Briefs 4

[oo] For those not getting the E-mail or hearing our best radio news–
[deadline]

I am inviting all Alaskans to become involved in the state budget process by participating in a web survey.

Voices Across Alaska: State Budget Priorities is an opportunity for all Alaskans to provide your opinion on how the state’s projected budget surplus should be saved and invested. Surveys will be accepted through 5 p.m. on December 3, 2007.

The survey is limited to a few choices about where to stash the surplus. Click here to take the brief survey.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=SdLawkgxb2H6o7oAkmv2ZA_3d_3d

But a lot of people initially saw the invitation as I did– asking for input on the budget itself. There are some really good ideas from commenters at APRN.org. Governor seeks statewide feedback on how to spend new oil revenue There are so many things unfunded in rural Alaska that any “surplus” should play catch-up. [e.g., scientific support for the Unorganized Borough; comprehensive assessment of environmental change and community impacts; access to affordable health care; decent elder support such as elder-run senior centers and assisted living housing; Governor's public involvement coordinator; etc.] APRN comments will be open for 45 days so add yours there. Maybe the Governor’s office will read those, too.

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From The Sunday Times December 2, 2007 Webwise: Dealing with disaster Scared of terrorism or bird flu? The internet can tell you what the real risks are and how to cope with them Robbie Hudson

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Spike in Disease Doesn’t Always Mean an Epidemic Despite Fears Over Rising Numbers, An Increase in Incidence May Be Good By Roy Richard Grinker Special to The Washington Post Tuesday, October 30, 2007; HE04

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50 years on: The Keeling Curve legacy By Helen Briggs Science reporter, BBC News Mauna Loa Curve (BBC) It is a scientific icon, which belongs, some claim, alongside E=mc2 and the double helix. Its name – the Keeling Curve – may be scarcely known outside scientific circles, but the jagged upward slope showing rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere has become one of the most famous graphs in science, and a potent symbol of our times.

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Clogged by plastic bags, Africa begins banning them Several African countries have taken bold new measures to tackle the region’s severe waste-management problems. By Sarah Simpson | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor from the November 30, 2007 edition
Bags are a local hazard, too. Officials give tips on dealing with dead birds

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A tale of pigs, people, and a shared germ By Stephen Smith Globe Staff / November 12, 2007 The past couple of decades have yielded repeated – and lethal – reminders of how animals can make people sick. Think apes and AIDS, mosquitoes and West Nile virus [pigs, ducks, people and influenza]. The latest example: pigs and MRSA, the bacterium that in recent weeks has infected schoolchildren and caused custodians to scour emptied classrooms, dousing any trace of the germ.

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Q&A: Bird flu James Sturcke and David Batty explain the background to the virus and how Britain is responding to the threat of a pandemic Monday November 12, 2007 Guardian Unlimited

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Children’s books to help fight bird flu, Posted Wed Nov 7, 2007, ABC.net.au
Australia’s quarantine watchdog has turned to children’s books to help stop the spread of bird flu into the country. The Australian Quarantine Inspection Service has commissioned two Torres Strait women to write and illustrate a book called My Sick Pelican. The book will be circulated through Torres Strait schools to help children identify sick birds.

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