At the 2010 Southern Virginia Bioenergy Conference, Virginia Tech and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory will outline bioenergy research at their institutions. Afternoon sessions will focus on the process of moving the region from the planning stage to widespread implementation. Presentations include a discussion of ethanol production of Appomattox Bioenergy, mini-biorefineries, Piedmont Geriatric Hospital direct-firing strategies using warm season grasses, and combined heat and power projects of Western Virginia Water Authority. The Honorable Todd P. Haymore, Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry has also been invited. 

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A survey of nearly 900 Internet stakeholders reveals fascinating new perspectives on the way the Internet is affecting human intelligence and the ways that information is being shared and rendered. “Three out of four experts said our use of the Internet enhances and augments human intelligence, and two-thirds said use of the Internet has improved reading, writing and rendering of knowledge,” said Janna Anderson, study co-author and director of the Imagining the Internet Center. “There are still many people, however, who are critics of the impact of Google, Wikipedia and other online tools.”
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The National Economic Council and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) are asking for public input for a new initiative intended to address the challenges of the 21st century. The initiative, which would be similar to the National Academy of Engineering's (NAE) Grand Challenges for Engineering program, would help catalyze innovations to spur economic growth, encourage multidisciplinary collaborations and improve STEM education. Responses are needed to help identify specific challenges, potential partners and models for the program.
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In February 2010, the National Issues Forums (NIF) will be releasing new issue book materials titled America's Role in the World: What Does National Security Mean in the 21st Century? A limited supply of material packets will be available FREE to individuals or groups interested in hosting a deliberative community forum this spring.
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The global economic downturn should not obscure the unprecedented material progress that globalization has brought to the world in recent years. As the CATO Institute's Daniel Griswold argues in this excerpt from "Mad About Trade," perhaps the most important accomplishment of globalization has been the creation of a global middle class.
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LONDON: While there is a broad consensus about relative decline of the United States as a superpower, political commentators have debated about emerging political rivalries. A study of recent events, however, shows that instead of a straightforward bipolar or multipolar relationship, simultaneous cooperation and competition will be the likely template of relationships among the major powers—United States, China, the European Union, Russia, India and Brazil. The new pattern of fluid and ever-changing relationships between such powers will underscore the end of the uncontested global supremacy in economics, politics, military and culture that the United States has enjoyed since 1991.
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With sustainability and green energy set to play a critical role in the growth of our national economy, community colleges represent a way to meet the needs of local businesses and residents. Join experts and practitioners from the U.S. and Europe in Asheville in April to highlight expanded roles for colleges in educating students, businesses, and communities about and for economic opportunities in renewable energy, conservation, ecotourism, and local sustainable agriculture and manufacturing.
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Even as the American economy shows tentative signs of a rebound, the human toll of the recession continues to mount, with millions of Americans remaining out of work, out of savings and nearing the end of their unemployment benefits. Economists fear that the nascent recovery will leave more people behind than in past recessions, failing to create jobs in sufficient numbers to absorb the record-setting ranks of the long-term unemployed. Call them the new poor: people long accustomed to the comforts of middle-class life who are now relying on public assistance for the first time in their lives—potentially for years to come.
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The Development, Community, and Environment Division (DCED), known as the Smart Growth Program, in EPA’s Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation is seeking letters of interest from states, regions, and communities that want to develop in ways that reflect the principles of smart growth and meet environmental and other goals. EPA will provide technical assistance to successful applicants as described below. Eligible entities are tribal, local, regional, and state governments, and nonprofit organizations that have a demonstrated partnership with a governmental entity.
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Dozens of public high schools in eight states will introduce a program next year allowing 10th graders who pass a battery of tests to get a diploma two years early and immediately enroll in community college. The new system of high school coursework with the accompanying board examinations is modeled largely on systems in high-performing nations including Denmark, England, Finland, France and Singapore. High school students will begin the new coursework in the fall of 2011 in Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. The education commissioners of those states have pledged to sign up 10 to 20 schools each for the pilot project, and have begun to reach out to district superintendents.
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At many community colleges, students don’t get the support, like counseling and tutoring, they need to navigate through college successfully; often college staff are overburdened and students don’t know how to access the services that are available. Recent research from MDRC suggests that particular enhancements can lead to better use of student services and to modest improvements in academic outcomes.
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The number of students taking Advanced Placement tests hit a record high last year, but the portion who fail the exams—particularly in the South—is rising as well, a USA TODAY analysis finds. The findings about the failure rates raise questions about whether schools are pushing millions of students into AP courses without adequate preparation—and whether a race for higher standards means schools are not training enough teachers to deliver the high-level material.
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