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This working group is focused on sustainable economics and financial balance within resilient social ecologies.

The mission of this working group is to build sustainable economy and financial balance within resilient social ecologies.

Members

Corey Watts david hastings Elhadj Drame John Girard Kathy Gilbeaux LintonWells
Maeryn Obley mdmcdonald Samuel Bendett

Email address for group

economics@m.resiliencesystem.org

Ebola epidemic is 'wake-up call' for investment in universal healthcare

Investment in universal healthcare: Improving health systems in three Ebola-hit African countries would have cost a third of relief effort there, says new Save the Children report

THE GUARDIAN      by Lisa O'Connell                                                                   March 3, 015
Up to 30 countries are vulnerable to an Ebola-style epidemic, unless the world sits up and helps get urgent investment into universal healthcare, a report (pdf) has found.

Health workers who have returned from west Africa and colleagues based in the UK walk to Westminster in support of Save the Children’s campaign to strengthen health systems globally. Photograph: Jeff Moore/Save the Children

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Government Predicts 10 Oil-Hauling Train Derailments a Year, $4 Billion in Damages

      

This Feb. 17, 2015 file photo, shows a train derailment that sent a tanker with crude oil into the Kanawha River near Mount Carbon, W.Va. As investigators in West Virginia and Ontario pick through the wreckage from the latest pair of oil train derailments to result in massive fires, U.S. transportation officials predict many more catastrophic wrecks involving flammable fuels in coming years absent new regulations. (AP Photo/Chris Tilley,File)

nola.com - AP - by Matthew Brown and Josh Funk - February 23, 2015

BILLINGS, Mont. -- The federal government predicts that trains hauling crude oil or ethanol will derail an average of 10 times a year over the next two decades, causing more than $4 billion in damage and possibly killing hundreds of people if an accident happens in a densely populated part of the U.S.

The projection comes from a previously unreported analysis by the Department of Transportation that reviewed the risks of moving vast quantities of both fuels across the nation and through major cities. The study completed last July took on new relevance this week after a train loaded with crude derailed in West Virginia, sparked a spectacular fire and forced the evacuation of hundreds of families.

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New funding announced for US Ebola preparedness

THE HILL                        by Peter Sullivan                                                                 Feb. 20, 2015

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration on Friday announced around $200 million in new funding to increase Ebola preparedness in the United States. 

The Department of Health and Human Services is giving grants to states to help set up 10 regional Ebola treatment centers, as well as hospitals in every state that can safely care for an Ebola patient until he or she is transferred. Combined with other funds, the move brings the total for local Ebola preparedness to around $340 million.

"Important lessons were also learned during the response effort," HHS said in a statement Friday. "Safety of health care workers must be foremost in health care system preparedness and response activities."

Read complete story.
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/233385-hhs-announces-new-funding-for-us-ebola-preparedness

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U.S. Oil Producers Cut Rigs as Price Declines

      

Oil pump jacks at work at a drilling site in North Dakota. Producers have been cutting back.
Credit Eric Gay/Associated Press

nytimes.com - by Clifford Krauss - January 7, 2015

HOUSTON — With oil prices plunging at an ever-quickening rate, producers are beginning to slash the number of drilling rigs around the country.

The national rig count had remained surprisingly resilient over recent months even as oil prices dropped by more than 50 percent since June, and it still tops the count of a year ago as domestic production continues to surge.

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Congress releases FY15 Omnibus

COMPILED BY THE GLOBAL RESILIENCE SYSTEM                                                          Dec. 14, 2014

Congressional Actions and The Obama Administration requests for emergency funding for Ebola.

Contained in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill for Fiscal year 2015 passed by the Senate Sunday and earlier by the House.

(Five links, scroll down.)

Tables showing actual approved appropriations, Compiled by Kaiser Foundation
http://kff.org/policy-tracker/congress-releases-fy15-omnibus/

FY15 CROmnibus - PT Entry (12-9-14) Table 2 - 80p

      Note: Congressional ddid not approve the Administration's  requested $1.5 million contigency fund.

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Free Fall in Oil Price Underscores Shift Away From OPEC

A hydraulic fracturing well in Colorado. With the technology, America is expected to surpass Saudi Arabia in oil production. Credit Brennan Linsley/Associated Press

Image:  A hydraulic fracturing well in Colorado. With the technology, America is expected to surpass Saudi Arabia in oil production. Credit Brennan Linsley/Associated Press

nytimes.com - November 28th, 2014 - Clifford Krauss

Since the economically crippling oil embargo of 1973, every American president has pledged to seek and achieve energy independence.

That elusive goal may finally have arrived, at least for the foreseeable future, with the failure of Saudi Arabia and its 11 oil cartel partners in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to agree to a production cut that would put a brake on plummeting crude prices.

On Friday, the benchmark American price for crude oil continued the free fall that began on Thursday, closing at $66.15, its lowest price in more than four years.

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Electricity from Renewables Cost Competitive with Coal

energymanagertoday.com - by Linda Hardesty
November 26, 2014

Although a recent story from Spectrum IEEE said Google researchers gave up on a project to produce electricity from renewables more cheaply than electricity from coal, a story in the New York Times says some renewable electricity is already cost competitive with coal.

The story cites a study by the investment banking firm Lazard, which finds the cost of utility-scale solar is as low as 5.6 cents per kWh, and wind is as low as 1.4 cents, while natural gas comes in at 6.1 cents and coal at 6.6 cents.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Lazard's Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis - Version 8.0 (20 page .PDF file)

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US STOCKS - Futures drop as selling pressure continues; data on tap

in.reuters.com - October 16th, 2014 - Chuck Mikolajczak

U.S. stock index futures tumbled on Thursday, after the S&P 500 closed at its lowest in six months, amid concerns about weak global demand and its potential impact on the U.S. economy and businesses.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq briefly fell into negative territory for the year on Wednesday as the S&P tumbled more than 3 percent to a session low, before rallying late in the session. The decline was also spurred by worries over the spread of the deadly Ebola virus and its possible impact on the travel industry.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Global Economy Facing Environment, Sustainability Skills Deficit

environmentalleader.com - October 16th, 2014

By 2020 the world economy could be facing a skills deficit driven by mega-trends such as population growth, increasing demand for natural resources, and soaring costs of energy, coupled with the impacts of climate change and ecosystem degradation, according to a report by the Institute of Environmental Management & Awareness.

Although the transition to a sustainable economy presents significant opportunities for business, according to an IEMA survey of over 900 organizations, only 13 percent of companies are fully confident that they have the skills to successfully compete in the sustainable economy.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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La lutte contre le virus Ebola est un combat contre l'inégalité

Commentaire de

par Jim Young Kim, Président du groupe Banque mondiale
6 octobre2014

comme la propagation du virus Ebola en Afrique de l'ouest présente, l'importance de la réduction des inégalités n'a pas pu être plus clair. La bataille contre le virus est une lutte sur plusieurs fronts--des vies humaines et la santé au premier rang les.

Mais la lutte contre le virus Ebola est aussi une lutte contre l'inégalité. Les connaissances et l'infrastructure pour traiter les malades et de contenir le virus existe dans les comtés de revenus moyens et élevés. Cependant, au fil des années, nous n'avons pas à faire ces choses accessibles aux personnes à faible revenu en Guinée, au Libéria et en Sierra Leone. Alors maintenant, des milliers de personnes dans ces pays sont en train de mourir parce que, à la loterie de naissance, ils sont nés au mauvais endroit.

Voir l'article complet

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-yong-kim/the-fight-against-ebola-i_b_5938716.html

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