Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Apps Against Abuse


apps directed toward young adults to prevent abuse and violence.
What to Do After an Earthquake
Tips from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on what to do after an earthquake.
Affordable Care Act Rules on Expanding Access to Preventive Services for Women
"...The Affordable Care Act – the health insurance reform legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010 – helps make prevention affordable and accessible for all Americans by requiring health plans to cover recommended preventive services without cost sharing.

Under the Affordable Care Act, women’s preventive health care services – such as mammograms, screenings for cervical cancer, and other services – are already covered with no cost sharing for new health plans. The Affordable Care Act also made recommended preventive services free for people on Medicare. However, the law recognizes and HHS understands the need to take into account the unique health needs of women throughout their lifespan.

On August 1, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) adopted additional Guidelines for Women’s Preventive Services – including well-woman visits, support for breastfeeding equipment, contraception, and domestic violence screening – that will be covered without cost sharing in new health plans starting in August 2012. The guidelines were recommended by the independent Institute of Medicine (IOM) and based on scientific evidence..."
view full guidelines

Monday, August 22, 2011

Hurricanes
"Hurricanes are severe tropical storms that form in the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. People who live in hurricane prone communities should know their vulnerability, and what actions should be taken to reduce the effects of these devastating storms. The information on this page can be used to save lives at work, home, while on the road, or on the water."
African Americans in Medicine:Selected Titles
Resources from the Library of Congress's Science, Technology, and Business Division concerning African American in medicine.
Air conditioning in nearly 100 million U.S. homes
"Except in the temperate climate regions along the West coast, air conditioners (AC) are now standard equipment in most U.S. homes (Figure 1). As recently as 1993, only 68% of all occupied housing units had AC. figure data The latest results from the 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) show that 87 percent of U.S. households are now equipped with AC. This growth occurred among all housing types and in every Census region. Wider use has coincided with much improved energy efficiency standards for AC equipment, a population shift to hotter and more humid regions, and a housing boom during which average housing sizes increased..."

Saturday, August 20, 2011

SBA 100
100 business that have created 100 jobs since getting SBA assistance.
Annual Energy Review, 2009
"The Annual Energy Review (AER) is the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s primary report of historical annual energy statistics. For many series, data begin with the year 1949. Included are data on total energy production, consumption, and trade; overviews of petroleum, natural gas, coal, electricity, nuclear energy, renewable energy, international energy, as well as financial and environmental indicators; and data unit conversion tables..."
View full report.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Current Price Topics: The Impact of Fuel Surcharges on the PPI
"Recent news reports indicate that rising fuel costs effect all segments of the United States economy.[1] Industry experts agree, noting that consumers are affected by higher transportation costs passed on by shippers to their customers.[2] Although many consumers experience high gasoline prices at the pump, few realize the degree to which high fuel costs also influence prices paid for other goods and services; fuel surcharges drive up shipping costs and often are passed on to buyers in the form of higher prices.[3]

For transportation service providers, shipping prices are typically set using a combination of a base rate along with surcharges or discounts. Base rates can vary by mode of transportation, but generally they are a contractual amount to move freight from origin to destination on the basis of mileage and volume. In addition to fuel surcharges, other common surcharges pass on the cost for deadheading (making a return trip without passengers or freight), insurance, and security.."
Report to the President - Sustaining Environmental Capital: Protecting Society and the Economy
"The central messages of this report are two. First, the economic and environmental dimensions of soci­etal well­being are both indispensable, as well as tightly intertwined. Second, even as the government is rightly focused on the direct threats to the economic aspects of well­being in the form of recession, unemployment, and the stagnation of the standard of living of the middle class, it must not fail to address the threats to both the environmental and the economic aspects of well­being that derive from the accelerating degradation of the environmental capital—the Nation’s ecosystems and the biodiversity they contain—from which flow “ecosystem services” underpinning much economic activity as well as public health, safety, and environmental quality..."

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Executive Order--Establishing a Coordinated Government-wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce
"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to promote the Federal workplace as a model of equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. Our Nation derives strength from the diversity of its population and from its commitment to equal opportunity for all. We are at our best when we draw on the talents of all parts of our society, and our greatest accomplishments are achieved when diverse perspectives are brought to bear to overcome our greatest challenges.

A commitment to equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion is critical for the Federal Government as an employer. By law, the Federal Government's recruitment policies should "endeavor to achieve a work force from all segments of society." (5 U.S.C. 2301(b)(1)). As the Nation's largest employer, the Federal Government has a special obligation to lead by example. Attaining a diverse, qualified workforce is one of the cornerstones of the merit-based civil service..."
U.S. Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions, 2010
"This analysis examines the level and drivers of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2010. After a historic decline in 2009, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rebounded in 2010, but still remain 358 million metric tons (6 percent) below the 2005 level..."
Teen Dating Violence: A Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography
"This annotated bibliography and summary of research identify significant research carried out in the decade since 1999 on the issue of dating violence among high school and middle school youth. The survey provided by the bibliography and summary covers quantitative and qualitative literature on the definition and prevalence of, as well as risk factors for, adolescent dating violence, also called teen relationship abuse. Commonly researched risk factors, correlates, or predictors of teen dating violence include demographic and communitylevel factors, as well as more proximate family-level, individual-level, and situational risks. Particular note is taken of longitudinal work on such factors. The survey also encompasses research on the deleterious effects of dating violence both in the context of the current relationship and in future intimate partnerships. Finally, the bibliography and summary cover the literature on the effectiveness of prevention programs and on responses to the issue of dating violence in the law and legal systems."
Investing in Rural America
From USGA blog:
"Earlier this week, President Obama along with Secretary Vilsack and members of the White House Rural Council hosted the White House Rural Economic Forum in Peosta, Iowa where the President announced new jobs initiatives focused on increasing access to capital, job training and health care services. The forum, part of President Obama’s three-day economic bus tour, brought together farmers, small business owners, private sector leaders, rural stakeholders and government officials to discuss ways to improve economic growth and create jobs in rural communities nationwide. The White House Rural Council, of which Secretary Vilsack is the chair, was created on June 9, 2011 by an executive order and is focused on finding ways to increase economic growth and infrastructure in rural communities..."

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Environmentalism: Resources for kids, young adults, educators and parents
"This guide provides a selection of print and electronic resources on environmentalism for children ages K-12. It also includes environmental education resources for educators and parents.."