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Mainstream society tends to define intelligence through very limited parameters. From pre-school through the collegiate level a person's intellectual worth is quite inaccurately determined solely by his or her ability to work with numbers, remember details, and handle language skills.
Students who do not excel in mathematical operations or the ability to communicate via accepted linguistic structures are often labeled as "slow", inept, or worse. Even outside of the classroom people are measured and judged smart or dumb by virtue of their skills with numbers and written/verbal communication.
It's right to celebrate a talent with numbers. And it's good to honor an ability to master sentence structure or remember, manage, and communicate written information.
But these skills are far from being the only determinants of strong intelligence. In fact recent scientific studies have identified multiple types of intelligence.
In addition to the verbal/linguistic and logical/mathematical intelligence recognized and rewarded by the standard academic system, researchers at Harvard have identified the following types of intelligence:
Visual/Spatial Intelligence ? This measure of intelligence manifests in the visual perception of the environment, the ability to form and manipulate visual imagery, and the orientation of the body and other objects in space. Simply put, an individual with great visual/spatial intelligence might excel at graphic arts, sculpting, observation of the environment, freehand carpentry, and so forth.
Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence ? This of course deals with one's physical dexterity, fine motor skills, and the ability to learn and express via physical movements. A person with enhanced bodily/kinesthetic intelligence might excel at sports, dancing, sex, and/or have a natural ability to work with hand tools or solve problems through physical means.
Musical Intelligence ? This expression of intelligence is fairly self-explanatory, and pertains not only to understanding/producing harmonious music, but also to rhythmic timing, dance response, and the intuitive relation to natural sounds and melodies.
Interpersonal Intelligence ? This form of intelligence is often manifested in the ability to understand, communicate with, coordinate, and even manage other human beings. People who are smart in this area find it easy to form relationships and maintain harmonious interaction within overall groups and communities.
Interpersonal Intelligence ? This expression of intelligence is the ability to understand the self, and to interpret and work with thoughts, emotions, instinctive reactions, and intuitive notions.
Naturalistic Intelligence ? This form of intelligence involves the ability to observe, understand, and work with the natural world of plants, animals, and even weather patterns and geological phenomenon. Strong organizational and classification skills are typical of this intelligence range.
Dr. Howard Gardner deserves our gratitude for initiating the studies that have categorized this wide range of different intelligences. In the near future it is likely that even more will be done to uncover and organize the less traditional types of human intelligence.
Reviewing the list above, and being aware of the standard verbal/linguistic and logical/mathematical intelligence patterns, where do you feel your genius lies? Don't be modest here; it's very likely you have active or latent talents within one or more areas of intelligence.
Spend some time observing yourself and being honest about the things that come naturally to you in life. Refer to the basic list of intelligence types and see if you can match yourself with some of the traits mentioned.
Understand of course that I've only made a very basic outline in this article. Each form of intelligence can be greatly extrapolated on.
Often undervalued by mainstream (and especially elitist) society, these additional forms of intelligence have played a critical role in human survival over the past several thousand years! Furthermore all manifestations of intelligence, not just the two facets that are nurtured and praised by our stunted educational programs, color the vivid and wonderful nature of humanity.
It's time we as a species transcend the limitations of "traditional" definitions of intelligence and embrace our greatness in the many forms it becomes manifest.
For more content on the power of thought and the nature of thought vibrations be sure to check out the author's blog on positive thinking. Visit Finding Your Genius ? Different Kinds of Intelligence.
This entry was posted on Friday, June 29th, 2012 at 7:07 pm and is filed under Success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
An attack on a pro-government television channel's offices near Damascus killed three staff on Wednesday after President Bashar al-Assad said Syria was in a "state of war."
As the UN Human Rights Council prepared to hear a new report by a panel it set up to probe the conflict, human rights monitors said that 79 civilians were among at least 129 people killed in violence on Tuesday.
Live footage broadcast by state television showed extensive damage to the studios of the Al-Ikhbariya satellite channel with several small fires still burning in what it described as an unprecedented attack on the pro-government media.
"The terrorist groups stormed the offices of Al-Ikhbariya, planted explosives in the studios and blew up them with up along with the equipment," Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi told the television in a live interview.
"They carried out the worst massacre against the media, executing journalists and security staff," Zohbi said.
"This didn't come out of nowhere," he added, pointing to European Union sanctions imposed on the pro-government media.
An unidentified pro-government television channel was among the organisations hit by the latest round of EU sanctions against the Syrian authorities imposed on Monday.
Washington put the state broadcaster on its sanctions blacklist in March.
Al-Ikhbariya remained on the air despite Wednesday's assault.
With the uprising now in its 16th month, Assad told his cabinet Tuesday that Syria was in a "real situation of war" and ordered ministers to crush the anti-regime revolt even as fierce fighting broke out near the capital Damascus.
"When one is in a state of war, all our policies and capabilities must be used to secure victory," he said, according to the official SANA news agency.
Fighting broke out in the suburbs of Damascus on Tuesday between rebel forces and Syrian army units, around elite Republican Guard posts, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
It was the first time that artillery had been used "so close to the capital", Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP in Beirut.
SANA reported that government forces had clashed with "armed terrorist groups" in the suburb of Al-Hama, killing dozens and arresting others.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan meanwhile moved to denounce Syria's downing last Friday of a Turkish Phantom F-4 fighter jet in far more aggressive terms than his initial, cautious statements over the weekend.
"This is a hostile act... a heinous attack," Erdogan said, adding that the military's standing orders had been adjusted accordingly.
"The rules of engagement of the Turkish Armed Forces have changed given this new development," he said.
Damascus has defended the downing of the jet, saying it was a response to "a gross violation" of its sovereignty as the aircraft had entered Syrian airspace.
But NATO condemned the action after a meeting called by Turkey, an alliance member.
"It is another example of the Syrian authorities' disregard for international norms, peace and security, and human life," NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said. The jet's two pilots are still missing.
Russia appealed for calm.
"We believe it is important that the incident is not viewed as a provocation or an intentional action, and that it does not lead to destabilising the situation," a foreign ministry statement said.
Washington rejected a Russian proposal for Iran to take part in a planned international conference on Syria in Geneva on Saturday.
"It is better to involve Iran in the settlement (of the Syrian crisis)," Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters in Jordan. "In any case it would complicate the process (if Iran is ignored)."
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington however that the US did not think Iran could make a useful contribution given its support for the Damascus regime.
State Department officials have also said that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will not attend the meeting unless all parties first agree on the need for political change in Syria.
A senior official travelling with Clinton said the Geneva conference was threatened by Russia's refusal to consider Assad's departure, but that a deal might yet be done.
"The sticking point is a clear agreement that there needs to be a political transition," the official said late Tuesday.
The UN Human Rights Council was meanwhile to hear a new report from the Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, its first since the panel's president, Paolo Sergio Pinheiro, was allowed into Syria for the first time since the inquiry was set up last August.
The latest report was to include the panel's findings on the deaths of scores of civilians, most of them women or children, in an artillery bombardment and militia assault on the central town of Houla last month.
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Remodeling your kitchen in Chatsworth doesn?t need to cost a lot. Whether you want to assemble & install the kitchen cabinets yourself, or have us do everything, CA Kitchen Remodeling Chatsworth makes it possible for you to definitely get a new kitchen with beautiful all-wood cabinets at low cost. That?s lower than the home improvement stores. We provide a lot of options of kitchen cabinet sizes, styles, colors and accessories. We would like to assist you to create a kitchen of beauty and efficiency.
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Remember that low-end Xperia handset that surfaced earlier this month with a one-way ticket to China? Well that 4-inch ICS device, the Neo L, has just made its many assets known for the folks at the FCC, stripping down to its internal skivvies and leaving nothing to the (lawyer's) imagination. There aren't any surprises here -- no LTE or AWS support, but it does sport radios for EDGE / GPRS (850MHz, 1900MHz), GSM (850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 1900MHz) and WCDMA (900MHz, 2100MHz). So, the good news is that if you have your eye on this Sony-made Android lightweight, then it should play nice with 3G on AT&T and limited 4G on T-Mobile. Whether it'll ever officially joins those carriers lineups remains to be seen, but don't let a little thing like that stop you from importing away. Hit up the source to trawl the mobile dissection at your leisure.
7 pharmaceutical companies join academic researchers to speed TB drug discoveryPublic release date: 25-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Daniel Pawson dpawson@globalhealthstrategies.com 718-873-3169 Global Health Strategies
Groundbreaking partnership seeks rapid cure to reduce treatment time from 6 months to 1 month
Seven pharmaceutical companies and four research institutions, working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have launched a groundbreaking partnership that aims to speed the discovery of essential new treatments for tuberculosis (TB).
The partnership, known as the TB Drug Accelerator (TBDA), will target the discovery of new TB drugs by collaborating on early-stage research. The long-term goal of the TBDA is to create a TB drug regimen that cures patients in only one month. Existing drugs, all at least 50 years old, require six months to cure the disease a lengthy process that contributes to 20-30% of patients dropping out before completion.
Aided by nearly $20 million from the Gates Foundation, partners officially launched the TBDA in April and have begun the first round of screening for new TB drug candidates. The TBDA aims to develop five new preclinical drug candidates with treatment-shortening potential within 5 years and proof-of-concept for a one-month three-drug regimen within 10 years.
"The TB Drug Accelerator establishes a new paradigm of cooperation in drug discovery," said Sanofi Chief Executive Officer Chris Viehbacher, speaking on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry partners. "By working together on this, we can optimize our research and speed the development of one of the most pressing needs in global health."
Through this partnership, the participating pharmaceutical companies -- Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Sanofi will open up targeted sections of their compound libraries and share data with each other and four research institutions: the Infectious Disease Research Institute; the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health; Texas A&M University; and Weill Cornell Medical College. Breaking from traditional research and development practices, the companies will work together to develop the best prospects, regardless of where the drug originated. The structures of lead compounds identified through the program will ultimately be placed in the public domain.
"TB drug discovery has reached a crossroads," said Dr. Carl Nathan, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College. "Finding new and faster-acting TB drugs will take a new kind of partnership, connecting not only academia and industry, but drug company with drug company. The TB Drug Accelerator is a historic experiment in innovative collaboration."
Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that attacks the respiratory system and other organs. It is the second leading infectious cause of death worldwide, having killed nearly 1.4 million people in 2010 alone. At any given moment, more than 12 million people around the world are suffering from active TB.
The high percentage of patients who fail to complete the current six-month treatment regimen adds significantly to the TB burden. High default rates lead to increased mortality, contribute to TB drug resistance and allow patients to continue to infect others. Shortening treatment regimens to even two months would keep an additional one million people on treatment each year.
"Innovative partnerships are critical to helping us solve the most pressing challenges of global health," said Trevor Mundel, president of the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "It's our hope that the TB Drug Accelerator will set a precedent for drug discovery and serve as a resource for others."
The TBDA will add to existing collaborative efforts on TB, building a more robust drug discovery pipeline to complement other initiatives, such as Critical Pathways to TB Drug Regimens (CPTR), which works with the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development to speed the clinical development of new combination TB drug therapies.
###
Media contacts for partners follow:
Abbott: Colin McBean, +1 847 938 3083, colin.mcbean@abbott.com
AstraZeneca: Andrea Conners, +1 610 620 5675, andrea.conners@astrazeneca.com
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
7 pharmaceutical companies join academic researchers to speed TB drug discoveryPublic release date: 25-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Daniel Pawson dpawson@globalhealthstrategies.com 718-873-3169 Global Health Strategies
Groundbreaking partnership seeks rapid cure to reduce treatment time from 6 months to 1 month
Seven pharmaceutical companies and four research institutions, working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have launched a groundbreaking partnership that aims to speed the discovery of essential new treatments for tuberculosis (TB).
The partnership, known as the TB Drug Accelerator (TBDA), will target the discovery of new TB drugs by collaborating on early-stage research. The long-term goal of the TBDA is to create a TB drug regimen that cures patients in only one month. Existing drugs, all at least 50 years old, require six months to cure the disease a lengthy process that contributes to 20-30% of patients dropping out before completion.
Aided by nearly $20 million from the Gates Foundation, partners officially launched the TBDA in April and have begun the first round of screening for new TB drug candidates. The TBDA aims to develop five new preclinical drug candidates with treatment-shortening potential within 5 years and proof-of-concept for a one-month three-drug regimen within 10 years.
"The TB Drug Accelerator establishes a new paradigm of cooperation in drug discovery," said Sanofi Chief Executive Officer Chris Viehbacher, speaking on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry partners. "By working together on this, we can optimize our research and speed the development of one of the most pressing needs in global health."
Through this partnership, the participating pharmaceutical companies -- Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Sanofi will open up targeted sections of their compound libraries and share data with each other and four research institutions: the Infectious Disease Research Institute; the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health; Texas A&M University; and Weill Cornell Medical College. Breaking from traditional research and development practices, the companies will work together to develop the best prospects, regardless of where the drug originated. The structures of lead compounds identified through the program will ultimately be placed in the public domain.
"TB drug discovery has reached a crossroads," said Dr. Carl Nathan, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College. "Finding new and faster-acting TB drugs will take a new kind of partnership, connecting not only academia and industry, but drug company with drug company. The TB Drug Accelerator is a historic experiment in innovative collaboration."
Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that attacks the respiratory system and other organs. It is the second leading infectious cause of death worldwide, having killed nearly 1.4 million people in 2010 alone. At any given moment, more than 12 million people around the world are suffering from active TB.
The high percentage of patients who fail to complete the current six-month treatment regimen adds significantly to the TB burden. High default rates lead to increased mortality, contribute to TB drug resistance and allow patients to continue to infect others. Shortening treatment regimens to even two months would keep an additional one million people on treatment each year.
"Innovative partnerships are critical to helping us solve the most pressing challenges of global health," said Trevor Mundel, president of the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "It's our hope that the TB Drug Accelerator will set a precedent for drug discovery and serve as a resource for others."
The TBDA will add to existing collaborative efforts on TB, building a more robust drug discovery pipeline to complement other initiatives, such as Critical Pathways to TB Drug Regimens (CPTR), which works with the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development to speed the clinical development of new combination TB drug therapies.
###
Media contacts for partners follow:
Abbott: Colin McBean, +1 847 938 3083, colin.mcbean@abbott.com
AstraZeneca: Andrea Conners, +1 610 620 5675, andrea.conners@astrazeneca.com
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
SPRINGFIELD -- When Illinois legislators approved increasing the income tax in January 2011, a couple of neighboring governors wasted no time trying to take advantage.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker shed a few crocodile tears, bought billboard and newspaper ads urging Illinois businesses to flee and barnstormed the airways to proclaim their states would benefit from Illinois? desperate attempt to soak up the red ink smeared across its balance sheet.
Roughly 18 months later, Indiana says it has attracted 1,600 jobs from firms that moved Illinois employment to the Hoosier state or from companies with Illinois presences that have expanded in Indiana. The Wisconsin state economic development agency says it does not really track how many jobs went north, but has done deals with two companies to bring 116 jobs over the border.
Those numbers may be significant in the sense that no state wants to lose jobs to another, but they?re not quite the windfall that would match up with the rhetoric of a year and a half ago. Illinois officials say they are holding their own in a tough global marketplace because of the state?s major assets ? Chicago, which is a global city, and Illinois? vast transportation network of highways, railroads and O?Hare International Airport ? and because they have been able to show slow, but steady progress in addressing shortcomings that make businesses skittish about coming here.
David Vaught, Illinois? former budget director who now directs the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, points out that the state has gained 48,000 private-sector jobs since the tax increase passed, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report released in April.
?I?m sure they can find a company here or there, and we can find a company that came from those other states to ours,? Vaught said. ?I don?t think we should get too carried away with the border analysis because it?s the net change that?s most important when you?re competing in the international economy.
?I think when businesses look at business location, they look at more than that (tax rates). Chicago and Illinois are leaders in the international economy.?
Regional view
Indiana Commerce Secretary Dan Hasler, a former executive at the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and an Illinois native, said Indiana never had a goal for the number of businesses it wanted to poach.
?I think it?s about what we expected,? Hasler said of the 1,563 jobs and $294.1 million in investments that firms with Illinois connections plan to make in Indiana. ?The situation for a business operating in Illinois and Indiana is so dramatically different.
?I was just with a group of site selectors this morning. I said, ?You know what, everyone wants Illinois to do better.? We are better served by a strong Midwest than just a strong Indiana.
?I can guarantee you most people in China don?t know about Indiana. But they have heard about the Midwest, the breadbasket, the heartland of America, Chicago, that?s what we need strong, and we will all benefit from that. But some of our neighboring states need to get their game on.?
Some of the rhetoric clearly has been toned down in recent months. Walker told reporters in an April appearance in Springfield that he did not believe firms would relocate entire operations from Illinois to Wisconsin.
?We don?t keep track of that,? Walker said in April. ?What it?s going to be is companies that want to grow and expand. The biggest thing we keep track of is the unemployment rate. Illinois? is 9.1 percent. Wisconsin?s is 6.9 percent, and I believe it?ll continue to drop because of our policies.?
Stealing businesses was never the point of Indiana?s ?Illinoyed? campaign, Hasler said.
?I don?t want to poach Illinois companies or Michigan companies or California companies, but doggone it, if they?re going to leave Illinois, if they?re going to leave Michigan, I sure as fiddle want to keep them in the Midwest,? Hasler said. ?What we?re doing is frankly catch them as they fly by and show them they don?t have to go to Texas. Indiana is an incredible alternative.?
Jobless rates
While Vaught touted Illinois? jobs numbers, there is some early evidence that businesses have fled. Secretary of state records how many corporations and limited-liability companies are registered in the state. There were 71,449 corporations and LLCs registered in the state?s 2010 fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010. In FY2011, 73,130 businesses were registered. The number fell back to 71,434 in FY12 as of June 13, with 17 days to go in the fiscal year.
?I think these numbers go up and down,? Vaught said. ?The number that we?re really happy about in the Bureau of Labor Statistics report are the sector numbers, like manufacturing. People have thought for a long time that ... manufacturing jobs were going overseas, that that was a permanent drain. 2011 was an uptick in manufacturing in Illinois. When you add what?s happened in 2012, through April, with what?s happened in 2011, over 22,000 new manufacturing jobs have been created in Illinois. So we tend to look at it through a jobs lens.?
In May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that Indiana and Wisconsin both have lower unemployment rates than Illinois -- 7.9 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively. Illinois? unemployment rate was 8.7 percent. Indiana has gained 111,000 jobs since Illinois passed its income tax increase, while Wisconsin has lost 13,000 jobs, according to the bureau.
What?s important?
Asked to make the case for Indiana, Hasler said he doesn?t have to because national publications and fiscal watchdogs already have. In January, the non-partisan Tax Foundation ranked Illinois? business tax climate 28th while Indiana?s ranked 10th. Site Selection magazine ranked Indiana?s business climate sixth in the nation while Illinois came in 21st. CEO Magazine ranked Illinois as the 48th best state to do business while Indiana came in fifth.
?You shouldn?t pay attention to me, and you shouldn?t pay attention to the governor, OK?? Hasler said, referring to Daniels. ?I?m a big believer in third-party reference as opposed to what a politician or I might say.?
There?s more to living in a place than its tax rates, Vaught countered.
?We don?t hear a lot about those ratings from companies. They?re much more specific about what they want to do and what they want to accomplish,? Vaught said. ?The overall ability of people to educate their kids, have a vibrant place to live, those are crucial to people as well.
?The one I saw most recently ? I didn?t get to open my National Geographic from December 2011, I just opened it this month ? there?s a survey in there about the most influential cities in the world, and Chicago, I believe, was ranked No. 6 only behind New York in the United States. It ranked right up there with Paris and London and Hong Kong as major influential cities in the world. You can?t talk about the Illinois economy without considering how vibrant and strong Chicago is, culturally and otherwise. That?s what we tell them.?
Moreover, Illinois has made progress in addressing some of the things that have given it a bad reputation, Vaught noted. It has made changes in its workers? compensation system, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill this month aimed at restructuring the state?s budget-busting Medicaid system, and talks continue on overhauling a pension system that has the state $83 billion in debt.
Vaught also pointed to two changes that he believes have flown under the media radar ? extending a tax credit for research and development for five years and restoring a tax deduction for corporate operating losses that was in effect for a year.
?Our research-and-development credit ? expired numerous times. It had created huge uncertainty,? Vaught said. ?It was a step toward making sure some of our tax incentives were applied in very effective places, not in old, obsolete ways. I think that was an important signal to the business community that we as a state are willing to make adjustments, make our tax code better through tax reform.?
Tax credits, too
Of the 14 companies cited by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation as having chosen Indiana over Illinois, 11 have or will relocate some or all of their Illinois jobs to the Hoosier state. Three of the companies have an Illinois presence, but are expanding operations in Indiana. At least two of the 14 are based in Indiana, have an Illinois presence and are expanding in Indiana.
Each received tax incentives conditioned on the companies meeting job-creation and capital-investment requirements.
?The companies receive their incentives from the state, which are in the form of refundable tax credit, after we have validated by Social Security number that they have hired and paid a Hoosier,? Hasler said. ?It keeps you out of these games of a company making a promise, they?re here for six months, the state?s out $40 million and these guys bolt, everybody?s upset and it?s a big waste of money.
?That gets with our philosophy, too. I don?t want companies to move to Indiana because they got a big incentive package. You cannot make a bad move to Indiana or a bad move to Illinois good enough by paying a boatload of incentives. They?re coming to Indiana because we can, time and time again, show them they can reduce their operating costs as a business (by) 20 to 30 percent ? payroll taxes, corporate taxes, real estate, lease, workmen?s compensation, wages, you name it, energy cost, logistics costs.?
?Big problem?
Officials from most of the companies involved did not return phone calls seeking information about why they moved jobs from Illinois or expanded in Indiana. Those that did said factors beyond the income tax increase played a role.
Franciscan Alliance, a 13-hospital health-care system with operations in Indiana and Illinois, is moving its physician-billing operations to suburban Indianapolis, creating 84 jobs and investing $8.3 million to buy and remodel a 96,500-square-foot building.
?If the question is are we moving away from Illinois in general, it would be yes,? said the alliance?s regional CEO, Gene Diamond. ?It?s the malpractice climate, to tell you the truth.?
The alliance has two hospitals in Illinois in south suburban Chicago; the rest are in Indiana. The medical malpractice insurance costs for the two Illinois hospitals cost as much as all of the Indiana facilities combined, Diamond said. Caps on medical malpractice damages were passed and found constitutional in Indiana. Illinois? attempts to cap them have been ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court.
?We?ve got a big problem in Illinois,? Diamond said.
As for the billing services themselves, they are being relocated because "it?s a little bit less expensive to operate them in Indiana. We?re primarily an Indiana system,? Diamond said, also citing cheaper property and a more attractive climate in central Indiana.
Because the system is not-for-profit, the income tax increase was a factor only in that Indiana employees will not have to pay it.
Uncertainty hurts
Central Illinois was not any different from the rest of the state when it came to talk of iconic businesses leaving, whether it was a large, international manufacturing firm like Caterpillar Inc. or a small business, like Springfield?s downtown popcorn shop, Del?s. Neither has left so far, although Caterpillar ruled out Illinois for its expansion plans in the immediate future.
Shellie Jacobs posted protest signs in the window of Del?s Popcorn Shop, 213 S. Sixth St., in early 2011, about when legislators and Gov. Pat Quinn began debating the possibility of a major increase in Illinois income taxes.
But the Springfield business owner said it wasn?t so much higher taxes as it was the added uncertainty that prompted her unusual protest.
?It was just another straw on the camel?s back,? said Jacobs, who has owned the shop for 27 of its 31 years.
Rising employer costs for unemployment withholding, a state minimum wage higher than the federal standard, unpaid state bills and state debts all have made it more difficult to plan for expenses, said Jacobs.
?You can price your product wherever you want, and then you get this notice from the Illinois Department of Employment Security that they?re going to triple your unemployment compensation costs,? said Jacobs.
?I can?t make the assumption my costs are going to be the same next year as they are this year, because someone is probably going to come along and change it.?
Locally committed
Del?s and the Jimmy John?s restaurant chain both received widespread attention for their protests against higher income taxes in early 2011. Jimmy John?s owner, Jimmy John Liautaud, threatened to move the corporate headquarters in Champaign out of Illinois.
The company remains in Champaign, and Jimmy John?s spokeswoman Mary Trader said executives would have no further comment on the issue.
Jacobs, too, suggested in 2011 that any expansion of Del?s Popcorn outlets would be outside Illinois. A new company, Del?s Global Popcorn Inc., was formed to oversee the expansion. Florida was an early target market.
An already-planned shop in Taylorville, about 30 miles southeast of Springfield, opened in April 2011, and Jacobs announced recently that a shop will be added on the west side of Springfield this summer. However, the new Springfield store replaces the one in Taylorville.
Jacobs said the second Springfield location opens the way for her son, Logan Kolhrus, to get into the family business.
Jacobs said expansion remains a possibility and that she does not rule out adding stores in Illinois ? her concerns about taxes notwithstanding.
?Are we going to invest in Illinois? That card is still out there,? said Jacobs. ?There are states that are more business friendly.
?I?m scared to death,? Jacobs added. ?Are they (legislators and the governor) going to be able to fix it? I don?t know. I?m just committed to Springfield. I?m not going anywhere.?
Chris Wetterich can be reached at (217) 788-1523. Tim Landis can be reached at (217) 788-1536.
Illinois? income tax increase
Effective January 2011
--The individual income tax increased from 3 percent to 5 percent
--The corporate income tax increased from 4.8 percent to 7 percent. Illinois corporations also pay a 2.5 percent personal property replacement tax.
In the June 18 ?Science,? Daniel Engber incorrectly described a single Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a ?spore.? That word refers to a dormant stage in the life cycle of certain bacteria, fungi, and plants. The microbe that causes TB does not produce spores.
The so-called ?liar loan? mortgages often associated with the toxic subprime loans of the boom years are tiptoeing their way back into the housing market.
But, believe it or not, the latest crop of ?stated-income? loans may represent a step forward for today?s sluggish market.
California based mortgage company Rancho ? Continue Reading ? Complete Insight at: AOL Real Estate Investing
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Five wounded warriors with a self-described total of four good legs among them are gaining ground in their assault on Alaska's formidable Mount McKinley, North America's tallest peak.
The five soldiers ? four are retired ? range in age from 31 to 64. All but one lost limbs in American conflicts stretching from Vietnam to Afghanistan.
After nine days on the 20,320-foot mountain in the Alaska Range, the expedition was resting at 14,200 feet Thursday and was being warned by guides the climb only gets more difficult.
"Obviously, I don't have to worry about losing my feet to the cold," said Stephen Martin, who calls himself a desert rat from suburban Phoenix who hates being cold. "I've already lost my feet. I don't want to lose my hands to frostbite."
Martin and one other member of the expedition are double amputees.
Another fear for Martin is that a prosthetic leg might break in the unforgiving conditions. "I brought a spare pair of feet," said the retired Army corporal who went back to Afghanistan as a contractor. He was injured by a roadside bomb. Martin returned to Phoenix and tried for 14 months to save his legs before undergoing amputation in November 2009.
The team says the climb is not only for them, but for others severely wounded in wars, including those to follow.
"We want to show in this project ... how active and how independent these wounded warriors can be, even with very severe injuries," said Kirk Bauer, climber and executive director of Disabled Sports USA, the group behind the climb with its Warfighter Sports program.
Bauer, a retired Army sergeant who lives in Baltimore, lost his left leg above the knee to a grenade in Vietnam.
The climb is also a fundraiser to help the organization raise money to help other wounded soldiers.
The climbers are scaling McKinley with crampons, climbing poles and ice axes to find firm footing on ice. They're moving single file, tethered to each other by rope, each carrying a heavy backpack of supplies and taking turns pulling a sled with more gear.
Besides narrow, treacherous paths, they will have to contend with potential blizzards, winds that can reach 100 mph, glaring heat during the day and frigid nights. They're navigating razor-thin ridges while also having to keep an eye upward for falling rock.
These climbers face additional challenges, including maintaining their energy ? with their carbon and fiber prosthetics they use more. They're concerned about abrasions where their skin meets the prosthetic and about how the artificial limbs will react to the cold. The above-the-knee amputees also must worry about solar charges for batteries that power the prosthetic knee unit computer, which ensures the knee doesn't buckle.
"If something happens there the leg stiffens up and we become like Peg Leg Pete climbing the mountain, so it's going to be much more difficult," Bauer said.
Others coming back from Afghanistan may be inspired, he said, and know that despite their injuries they can be active and productive and can lead full and healthy lives.
Ret. Army Capt. Jesse Acosta has all his limbs, but the Austin, Texas, native now working on Wall Street sustained permanent damage to his hip, leg, arm and back from a roadside bomb in Iraq.
He said the climb is meant "not only to prove to ourselves just what is (possible) given our own limitations, but hopefully and probably more importantly, inspire in others ... that this is very much an obstacle which can be overcome."
The climb started June 11, and as was expected climbing with prosthetics, it's been a slow slog. Daily short updates via satellite phone are posted on the Internet, provided by either the climbers or members of their guiding group, Mountain Trip. The group spent three days at 11,200 feet, first to rest and then wait out a snowstorm and high winds. They've so far reported no problems.
If all goes according to plan, they hope to summit the mountain on June 28, and are scheduled to fly home July 3.
But success is far from guaranteed.
The park service says 1,191 people have registered to climb Mount McKinley this year. Of those, 795 have completed their attempts, with 295 people ? or 37 percent ? making the summit. There are 283 people currently climbing the mountain.
So far this summer, six people have died on McKinley. Four of those deaths occurred last week when an avalanche caught a team of five Japanese climbers, pushing them into a 100-foot crevasse. One member was able to climb out.
The wounded warriors learned of the deaths, and posted this on their website Saturday: "Thoughts & prayers to the Miyagi Workers Alpine Fed. Expedition."
The combat veterans were chosen for the climb because of their attitude, their mental and physical fitness and the desire to improve themselves, Bauer said.
The group went through six months of training before the ascent attempt. Three climbers ? Bauer, Acosta and Ret. Army Sgt. Neil Duncan of Denver, the other double amputee ? previously climbed Tanzania's 19,336-foot Mount Kilimanjaro.
If successful, they wouldn't be the first with physical challenges to make the ascent on Mount McKinley, also known as Denali, an Alaska Native tribal word meaning "the great one."
According to statistics provided by Denali National Park and Preserve, Sarah Doherty was the first full leg amputee to summit Mount McKinley without an artificial limb in 1985. Ed Hommer was the first double leg amputee to reach the top of Denali in 1999.
If the soldiers are fortunate enough to summit, some have celebratory moments planned.
Martin, an Arizona Highway Patrolman, wants two pictures taken at the top of Mount McKinley. One is of the team, and the other will be of him displaying a patch from the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
"I want to show them that I do appreciate (them) sticking with me, not just saying, `Hey, we're really sorry it happened to you, good luck in the future,'" he said. "But not only that, but had faith in me that I can do the job."
The expedition's only active duty military member, Marine Capt. David Borden of Hanover, Pa., had his right leg amputated above the knee after an attack by a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2008.
"Obviously I was injured, but my family and friends were also injured. Making the top is for them as well," Borden said, "and my way of thanking them for everything they did for me and the support they gave me."
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Presidents dating back to George Washington have claimed a murky power to keep the inner workings of their administrations secret from Congress.
That authority ? known as executive privilege ? isn't in the Constitution. It hasn't been clearly defined by the courts. Yet invoking it has proven effective for presidents determined to keep witnesses or documents away from congressional investigators.
President Barack Obama is the latest to assert the privilege: He refused Wednesday to turn over some Justice Department documents about a botched anti-smuggling operation that allowed hundreds of guns sold in Arizona to end up in Mexico. Because of the standoff, the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee then voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. The committee's recommendation next would go to the full House for a vote.
A look, in question and answer form, at executive privilege and the fuzzy state of the law regarding showdowns between Congress and a president:
Q: How can a president shrug off a subpoena from a congressional committee?
A: Presidents say they should be free to engage in private decision-making with their advisers without fearing how their words or internal memos might look to Congress or the public. Several presidents have argued that this authority also extends to the work of high-level agency officials, even if they weren't communicating with the president or White House about such work.
Q: Where does the idea of executive privilege come from?
A: It's a principle based on the constitutionally mandated separation of powers ? the idea that the executive branch, Congress and the courts operate independently of each other.
The concept of executive privilege dates at least to 1792, when Congress was probing a disastrous battle against American Indians that cost the lives of hundreds of U.S. soldiers. President George Washington and his Cabinet decided the president had the right to refuse to turn over some documents if disclosing them would harm the public. In the end, Washington gave lawmakers what they sought. But the idea of executive privilege took root.
Q: Didn't the Supreme Court settle the issue when it ordered President Richard Nixon to hand over the Watergate tapes recorded in the White House?
A: Not really. The court ordered Nixon to surrender the tapes in that case ? a criminal investigation. But the justices also found a constitutional basis for claims of executive privilege, leaving the door open for presidents to cite it in future clashes with Congress.
Q: Do presidents claim executive privilege often?
A: Most reach for it sparingly. Wednesday was Obama's first time in his 3-1/2 years in office. His predecessor, George W. Bush, cited it six times in eight years. Bush's father invoked it only once in his single term.
The administration of President Bill Clinton, who faced investigation of his Whitewater land deals and then a sex-and-lies scandal, asserted executive privilege 14 times. Some of those claims were kept quiet and quickly dropped, however.
Q: What comes next for Obama?
A: Probably more negotiation. In the past, presidents and lawmakers have been loath to let an executive privilege fight escalate into a court battle.
Q: Why not go to court to settle questions about executive privilege once and for all?
A: There's too much risk. Presidents worry that if they lose, courts will take away a valuable tool and weaken the power of the office. If the lawmakers lose, they could permanently weaken Congress' subpoena power when it investigates executive branch blunders.
Q: What if the White House and Congress can't reach a compromise?
A: The next step is a contempt of Congress vote in the full Republican-controlled House. Full House approval would send the case to the local U.S. attorney for enforcement. Who is that U.S. attorney's boss? Holder and, ultimately, Obama, who appointed him.
That's why the Justice Department traditionally declines to pursue such criminal contempt of Congress cases.
Q: Is there something else Congress could do?
A: If, as history suggests, the Justice Department won't prosecute a criminal case against Holder, the House could hire its own lawyer and file a civil lawsuit in federal court in hopes of winning an order for Holder to turn over the documents. But in addition to the risk of losing, a court fight certainly would be long and drawn out, making that an unappealing option.
The Democratic-controlled House filed suit in 2008 seeking to compel testimony from a former White House counsel to George W. Bush. The lawsuit was dropped a year and a half later, after Bush's term ended and a newly elected Congress had been seated. Congress did get some of the documents it sought, however.
A 30-year-old Ohio man is the first accuser of former Penn State football Coach Jerry Sandusky to speak publicly about the sexual abuse he says he endured.
Travis Weaver, in an exclusive interview broadcast Thursday on?NBC's Rock Center, said Sandusky performed oral sex on him in the upstairs bedroom of the Sandusky home, right across the hall from Sandusky?s wife, Dottie.
Weaver said Dottie Sandusky?never witnessed firsthand any of the abuse but he suspects she had an idea of what was going on.
?How could you not know?? asked Weaver in the interview.
The trial has grabbed headlines for the past two weeks. Though graphic details from the testimonies of eight of his accusers have been reported, none of the alleged victims of Sandusky has spoken publicly until now.
Weaver has testified in front of a grand jury but was not called as a witness in the current trial. He said he?is prepared to testify in the future if needed. He has spoken to both state and federal authorities.
Sandusky is facing 48 charges relating to child sex abuse. He has maintained his innocence. Attorneys gave their closing arguments June 21. At the time of this publishing, no verdict had yet?been reached.
Weaver said he had never told anyone of the abuse and had buried the memories deep down. He says he thought he was the only victim until he saw?reports that Sandusky?had been arrested on charges of molesting other boys last fall.
?I was shocked.? I couldn't believe he just kept doing it to all these other kids,? Weaver said.
Weaver said he feels guilty about the young men who said they were abused after him.
?I wish I would have said something to him.? I think if I had said something to him a lot of this stuff wouldn't 'a happened to all these other kids,? he said.
His attorney, Jeff Anderson, has represented dozens of victims of sexual abuse, many of whom were abused by Catholic priests.
?Speaking out is part of the process.? Travis is helping other children by telling his story. He is helping to protect other kids,? said Anderson.
Weaver said he met Sandusky in 1992 at the Penn State outdoor swimming pool when he was ten years old.? He was there with his younger brother as part of a Second Mile summer camp.
?It was like meeting my hero,? he said.
The sexual abuse began to occur gradually, he said, and started in the Penn State locker room.
?After the shower was over?he'd dry me off with a towel.? He'd say he was trying to wrestle with me....and then it progressed into oral sex,? he said.
Weaver said Sandusky abused him more than 100 times in the Penn State locker room, at the Sandusky home, and even in a hotel in Pasadena, California where Weaver and the Sandusky family stayed while on a trip to the Rose Bowl.?
?We went to a professional football game, and [Sandusky and I] left early and went back to the hotel.? And he performed oral sex on me in the hotel,? Weaver said.
Dottie Sandusky testified in court that her husband is innocent. She said she never witnessed inappropriate contact between her husband and young boys.
Weaver said that when he was 14, he moved away from the State College area to get away from Sandusky.
Weaver has filed a civil suit against Sandusky, Penn State and the Second Mile, alleging that the institutions could have done more to stop the abuse.
Sandusky?s attorneys could not be reached for immediate comment on this story.
A spokesman for Penn State declined to comment on this story.? In November 2011, the university?s Board of Trustees issued a statement saying it was outraged by the horrifying details contained in the Grand Jury report, which included the testimonies of eight accusers, aged 18 to 28.
?We cannot begin to express the combination of sorrow and anger that we feel about the allegations surrounding Jerry Sandusky. We hear those of you who feel betrayed and we want to assure all of you that the Board will take swift, decisive action,? the Board of Trustees said.
The Second Mile charity declared bankruptcy after losing significant funding in the wake of the Sandusky scandal. Second Mile Acting CEO David Woodle said his organization is continuing to cooperate fully with the Attorney General's investigation and will adhere to its legal responsibilities throughout this process.
The charity released a statement in November stating that to its knowledge, all the alleged incidents occurred outside of its programs and events.
?Our highest priority always has been and will continue to be the safety and well-being of the children participating in our programs. We encourage program participants to report any allegations of abuse and/or inappropriate sexual activity wherever it has occurred, and we take any such reports directly to Child Protective Services. We have many policies and procedures designed to protect our participants, including employee and volunteer background checks, training and supervision of our activities,? the statement said.
Rock Center's Nina Tyler contributed to this report.
Editor's Note: Click here to watch Kate Snow's full report 'Speaking Out,' from NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams.
Job Announcement Number: DE-12-BLS-EU-131 Location Name: Washington DC,District of Columbia (Washington, DC, US) Department: Department Of Labor Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupation Code: Mathematical Statistics Pay Plan: GS Appointment Duration: Permanent Opening Date: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Closing Date: Tuesday, July 03, 2012 Job Status: Full-Time Salary: $46,551.00 to $74,018.00 / Per Year Pay Grade(s): 07 to 09 Who May Apply: Public Job Summary: Positions are located in various offices within the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The incumbent serves as a Mathematical Statistician. Mathematical Statisticians at BLS perform work involving the development and adaptation of mathematical statistical theory and methodology for a wide variety of statistical investigations. They investigate and evaluate the applicability, efficiency, and accuracy of the theory and methods used by subject-matter specialists or other statisticians in various statistical programs and studies. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. BLS is an independent national statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the U.S. Congress, other Federal agencies, State and local governments, business and labor. BLS also serves as a statistical resource to the DOL. The positions have promotion potential to the GS-12 level. The positions are inside the bargaining unit. The positions will not be filled until the Department?s Placement Assistance Programs have been fully utilized. Applications for this announcement will be accepted online by clicking the ?Apply Online? button below.
Industrial Hygienist
06/18/2012 08:00 PM EDT
Job Announcement Number: DE-12-OSHA-56 Location Name: South Houston,Texas Department: Department Of Labor Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Administration Occupation Code: Industrial Hygiene Pay Plan: GS Appointment Duration: Permanent Opening Date: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Closing Date: Thursday, June 28, 2012 Job Status: Full-Time Salary: $59,496.00 to $69,539.00 / Per Year Pay Grade(s): 09 to 09 Who May Apply: Public Job Summary: This position is located in the Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Region?VI Houston, South, TX?Area Office. Salary: $53,496 pa ? $69,539 pa This position is inside the bargaining unit-NCFLL Relocation expenses will not be paid.
Supervisory Human Resources Specialist (Compensation)
06/18/2012 08:00 PM EDT
Job Announcement Number: DE-12-HRC-WH-192a Location Name: Washington DC Metro Area,District of Columbia Department: Department Of Labor Agency: Wage and Hour Division Occupation Code: Human Resources Management Pay Plan: GS Appointment Duration: Permanent Opening Date: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Closing Date: Monday, July 02, 2012 Job Status: Full-Time Salary: $89,033.00 to $115,742.00 / Per Year Pay Grade(s): 13 to 13 Who May Apply: Public Job Summary: This position is located in the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Division of Wage Determinations (DWD), Branch of Construction Wage Determinations (BCWD). The mission of the office is to publish wage and fringe benefit determinations for construction workers as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA). This position is that of a Human Resources Specialist (Compensation). The incumbent is responsible for performing a full range of policy, analytical, and developmental work of the office in terms of DBRA wage survey/determinations processes, effectiveness, and impact. In addition, the incumbent will be responsible for performing special or one-time projects or assignments requiring the abilities of a senior specialist. This position is outside the bargaining unit. The full performance level of this position is GS-13. PCS expenses may be offered.
Director, Annual Fund and Commencement?posted by?Eastern Illinois University
Instructor , Physical Therapy?posted by?Tarrant County College District
Manager of Interior Design?posted by?Tarrant County College District
Coordinator of Interior Design?posted by?Tarrant County College District
WI Department of Natural Resources Conservation Biologist ? Senior (Deadline 6/22)?posted by?Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
WI Departmet of Natural Resources Conservation Warden (Recruit Class)?posted by?Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Regional Field Manager ? Southern Region ~ Planned Parenthood Federation of Americaposted by?posted by Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group LLC
Academic Planner?posted by?UW System, EDI
Faculty Vacancy ? Mass Communication?posted by?Eastern Illinois University
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Chrysler?located in Auburn Hills, MI [Send Your Resume]
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NEW YORK (AP) ? A quiet start on Wall Street quickly turned into a rout Thursday as the bad news piled up.
Commodity prices slumped in early trading after a report said manufacturing in China fell this month. Then, around 10 a.m., the Philadelphia branch of the Federal Reserve reported a sharp contraction in manufacturing in the Northeast. The report, the worst since last August, helped knock the Dow Jones industrial average down about 40 points.
By the afternoon, the Dow had dropped 199 points to 12,624, a loss of 1.6 percent. Alcoa fell the most of the 30 stocks in the average, 3.6 percent. Alcoa lost 32 cents to $8.60, leading a broad fall in commodities and materials companies. Signs of weakness in China are especially troubling since that country's economy has helped drive global economic growth over the past four years.
"The news has been horrible out there," said Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners. "The U.S. economy is slowing down. And China's growth is definitely under question."
The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 22 points to 1,333, a decline of 1.7 percent. The Nasdaq composite fell 55 points, 1.9 percent, to 2,875. All three major indexes lost their gains for the week.
The batch of weak economic reports led a Goldman Sachs analyst to tell clients to place bets against the stock market. The analyst said the S&P 500 index may reach 1,285.
The late-morning blows to investor confidence were just the latest reasons for people to pull money of out stocks. Earlier Thursday, the Labor Department reported that the four-week average of applications for unemployment benefits, a figure closely watched by economists, jumped to the highest level since September. The National Association of Realtors also reported that sales of previously occupied homes dropped 1.5 percent in May.
All this a day after the Federal Reserve slashed its estimates for U.S. economic growth and said it would extend a bond-buying program through the end of the year, disappointing investors who had hoped for bolder steps from the central bank to get the economy going again.
"What's worse is that things are getting weaker without the Fed coming in," said Rex Macey, chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors. "We had a run-up in the market this month because people had been expecting Fed action. Today, the market is giving it back."
A manufacturing survey for countries that use the European currency also showed a contraction. The reports out of China and Europe helped sink commodity prices. Copper and platinum fell 2 percent. The price of oil dipped below $80 for the first time since October.
Benchmark U.S. crude, on a steady slide since May, hit a low of $79.82 per barrel.
The Philadelphia Fed index pushed Treasury prices up and yields down as traders shifted money into the their favorite hiding spot. The yield on the 10-year note slipped to 1.61 percent, down from 1.63 percent late Wednesday.
Material and energy companies, whose fortunes are closely tied to economic swings, led eight of the 10 industry groups within the S&P 500 index lower. Utilities and telecommunication companies, which are considered defensive investments because of their reliable cash flows and rich dividends, edged higher. Just 15 of the 500 companies in the index rose.
In Europe, auditors calculated that Spain's troubled banks need as much as ?62 billion ($78.76 billion). A Bank of Spain official said this scenario was much less than the ?100 billion that the 17 countries in the euro currency union said they would provide for Spain's banking sector.
Among stocks making big moves:
? ConAgra Foods, a major food maker whose brands include Hebrew National and Chef Boyardee, gained 4 percent, leading the S&P 500. The company's adjusted earnings and sales topped Wall Street's expectations. The stock climbed 95 cents to $25.55.
? Bed Bath & Beyond plunged 15 percent, the most in the S&P 500. The retailer said it expects weaker earnings in the current quarter than analysts expected even though it reported better profits after the market closed Wednesday. Bed Bath & Beyond's stock lost $11.23 to $62.44.
? Red Hat slumped 5 percent. The largest provider of the Linux open source operating system for computers reported weak figures for deferred revenue. Red Hat's stock dropped $3.19 to $53.29.
Mercury rising: Greater L.A. to heat up an average 4 to 5 degrees by mid-centuryPublic release date: 21-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Alison Hewitt ahewitt@support.ucla.edu 310-206-5461 University of California - Los Angeles
A groundbreaking new study led by UCLA climate expert Alex Hall shows that climate change will cause temperatures in the Los Angeles region to rise by an average of 4 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit by the middle of this century, tripling the number of extremely hot days in the downtown area and quadrupling the number in the valleys and at high elevations.
Released today, "Mid-Century Warming in the Los Angeles Region" is the first study to provide specific climate-change predictions for the greater Los Angeles area, with unique predictions down to the neighborhood level. The report, the most sophisticated regional climate study ever developed, was produced by UCLA with funding and support from the city of Los Angeles (news release), in partnership with the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability (LARC). It is available online at c-change.la.
"The changes our region will face are significant, and we will have to adapt," said Hall, an associate professor in UCLA's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences who is also a lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, which, among other things, assess global climate-change simulations for the United Nations.
"Every season of the year in every part of the county will be warmer," Hall said. "This study lays a foundation for the region to confront climate change. Now that we have real numbers, we can talk about adaptation."
The LARC's unprecedented coalition of cities, universities, businesses, non-profits and other agencies made the study possible. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the city of Los Angeles led the way, obtaining a $613,774 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study and share climate research and committing $484,166 to commission UCLA's climate-change study. Though scientists knew to expect warming, this is the first time policymakers in the Los Angeles area have precise information on which to base their plans.
"UCLA's model shows projected climate changes down to the neighborhood level, allowing us to apply the rigor of science to long-term planning for our city and our entire region," Villaraigosa said. "With good data driving good policies, we can craft innovative solutions that will preserve our environment and enhance the quality of life for the next generation of Angelenos."
Facts and figures from the study
The study looked at the years 2041-60 to predict the average temperature change by mid-century. The data covers all of Los Angeles County and 30 to 60 miles beyond, including all of Orange County and parts of Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, and reaching as far as Palm Springs, Bakersfield and Santa Barbara. The study overlaid this entire area with a grid of squares 1.2 miles across and provided unique temperature predictions for each square. This is in contrast to global climate models, which normally use grids 60 to 120 miles across big enough to include areas as different as Long Beach and Lancaster.
According to the study, coastal areas like Santa Monica and Long Beach are likely to warm an average of 3 to 4 degrees. Dense urban areas like downtown Los Angeles and the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys will warm an average of 4 degrees, and mountain and desert regions like Palm Springs and Lancaster will warm 4 to 5 degrees.
Some of the smallest changes predicted, yet still nearing a 4-degree increase, are in Oxnard (3.68 degrees), Venice (3.70), Santa Barbara (3.73), Santa Monica (3.74), San Pedro (3.78), Torrance (3.80), Long Beach (3.82) and Santa Ana (3.85). Among the highest predicted increases are Wrightwood (5.37), Big Bear Lake (5.23), Palm Springs (5.15), Palmdale (4.92), Lancaster (4.87), Bakersfield (4.48) and Santa Clarita (4.44). Table 2 in the study calls out 27 distinct locations, such as downtown Los Angeles (3.92), San Fernando (4.19), Woodland Hills (4.26), Eagle Rock (3.98), Pasadena (4.05), Pomona (4.09), Glendale (3.99) and Riverside (4.23).
These figures are only annual averages, and the day-to-day increase in temperatures will vary, said Hall, who is a member of UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES) and director of the institute's Center for Climate Change Solutions. Southern Californians should expect slightly warmer winters and springs but much warmer summers and falls, with more frequent heat waves. Temperatures now seen only on the seven hottest days of the year in each region will occur two to six times as often. The number of days when the temperature will climb above 95 degrees will increase two to four times, depending on the location. Those days will roughly double on the coast, triple in downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena, and quadruple in Woodland Hills. In Palm Springs, the number of extremely hot days will increase from an annual average of 75 to roughly 120.
"Places like Lancaster and Palm Springs are already pretty hot areas, and when you tack on warming of 5 to 6 degrees, that's a pretty noticeable difference," Hall said. "If humans are noticing it, so are plants, animals and ecosystems. These places will be qualitatively different than they are now."
The most sophisticated regional climate study ever developed
The type of climate modeling used in the study is done almost exclusively at the national or international level, said Paul Bunje, the managing director of the LARC, which is based at UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Other cities and states have localized global climate models but usually by localizing only one model. Hall's team needed months of computer time to downscale 22 global climate models, each with slightly different assumptions about how to predict climate change or factors like future greenhouse gas emissions.
Hall's team included UCLA postdoctoral students Fengpeng Sun and Daniel Walton and graduate student Mark Nakamura. Once they recalculated the almost two dozen global models at the local level, the team analyzed the results and integrated them into an ensemble projection to create the forecast for the entire region.
"This is the best, most sophisticated climate science ever done for a city," said Bunje, who is also the executive director of UCLA's IoES Center for Climate Change Solutions.
"L.A. is one of the first cities to get its act together, from the scientists all the way up to the mayor," Bunje said. "Nobody knew precisely how to adapt to climate change because no one had the data until now. These are shocking numbers, and we will have to adapt."
Cutting emissions will reduce but not eliminate warming
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions could reduce the impact on Los Angeles, Hall said. However, even if the world has unanticipated and perhaps unrealistic success in drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the greater Los Angeles area will still warm to about 70 percent of the currently predicted levels, the study found.
"We looked not only at a business-as-usual scenario where greenhouse gas emissions continue but also at a scenario where emissions are curtailed," Hall said. "Even if we drastically cut pollution worldwide, there will still be quite a bit of warming in Los Angeles. I was a little taken aback by how much warming remains, no matter how aggressively we cut back. It was sobering."
"Mid-Century Warming in the Los Angeles Region" is the first of five planned studies Hall will conduct for the city and the LARC about how climate change will affect the Southland.
Hall's team plans to develop similarly comprehensive models for local rainfall, Santa Ana wind patterns, coastal fog (including June gloom), and soil moisture, run-off and evaporation.
Preliminary results already show that Santa Ana winds and June gloom will react to climate change, Hall said.
Global warming is local warming
"I think for many people, climate change still feels like a nebulous, abstract, potential future change, and this makes it more real," Hall said. "It's eye-opening to see how much it will warm where you live. This data lays a foundation for really confronting this issue, and I'm very optimistic that we can confront and adapt to a changing climate."
###
The complete study, "Mid-Century Warming in the Los Angeles Region," along with interactive maps and ways to get involved, can be accessed online at c-change.la.
The Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability is a regional network developing the science and strategies to address climate change. The LARC brings together leadership from government, the business community, academia, labor, and environmental and community groups to encourage greater coordination and cooperation at the local and regional levels. The goals are to share information, foster partnerships, develop systemwide strategies to address climate change, and promote a green economy. The collaborative is housed at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and is governed by the LARC Steering Committee.
The UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability is an educational and research institute that unites disciplines: physical, life and social sciences; business and economics; public policy and urban planning; engineering and technology; and medicine and public health. IoES includes multiple cross-disciplinary research centers, and its environmental science undergraduate degree program is one of the fastest growing majors at UCLA. IoES advises businesses and policymakers on sustainability and the environment and informs and encourages community discussion about critical environmental issues.
For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.
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Mercury rising: Greater L.A. to heat up an average 4 to 5 degrees by mid-centuryPublic release date: 21-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Alison Hewitt ahewitt@support.ucla.edu 310-206-5461 University of California - Los Angeles
A groundbreaking new study led by UCLA climate expert Alex Hall shows that climate change will cause temperatures in the Los Angeles region to rise by an average of 4 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit by the middle of this century, tripling the number of extremely hot days in the downtown area and quadrupling the number in the valleys and at high elevations.
Released today, "Mid-Century Warming in the Los Angeles Region" is the first study to provide specific climate-change predictions for the greater Los Angeles area, with unique predictions down to the neighborhood level. The report, the most sophisticated regional climate study ever developed, was produced by UCLA with funding and support from the city of Los Angeles (news release), in partnership with the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability (LARC). It is available online at c-change.la.
"The changes our region will face are significant, and we will have to adapt," said Hall, an associate professor in UCLA's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences who is also a lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, which, among other things, assess global climate-change simulations for the United Nations.
"Every season of the year in every part of the county will be warmer," Hall said. "This study lays a foundation for the region to confront climate change. Now that we have real numbers, we can talk about adaptation."
The LARC's unprecedented coalition of cities, universities, businesses, non-profits and other agencies made the study possible. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the city of Los Angeles led the way, obtaining a $613,774 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study and share climate research and committing $484,166 to commission UCLA's climate-change study. Though scientists knew to expect warming, this is the first time policymakers in the Los Angeles area have precise information on which to base their plans.
"UCLA's model shows projected climate changes down to the neighborhood level, allowing us to apply the rigor of science to long-term planning for our city and our entire region," Villaraigosa said. "With good data driving good policies, we can craft innovative solutions that will preserve our environment and enhance the quality of life for the next generation of Angelenos."
Facts and figures from the study
The study looked at the years 2041-60 to predict the average temperature change by mid-century. The data covers all of Los Angeles County and 30 to 60 miles beyond, including all of Orange County and parts of Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, and reaching as far as Palm Springs, Bakersfield and Santa Barbara. The study overlaid this entire area with a grid of squares 1.2 miles across and provided unique temperature predictions for each square. This is in contrast to global climate models, which normally use grids 60 to 120 miles across big enough to include areas as different as Long Beach and Lancaster.
According to the study, coastal areas like Santa Monica and Long Beach are likely to warm an average of 3 to 4 degrees. Dense urban areas like downtown Los Angeles and the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys will warm an average of 4 degrees, and mountain and desert regions like Palm Springs and Lancaster will warm 4 to 5 degrees.
Some of the smallest changes predicted, yet still nearing a 4-degree increase, are in Oxnard (3.68 degrees), Venice (3.70), Santa Barbara (3.73), Santa Monica (3.74), San Pedro (3.78), Torrance (3.80), Long Beach (3.82) and Santa Ana (3.85). Among the highest predicted increases are Wrightwood (5.37), Big Bear Lake (5.23), Palm Springs (5.15), Palmdale (4.92), Lancaster (4.87), Bakersfield (4.48) and Santa Clarita (4.44). Table 2 in the study calls out 27 distinct locations, such as downtown Los Angeles (3.92), San Fernando (4.19), Woodland Hills (4.26), Eagle Rock (3.98), Pasadena (4.05), Pomona (4.09), Glendale (3.99) and Riverside (4.23).
These figures are only annual averages, and the day-to-day increase in temperatures will vary, said Hall, who is a member of UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES) and director of the institute's Center for Climate Change Solutions. Southern Californians should expect slightly warmer winters and springs but much warmer summers and falls, with more frequent heat waves. Temperatures now seen only on the seven hottest days of the year in each region will occur two to six times as often. The number of days when the temperature will climb above 95 degrees will increase two to four times, depending on the location. Those days will roughly double on the coast, triple in downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena, and quadruple in Woodland Hills. In Palm Springs, the number of extremely hot days will increase from an annual average of 75 to roughly 120.
"Places like Lancaster and Palm Springs are already pretty hot areas, and when you tack on warming of 5 to 6 degrees, that's a pretty noticeable difference," Hall said. "If humans are noticing it, so are plants, animals and ecosystems. These places will be qualitatively different than they are now."
The most sophisticated regional climate study ever developed
The type of climate modeling used in the study is done almost exclusively at the national or international level, said Paul Bunje, the managing director of the LARC, which is based at UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Other cities and states have localized global climate models but usually by localizing only one model. Hall's team needed months of computer time to downscale 22 global climate models, each with slightly different assumptions about how to predict climate change or factors like future greenhouse gas emissions.
Hall's team included UCLA postdoctoral students Fengpeng Sun and Daniel Walton and graduate student Mark Nakamura. Once they recalculated the almost two dozen global models at the local level, the team analyzed the results and integrated them into an ensemble projection to create the forecast for the entire region.
"This is the best, most sophisticated climate science ever done for a city," said Bunje, who is also the executive director of UCLA's IoES Center for Climate Change Solutions.
"L.A. is one of the first cities to get its act together, from the scientists all the way up to the mayor," Bunje said. "Nobody knew precisely how to adapt to climate change because no one had the data until now. These are shocking numbers, and we will have to adapt."
Cutting emissions will reduce but not eliminate warming
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions could reduce the impact on Los Angeles, Hall said. However, even if the world has unanticipated and perhaps unrealistic success in drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the greater Los Angeles area will still warm to about 70 percent of the currently predicted levels, the study found.
"We looked not only at a business-as-usual scenario where greenhouse gas emissions continue but also at a scenario where emissions are curtailed," Hall said. "Even if we drastically cut pollution worldwide, there will still be quite a bit of warming in Los Angeles. I was a little taken aback by how much warming remains, no matter how aggressively we cut back. It was sobering."
"Mid-Century Warming in the Los Angeles Region" is the first of five planned studies Hall will conduct for the city and the LARC about how climate change will affect the Southland.
Hall's team plans to develop similarly comprehensive models for local rainfall, Santa Ana wind patterns, coastal fog (including June gloom), and soil moisture, run-off and evaporation.
Preliminary results already show that Santa Ana winds and June gloom will react to climate change, Hall said.
Global warming is local warming
"I think for many people, climate change still feels like a nebulous, abstract, potential future change, and this makes it more real," Hall said. "It's eye-opening to see how much it will warm where you live. This data lays a foundation for really confronting this issue, and I'm very optimistic that we can confront and adapt to a changing climate."
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The complete study, "Mid-Century Warming in the Los Angeles Region," along with interactive maps and ways to get involved, can be accessed online at c-change.la.
The Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability is a regional network developing the science and strategies to address climate change. The LARC brings together leadership from government, the business community, academia, labor, and environmental and community groups to encourage greater coordination and cooperation at the local and regional levels. The goals are to share information, foster partnerships, develop systemwide strategies to address climate change, and promote a green economy. The collaborative is housed at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and is governed by the LARC Steering Committee.
The UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability is an educational and research institute that unites disciplines: physical, life and social sciences; business and economics; public policy and urban planning; engineering and technology; and medicine and public health. IoES includes multiple cross-disciplinary research centers, and its environmental science undergraduate degree program is one of the fastest growing majors at UCLA. IoES advises businesses and policymakers on sustainability and the environment and informs and encourages community discussion about critical environmental issues.
For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.
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Public release date: 25-Jun-2012
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