries' carbon dioxide emissions, we should not overlook climate.
One approach for incorporating climate into emissions rankings would involve subtracting emissions caused by heating and cooling from total emissions. However, a variety of technologies provide heating and cooling, resulting in widely varying amounts of carbon dioxide emissions per degree of change in indoor temperature. Even if information about emissions from indoor temperature regulation were available for each country (which it is not), this approach would not reward countries that rely primarily on carbon-efficient methods of climate control, nor would it penalize countries that rely on carbon-inefficient methods. Thus, an alternate approach is necessary.
The approach we recommend involves adjusting each country's emissions by the combined demand for heating and cooling based purely on climatology, not on the actual methods employed for changing temperature. Specifically, this approach involves adjusting the amount of emissions in accordance with the total number of heating degree days and cooling degree days, which allows us to calculate the amount of emissions per heating and cooling degree day. Heating degree days offer an index of the energy demand required to heat indoor spaces. This index is calculated by subtracting the mean daily outdoor temperature from 18 degrees Celsius and summing up only positive values over a fixed period, such as an entire year. Cooling degree days represent an analogous index of the energy demand for cooling.
For an average outdoor temperature lower than 18 degrees, most buildings in developed countries require heating to maintain a 21-degree indoor temperature. Conversely, for an average outdoor temperature higher than 18 degrees, most buildings require cooling to maintain a 21-degree indoor temperature. The selection of 18 degrees as the base outdoor temperature accounts for the additional heat generated by occupants and their activities, resulting in an average indoor temperature of 21 degrees at 18 degrees outdoors.
Heating and cooling degree days, being based solely on temperature, do not take into account secondary variables influencing the need for heating and cooling (such as humidity and cloud cover). Nonetheless, studies have shown that energy consumption is highly correlated with degree days for both heating and cooling. Total heating and cooling degree days is a combined index of heating degree and cooling degree days. (This index does not incorporate potential differences in the energy expenditures required to heat or to cool by one degree.)
Let's consider an example. Country A and Country B have the same total emissions per capita and GDP. However, Country A is located in a relatively extreme climate (either very cold or very hot), and Country B is located in a mild climate. Country A thus has more population-weighted heating and cooling degree days (taking into account where within the country people live) than does Country B. Under traditional measures, the two countries would have the same ranking. But our intuitions recognize Country A as a much more efficient emitter—and this difference is reflected in the new measure.
No one-to-one correspondence can be made between actual emissions and demand based on climate. First, technologies for cooling indoor spaces, such as air conditioning, are not yet universally accessible. Second, the set point (the thermostat setting for the indoor temperature) varies between individuals and between countries. Third, the various options for climate control that are in use—heating by oil, natural gas, electricity and geothermal energy, for instance—have different consequences for carbon dioxide emissions. Our proposed approach bypasses all of these considerations by providing an adjustment based purely on climatology.
To attain a measure of emissions that incorporates climate, we used three variables for each of 157 countries: carbon dioxide emissions per capita, GDP per capita (adjusted for differences in purchasing power between countries) and a population-weighted average of the total heating and cooling degree days. For the first two variables, we used data from 2008; the third is based on average annual heating and cooling degree days calculated for various recent time periods. These variables allowed us to calculate rankings of carbon dioxide emissions based on three measures: per capita; per capita and GDP; and per capita, GDP, and heating and cooling degree day.
The 15 lowest and highest emitters on each measure are shown in the figure at right. Using emissions per capita, GDP, and heating and cooling degree day, the 10 lowest emitters (in ascending order) are Chad, Afghanistan, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Kiribati, Sweden and Iceland. Six of these countries are in Africa, two in Europe and one each in Asia and Oceania. The 10 biggest emitters (in descending order) are South Africa, Uzbekistan, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Australia, Syria, Jordan and Kazakhstan. Six of these countries are in Asia, and one each is in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and Oceania.
Taking climate into account improves emissions rankings for countries with relatively high heating and cooling degree days. For example, the United States moves from the 110th spot (when only population size and economic output are included) to the 100th spot (when climate demands are considered as well); the United Kingdom moves from 63 to 58, Germany from 75 to 55, Sweden from 27 to 9, China from 149 to 147 and India from 125 to 116. But not everyone comes out for the better under the new approach. Countries with relatively low heating and cooling degree days get a less favorable ranking when climate is added into the equation. Among the countries with a substantial worsening are Australia (which goes from 126 to 151), Brazil (52 to 75), Israel (48 to 76) and Mexico (93 to 117). Changes in ranking for the seven countries with the largest improvement in ranking, the seven with the largest worsening, and seven additional countries of general interest are shown in the figure at left.
Comparing different countries' respective emissions yields intriguing differences. South Africa (the highest emitter) produces about 61 times more emissions per capita, GDP, and heating and cooling degree day than does Chad (the lowest emitter). This range is comparable to the range of emissions per capita and GDP: Using the latter measure, the highest emitter, Uzbekistan, produces 55 times more emissions than does the lowest emitter, Afghanistan. Both of these ranges are substantially smaller than the range considering population alone: The highest emitter, Qatar, produces 2,397 times more emissions per capita than does the lowest emitter, Burundi.
Our results suggest that taking climate into account makes a significant difference in how countries fare in carbon dioxide emissions rankings. Because people respond to the climate they live in by heating and cooling indoor spaces, an index that incorporates climate provides a fairer yardstick than an index that does not. We hope that our approach will stimulate others to further refine this index to reflect even better the complexities involved in ranking countries on emissions.
You can find this online at http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/num2/2012/4/accounting-for-climate-in-ranking-countries-carbon-dioxide-emissions/1
© 2016 Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society


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Agency Advanced Planning & Integration Office (APIO) plans
In January 14, 2004, President George W. Bush announced the Vision for Space Exploration, which became the U.S. Space Exploration Policy. The Vision's fundamental goal is to advance U.S. scientific, security, and economic interests thru a robust space exploration program. To support this goal, the Policy stipulated that the U.S. would:
- Implement a sustained and affordable human and robotic program to explore the solar system and beyond;
- Extend human presence across the solar system, starting with a human return to the Moon by the year 2020, in preparation for human exploration of Mars and other destinations;
- Develop the innovative technologies, knowledge, and infrastructures both to explore and to support decisions about the destinations for human exploration; and
- Promote international and commercial participation in exploration to further U.S. scientific, security, and economic interests.
In October 2004, NASA commissioned strategic and capability roadmap teams to develop the pathways for turning the Vision into reality. The strategic roadmap topics were derived from the Report of the President's Commission on Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy (the Aldridge Commission), published in June 2004. NASA identified 12 strategic areas for roadmapping. The Agency added a thirteenth area on nuclear systems because the topic affects the entire program portfolio. The entire roadmapping effort was managed by an Advanced Planning and Integration Office attached to the Office of the Administrator.
To ensure long-term public visibility and engagement, NASA established a committee for each of the 13 areas. These committees—made up of prominent members of the scientific and aerospace industry communities and senior government personnel—operated under rules stemming from the Federal Advisory Committee Act. A committee was formed for each of the following program areas:
- Robotic and Human Lunar Exploration
- Robotic and Human Exploration of Mars
- Solar System Exploration
- Search for Earth-like Planets
- Exploration Transportation System
- International Space Station
- Space Shuttle
- Universe Exploration
- Earth Science and Applications from Space
- Sun-Solar System Connection
- Aeronautical Technologies
- Education
- Nuclear Systems
Eleven of the 13 strategic roadmap committees began meeting in early January 2005. Formation of the Space Shuttle Committee, which was to focus on the transition from the Shuttle to a new exploration vehicle, was deferred pending the Shuttle's return to flight following the Columbia accident. Formation of the Education Committee was also delayed until the others had begun their work. The rationale was that the Education Committee would benefit from others' discussions about long-term opportunities for education and public outreach.
These 11 committees each met at least once between January 3 and May 17, 2005. However, the new Administrator, Dr. Michael Griffin, terminated this roadmapping program with 30 days notice effective May 22, 2005. Several committees benefited from early results and momentum from pre-existing focused planning activities, and consequently they developed roadmap documents before roadmapping activities ended on May 22. The following roadmaps, all in the science area, were completed:
- Robotic and Human Exploration of Mars
- Solar System Exploration
- Search for Earth-like Planets
- Universe Exploration
- Earth Science and Applications from Space
- Sun-Solar System Connection
These completed roadmap documents will be added soon.
Robotic and Human Exploration of Mars
Exploration of Mars, including robotic exploration of Mars to search for evidence of life, to understand the history of the solar system, and to prepare for future human exploration; human expeditions to Mars after acquiring adequate knowledge about the planet using these robotic missions and after successfully demonstrating sustained human exploration missions to the Moon.
Solar System Exploration
Robotic exploration across the solar system to search for evidence of life, to understand the history of the solar system, to search for resources, and to support human exploration.
Search for Earth-Like Planets
Search for Earth-like planets and habitable environments around other stars using advanced telescopes.
Universe Exploration
Explore the universe to understand its origin, structure, evolution, and destiny.
Earth Science and Applications from Space
Research and technology development to advance Earth observation from space, improve scientific understanding, and demonstrate new technologies with the potential to improve future operational systems.
Sun-Solar System Connection
Explore the Sun-Earth system to understand the Sun and its effects on the Earth, the solar system, and the space environmental conditions that will be experienced by human explorers.