American wind power reaches 50-gigawatt milestone

From the AWEA press release: The 50 gigawatts (GW) online today means that U.S. wind turbines now power the equivalent of nearly 13 million American homes, or as many as in Nevada, Colorado, Wisconsin, Virginia, Alabama, and Connecticut combined. In addition, 50 gigawatts (GW) of wind power capacity: Represents the generating power of 44 coal-fired …

Reforms in foster care showing good results – children in foster care drops for 6th straight year

The number of U.S. children in foster care has dropped for the sixth straight year, falling to about 400,000 compared to more than 520,000 a decade ago, according to new federal figures demonstrating the staying power of reforms even amid economic turbulence. The drop results primarily from a shift in the policies and practices of …

Ai WeiWei reviews London’s opening ceremony for 2012 Olympics – criticizes Beijing’s

Brilliant. It was very, very well done. This was about Great Britain; it didn’t pretend it was trying to have global appeal. Because Great Britain has self-confidence, it doesn’t need a monumental Olympics. But for China that was the only imaginable kind of international event. Beijing’s Olympics were very grand – they were trying to throw a party …

Apple Campus II – 3,600 jobs and the big push into Austin, Texas

Pushing ahead with plans to invest $304 million in Austin, Texas, Apple has secured a deal for three large patches of land adjacent to its existing campus, which — when developed — will expand its presence in the area and result in the creation of more than 3,600 jobs. The State of Texas offered Apple …

Sea levels to rise 3 feet on the West Coast, according to new report

Sea levels off most of California are expected to rise by about three feet over the next century, according to projections released Friday by the National Research Council. The study is arguably the most comprehensive report of its kind for the West Coast, and its conclusions fall into the range offered by other estimates in …

America’s Best High Schools 2012

  This year, our ranking highlights the best 1,000 public high schools in the nation—the ones that have proven to be the most effective in turning out college-ready grads. The list is based on six components provided by school administrators: Graduation rate (25 percent) College matriculation rate (25 percent) AP/IB/AICE tests taken per student (25 percent) Average SAT/ACT scores (10 percent) Average …

The most popular media outlets by state – where is Fox News/NPR popular?

Forbes and Bitly pulled together a data set highlighting the most read newspapers by state. In some places certain media is read more than others. Can you guess where NPR is the most popular, or where Fox News is read the most?   The Media Map: Who’s reading what and where News sources read and …

California creates a science-based series of underwater parks

You normally think of parks as being places to walk or ride around.  But on January 1, 2012, Southern California celebrated the grand opening of a series of underwater parks, or “marine protected areas,” that includes wildlife hot spots such as the La Jolla kelp forest, Laguna tidepools, and Catalina Island coral gardens. These parks will …

California wants 15% of all cars to be electric by 2025

Less than a year after everyone seemed to agree that 54.5 miles per gallon by the year 2025 was a properly attainable goal, the California Air Resources Board has decided to change things up a bit. In addition to CAFE requirements of a 54.5-mpg fleet average, at least 15.4 percent of all cars sold by …

Why nobody knows how to prevent obesity

The 2011 obesity report from the Trust for America’s Health just came out and the news is as bad as ever. Every state has a minimum obesity rate of 20% and not one saw a decrease, while 16 saw an increase. “Twenty years ago, no state had an obesity rate above 15 percent.  Today, more …