by Liz Szabo - USA Today - November 24, 2011

H1N1 strain of the swine flu virus Photograph: Photographer: C. S. Goldsmith an/AP

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed three cases of a new flu virus, which originated in pigs but apparently spread from person to person, in three Iowa children.

However, there's no reason to fear the beginning of a new pandemic, says Arnold Monto, a flu expert and professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

"I don't think this is anything to worry about for the moment," Monto says. "We have known that swine viruses get into humans occasionally, transmit for a generation or two and then stop. The issue is whether there will be sustained transmission (from person to person)- and that nearly never happens."

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Up until now solar panels have fallen a little flat, literally. Whether they're on a house or an industrial solar field in the desert, solar panels have always been one shape: flat. But the world's not and there's no reason why our solar panels should be either.

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http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/this-could-be-big-abc-news/future-solar-power-134303743.html

by Andy Coughlan and Debora MacKenzie - newscientist.com - October 24, 2011

The 1318 transnational corporations that form the core of the economy. Superconnected companies are red, very connected companies are yellow. The size of the dot represents revenue (Image: PLoS One)

AS PROTESTS against financial power sweep the world this week, science may have confirmed the protesters' worst fears. An analysis of the relationships between 43,000 transnational corporations has identified a relatively small group of companies, mainly banks, with disproportionate power over the global economy.

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by Al Gore - huffingtonpost.com - November 8, 2011

Former Vice President Al Gore in his home office in Nashville, TN. (Time magazine)

This is a historic moment. Australia's Parliament has put the nation's first carbon price into law. With this vote, the world has turned a pivotal corner in the collective effort to solve the climate crisis. This success is the result of the tireless work of an unprecedented coalition that came together to support the legislation, the leadership of Prime Minister Gillard, and the courage of legislators to take a vote that helps to safeguard the future of all Australians.

I have spent enough time in Australia to know that their spirit of independence as a people cannot be underestimated. As the world's leading coal exporter, there's no doubt that opposition to this legislation was fierce. But through determination and commitment, the voice of the people of Australia has rung out loud and clear.

Today, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we do everything we can to ensure that this legislation is successful.

Cross-posted from Al's Journal.

By harnessing the collective power of citizens and engaging communities in their own response and recovery, social media have the power to revolutionize emergency management. Yet, many challenges—
including guidelines for use by response agencies, demonstration of value, and characterization of reliability—must be addressed if the potential of social media is to be fully realized in emergency response and relief efforts in the United States. Please join us for this presentation and panel discussion, which will be chaired by Dr. Clarence Wardell of CNA and will feature findings from the report, 2011 Social Media + Emergency Management Camp: Transforming the Response Enterprise.

Reuters - November 7, 2011

One of the strongest earthquakes in the history of Oklahoma hit near the town of Sparks on Saturday night. At 5.6 in magnitude, it was the bell-ringer of a series of shakes. What is not clear is where this unusual seismic activity is coming from. The Oklahoman reported:

After the main shock, there were 12 temblors registering at magnitudes of 3.0 or higher and more than 70 quakes with magnitudes of 1.0 to 2.5, Oklahoma Geological Survey research scientist Amie Gibson said Sunday.

“We really hope that the 5.6 was the main shock because I don’t want to see anything like that again, personally. It would be ignorant to assume anything right now, because who would assume that we’d have the two biggest ones in one day?” Gibson said.

Before Saturday night, the strongest earthquake recorded was April 9, 1952, in El Reno, according to the geological survey. Its magnitude was 5.5.

U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Don Blakeman said the agency doesn’t know why Saturday’s quakes struck so close together.

                                                                    Social Media and Governance in Times of Transition 

Symposium Series

 Focus of the November 17 Meeting:

10 AM to noon: Social Media Use in Occupy Wall Street

noon to 1 PM: Jenny’s Asian Fusion for Lunch

1 PM to 4 PM: Web 3.0 Intelligent Social Networks & U.S. Resilience Systems

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7387087n&tag=mncol;lst;1

U.S. Census Bureau - Income

Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010    (95 page .PDF file)

submitted by Tom McGinn

dvice.com - October 30, 2011

The Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature study has just released a summary of a recently completed global land warming analysis showing "reliable evidence of a rise in average world land temperature by approximately one degree Celsius since the mid-1950s." Yeah, we've heard that before, but this is one study that even skeptics may have to believe.

Here's why the Berkeley Earth Project is different from all previous studies on global warming: