Radiograph showing eggs in line and implanted radio transmitter. – Photo Credit: Kile Kucher As heard Friday, May 25, 2012, on Q-90.1 FM, Delta College, Friday Edition, Environment Report … Plovers a Plenty There’s some good news when it comes to endangered species in the Great Lakes region. According to new analysis from the Center for Biological Diversity, 90 percent of endangered species are on track to meet recovery goals set by federal scientists. A total of 110 species were part of the research, and those in recovery include the piping plover, Kirtland’s warbler, Lake Erie water snake, and gray wolves. The center, a nonprofit headquartered in Arizona, looked at population trends of plants and animals protected by the Endangered Species Act. The analysis found ... Continue reading →
Photo by jpmueller99/CC Old coal is the dirtiest kind, and it still keeps the lights burning in large swaths of the U.S. A new report from the Government Accountability Office says the U.S. is getting much of its electricity from power plants that are more than 30 years old – the biggest polluters. The GAO found that coal-fired units in operation since 1978 or earlier provided 45 percent of the electricity from fossil fuel in 2010, but produced more than their share of emissions compared to newer units: 75 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions (3.6 times), 64 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions (2.1 times), and 54 percent of carbon dioxide emissions (1.3 times) – pollutants linked to respiratory health effects, smog, and climate change. The ... Continue reading →
Photo: Ha-Wee/Creative Commons As I've written before elsewhere, happiness is a notoriously tricky concept to pin down - yet that doesn't mean it isn't real, or we shouldn't pay close attention to it. After all, if you were to ask most of us what we want out of life for ourselves - or for our children - happiness would rank pretty highly. From working moms being happier than their stay-at-home counterparts, through reasons to put yourself first as a parent, we've discussed plenty of strategies here on Parentables for parents to be happier. But what about a slightly more fundamental question: does parenting itself make you more, or less, happy than your childless contemporaries? Some time back, the New York Times reported on research that ... Continue reading →
Some of this may be a cultural thing. But "bath"ing your baby? You should do so at least two to three times a week. Every day if you want. So says a new set of baby and parenting videos from NHS Choices. These video public service announcements, or PSAs, were created for "mums and dads in England who are expecting a baby or who have a baby up to four weeks old." Prime Minister David Cameron recently lamented that parents get more training in driving their car than raising babies. Do you need a video to help you care for your baby? Whatever happened to asking parents, relatives and friends, or reading a book? Of course, I remember the first time my wife and i ... Continue reading →
Press Release 12-098 NSF Report Details Federal Science and Engineering Support to Colleges, Universities and Nonprofit Institutions Institutions of higher education perform about one-half of the nation's basic research May 23, 2012Institutions of higher education, the major source of the nation's scientists and engineers, perform about one-half of the nation's basic research. Therefore, the level, distribution and characteristics of federal academic support are of much interest to officials at federal, state and local levels in non-governmental sectors.This information is provided in a report released this week by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The "Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions: Fiscal Year 2008" provides the full set of detailed tables associated with the report "Federal Obligations for Science and Engineering to ... Continue reading →
The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release May 23, 2012 Obama Administration Launches Sweeping Shift to Mobile New Directive to Make Federal Services Available on Mobile Devices, Spur “App Economy” and Entrepreneurship WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Obama Administration is launching a new initiative to accelerate efforts to make new and useful services available to consumers on their mobile devices. As part of the President's commitment to delivering a 21st century government, he is issuing a directive today requiring that each major Federal agency make two key government services the American people depend on available on mobile phones within the next 12 months. The Administration is also ramping up its ongoing efforts to make large amounts of government data more easily ... Continue reading →
Club Events June 3rd - NIFT members "One Fly Contest" on Lily Lake McHenry, IL. Contestants arrive at 7:30am.June 4th - NIFT Year End Dinner 7pm Champps Schaumburg, IL.June 9th-13th - Annual Club Trip at Gates Au Sable River Lodge Grayling, MI. Continue reading →
