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MERS: CDC Confirms First U.S. Case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

      

A colorized photo of the MERS coronavirus, or MERS-CoV. Health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed the first case of Middle East respiratory syndrome in the United States, in Indiana. (National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

latimes.com - by Amina Khan - May 2, 2014

A case of the sometimes fatal Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, has been reported in Indiana, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

The announcement marks the first time a patient with the infection has been identified in the United States, CDC officials said.

“CDC is working closely with the Indiana State Health Department and hospital to rapidly respond to and investigate this situation to help prevent the spread of the virus,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a news briefing.

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Climate Change Study Finds U.S. Is Already Widely Affected

   

     

A deluge last week destroyed a section of the Scenic Highway in Pensacola, Fla. Credit Brantly S. Keiek, via Associated Press

GlobalChange.gov

nytimes.com - by Justin Gillis - May 6, 2014

The effects of human-induced climate change are being felt in every corner of the United States, scientists reported Tuesday, with water growing scarcer in dry regions, torrential rains increasing in wet regions, heat waves becoming more common and more severe, wildfires growing worse, and forests dying under assault from heat-loving insects. . .

. . . “Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present,” the scientists declared in a major new report assessing the situation in the United States.

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CLICK HERE - REPORT - Climate Change Impacts in the United States - U.S. National Climate Assessment

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Florida - SPRING 2014 FLOODING - Resources

Florida - State Emergency Response Team - Situation Report No. 3
SPRING 2014 FLOODING UPDATE: Friday, May 02, 2014, 12:00 p.m.
(4 page .PDF report)
http://www.floridadisaster.org/eoc/PressReleases/
05%2002%2014%20SitRep.pdf

Additional Situation Reports and Press Releases (see Right sidebar)
http://www.floridadisaster.org/NewsMedia.asp

Facebook page - Florida Severe Weather Alerts & Disaster Resources
https://www.facebook.com/
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F.C.C., in a Shift, Backs Fast Lanes for Web Traffic

      

The proposed rules, drafted by Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and his staff, would allow Internet service providers to charge companies different rates for faster connection speeds. Credit Daniel Rosenbaum for The New York Times

nytimes.com - by Edward Wyatt - April 23, 2014

WASHINGTON — The principle that all Internet content should be treated equally as it flows through cables and pipes to consumers looks all but dead.

The Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday that it would propose new rules that allow companies like Disney, Google or Netflix to pay Internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon for special, faster lanes to send video and other content to their customers.

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Security and Quality Top Companies' Reasons for Using Open Source

      

Surprisingly, the fact that it's often free is not the main reason most businesses choose open source software.

pcworld.com - by Katherine Noyes - April 7, 2014

Why should you use open source software? The fact that it’s usually free can be an attractive selling point, but that’s not the reason most companies choose to use it. Instead, security and quality are the most commonly cited reasons, according to new research.

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Black Duck and North Bridge Venture Partners - The Eighth Annual Future of Open Source Survey

Black Duck and North Bridge Venture Partners
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$3 Million Verdict in Texas Fracking Case

submitted by Margery Schab     

         

Bob and Lisa Parr of Decatur confer with attorneys (from left) Brad Gilde and Richard Capshaw during a break in the lawsuit trial Thursday. The Parrs are suing Aruba Petroleum over alleged toxic emissions from gas wells surrounding their home in rural Wise County. Messenger photo by Bob Buckel

dmlawfirm.com - April 22, 2014

DALLAS — Plaintiffs Bob and Lisa Parr won a $3 million jury award in the first fracking verdict in Texas April 22. The Parrs sued Aruba Petroleum in 2011 for fracking operations which fouled the family’s 40-acre ranch property, their home and quality of life, sickened them and their pets and livestock. (See the Parr – 11th Amended Petition.)

The verdict included $275,000 for the Parr’s property loss of market value and $2 million for past physical pain and suffering by Bob and Lisa Parr and their daughter,  $250,000 for future physical pain and suffering, $400,000 for past mental anguish.

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Oil Companies Fight ND Plan to Slow Production

Ron Ness, North Dakota Petroleum Council President, testifies in front of officials with the Oil and Gas Division of the North Dakota Mineral Resources Department at a hearing Tuesday, April 22, 2014, in Bismarck, N.D. The North Dakota Industrial Commission was holding the hearing on its new natural gas flaring policy. (AP Photo/The Bismarck Tribune, Mike McCleary)

ap.org - by James MacPherson - April 22, 2014

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Dr. Lyle Best traveled nearly 200 miles from the heart of North Dakota's oil patch Tuesday to tell state regulators one thing: "Slow down."

The North Dakota Industrial Commission is considering a proposal that would cut back on the state's booming oil production as a means of controlling the amount of natural gas that's being burned off at well sites and wasted as a byproduct of the more valuable substance, oil.

But oil companies are fighting the idea of slowing production, and want regulators to consider self-imposed steps to curb natural gas flaring, such as submitting plans for natural gas gathering before applying for a drilling permit.

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Why We Don’t Care About Saving Our Grandchildren From Climate Change

Some 30,000 people demonstrate in the center of Copenhagen on Dec. 12, 2009 to turn up the heat on world leaders debating global warming at the U.N. climate conference
Attila Kisbenedek / AFP / Getty Images

A new study shows that human beings are too selfish to endure present pain to avert future climate change. That's why we need win-win solutions now

science.time.com - by Bryan Walsh - October 21, 2014

You want to know what the biggest obstacle to dealing with climate change is? Simple: time. It will take decades before the carbon dioxide we emit now begins to have its full effect on the planet’s climate. And by the same token, it will take decades before we are able to enjoy the positive climate effects of reducing carbon-dioxide emissions now.

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