Wide Impact of Climate Change Already Seen in U.S., Study Says

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 likely and more severe, wildfires growing worse, and forests dying under assault from heat-loving insects.

Such sweeping changes have been caused by an average warming of less than 2 degrees Fahrenheit over most land areas of the country in the past century, the scientists found. If greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane continue to escalate at a rapid pace, they said, the warming could conceivably exceed 10 degrees by the end of this century.

“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.

Obama nominates John H. Thompson to head Census Bureau

From the Washington Post:

President Obama has tapped John H. Thompson, the head of a private-sector research group with ties to the University of Chicago, to lead the U.S. Census Bureau, which has operated without a permanent director for about nine months.

Thompson, 61, who was nominated Thursday, has served as president and chief executive of the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) since 2008. He also held positions with the Census Bureau between 1987 and 2002, according to a biography provided by the White House.

The Census Project, a group that represents census stakeholders, encouraged the Senate to quickly confirm the president’s nominee “so that the bureau can continue serious planning for Census 2020.”

Public Information about Government Data Will Improve With New Obama Policy

From APDU:

The Obama Administration released an Executive Order and a Policy Directive that move the federal government forward in a significant direction -- officially requiring that, going forward, data generated by the government be made available in open, machine-readable formats (with appropriate protections). Most notably, it requires that agencies create and maintain an “enterprise data inventory, if it does not already exist, that accounts for datasets used in the agency's information systems" -- with the ultimate goal of including all agency datasets, and with indications whether the agency has determined that the individual datasets may be made publicly available and whether these are currently available to the public. Here's what you need to know:
• The Executive Order declares that information is a valuable resource and strategic asset for the nation.
• Newly generated government data will be required to be made available in open, machine-readable format by default -- enhancing their accessibility and usefulness, and ensuring privacy and security.
• These executive actions will allow entrepreneurs and companies to take advantage of this information -- fueling economic growth in communities across the Nation.

Watch a short video and find out more about the announcement HERE. Also, read more HERE.

In conjunction with those steps to unleash troves of useful data from the vaults of government, the interagency US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) launched a new online tool that promises to accelerate research relating to climate change and human health—the Metadata Access Tool for Climate and Health, or “MATCH.” MATCH is a tool, driven by open data, which could open the door for new scientific insights in the public health and climate science communities. It is a publicly accessible digital platform for searching and integrating metadata—standardized contextual information—extracted from more than 9,000 health, environment, and climate-science datasets held by six Federal agencies. Read more HERE.

Reform for the Next Census

Editorial
New York Times (May 31, 2010)

When a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers introduced a bill this year to improve the census, passage seemed inevitable. With the 2010 count under way, people were paying attention. And the bill, which grants the Census Bureau director more independence, is a smart response to the chronic problems that have plagued census planning: fragmented leadership, political interference and not enough financing.

The Obama administration, which should be supporting the bill, is instead raising objections. It has objected to a provision that would allow the census director to report directly to the commerce secretary. It also has objected to a provision that would require the director to send Congress the bureau's budget request at the same time it goes to the White House.

The commerce secretary, Gary Locke, lodged the objections with one of the bill's co-sponsors, Senator Thomas Carper, a Democrat of Delaware, a day before the committee on the census met in April to consider the legislation. The committee approved it anyway. But if the administration continues to fight, the reform effort could stall.

More HERE.

President Obama: Clear As Black and White

Opinion piece on the President's Census form.

Of course, race is now self-identified.

CQ Announces New Map That Shows 2008 Presidential Election Results By Congressional District

Congressional Quarterly Inc. has announced the launch of a new interactive map that shows the results of the 2008 presidential election by congressional district.

What if the 2008 presidential election had been re-run using a district-based system of awarding electoral votes — used only in two states — instead of the winner-take-all method that every other state uses?

The answer is that Barack Obama still would have beaten John McCain, though the Electoral College tally would have been closer than the actual 365-173 margin of victory.

According to a CQ Politics analysis, Obama would have beaten McCain 301-237 using a district-based system, under which a candidate receives two electoral votes for winning a state and one electoral vote for every congressional district he or she wins. Only Maine and Nebraska allocate electoral votes in this fashion.

The analysis found that Obama won 242 districts and McCain won 193 districts. Obama also posted another 59 electoral votes by carrying 28 states and the District of Columbia, which is entitled to three electoral votes under the 23rd Amendment. McCain would have received another 44 electoral votes as a result of winning 22 states.

CENSUS NEWS BRIEF: President Selects Sen. Gregg

*President Obama has selected Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, to be his Commerce Secretary. The post would give Sen. Gregg authority over the Census Bureau and upcoming decennial census. The Census Bureau is part of the Commerce Department’s Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA), which also houses the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
...
Sen. Gregg chaired the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State during the 2000 census. In 1999, he questioned the Administration’s request for additional census funding for fiscal year 2000; the Census Bureau had asked for an extra $1.7 billion after a Supreme Court decision forced it to redesign non-response follow-up operations.
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The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold confirmation hearings for Sen. Gregg, while the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will be responsible for confirming a Census director. President Obama has not yet nominated an Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, who oversees the ESA, or Census Bureau director; both positions require Senate confirmation.
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*Economic stimulus bill includes extra funds for 2010 census: On January 28, by a vote of 244 – 188, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an $819 economic stimulus bill (H.R. 1) that includes $1 billion in additional funds for the 2010 census.
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The stimulus package requested by President Obama is also working its way through the U.S. Senate. Last week, the Committee on Appropriations approved its own version of the economic recovery package (S. 336), which includes $1 billion for the 2010 census. The funds would be available until September 30, 2010. The Census Bureau is required by law to report state population totals to the President by December 31, 2010, and detailed populations counts to the states for redistricting purposes by April 1, 2011.
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*An analysis of the economic stimulus package by Robert Santos of the Urban Institute, a Washington, DC think-tank, concludes that the proposed spending for the 2010 census “would provide an infusion of new jobs, better community participation and a more accurate census.” Dr. Santos calls the census “a shovel-ready infrastructure project,” a reference to one of President Obama’s criteria for including projects in a stimulus package. The analysis is available online.
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*Senator urges quick appointment of Census Director: Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE), chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security (Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs), sent a letter to President Obama on January 28, urging him to “move quickly to fill the top leadership at the Commerce Department and the Census Bureau with individuals with the knowledge and the management skills necessary to get the ongoing preparations for the 2010 Census back on track for good.”
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The full documment and previous Census News Briefs can be found at Census News Briefs, which are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, a consultant to the nonpartisan Census Project, organized by the Communications Consortium Media Center in Washington, DC. Please direct questions about the information in the News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at TerriAnn2K@aol.com, who writes, "Please feel free to circulate this document to other interested individuals and organizations."

President Obama's Infrastructure Spending Program - Keeping It Simple

Rockefeller Institute of Government Co-Director Richard P. Nathan recently wrote about President Obama’s infrastructure spending program and job-creation effort. Nathan advises a common-sense approach that works closely with the states, in order to take advantage of states’ knowledge of the local terrain.

Inauguration Day 2009

You might have heard that there's some event taking place next Tuesday in Washington, DC. Where to Watch on TV, Radio, and Online

GAO sets up transition Web site

The Government Accountability Office has identified 13 urgent issues that will require the attention of incoming President Barack Obama and the 111th Congress...

On the list: the 2010 Census
The decennial census is a mammoth undertaking that affects congressional districting and the allocation of $300 billion a year in federal aid to state and local government. “Soon after taking office, the new administration will need to address the significant management and technology challenges facing this complex and costly effort,” the GAO said. “Early in 2009, the first nationwide field operation of the 2010 Census — address canvassing — is scheduled to begin. During this operation, the Census Bureau will rely, for the first time, on hand-held computers to verify address and map information.”

GAO last year identified the census as a high risk area because of challenges in IT management. “The Census Bureau is strengthening its oversight of IT management activities, and a limited field test of the hand-held computers is scheduled for December 2008,” GAO said. “Importantly, there will be little time for refinements if performance problems persist.”

GAO said that Census needs to make sure that all IT systems are fully tested and improve the reliability of cost estimates for the program.