Business

  • Miles tax may soon replace gas tax as a way to fund infrastructure maintenance

    With infrastructure around the country in a state of disrepair, many states and lawmakers are trying to find a way to fund improvement of  roads and bridges. The federal gasoline tax brings in fewer dollars each year, and now some lawmakers and transportation experts are considering the idea of taxing citizens by how far they drive each year instead of the amount of gasoline they buy each year.

  • Springfield, Illinois, faces infrastructure woes

    As is the case with other cities, the infrastructure of Illinois’ capital, Springfield, is decaying. Experts told the city council that it would take $86.6 million over the next three years to shore up the city’s streets and sewer system, and $22.5 million a year thereafter to maintain it. The city is now grappling with how to raise the necessary funds.

  • New clean coal technology provides energy without burning

    A new form of clean coal technology reached an important milestone recently, with the successful operation of a research-scale combustion system. The technology is now ready for testing at a larger scale. For 203 continuous hours, the combustion unit produced heat from coal while capturing 99 percent of the carbon dioxide produced in the reaction.

  • December, January the top two months in terms of gun purchases in U.S.

    New figures released by the FBI show that Americans, during December and January, have been buying guns in record numbers. Analysts say that behind the surge in gun purchases are two events: the Newtown, Connecticut mass shooting and the moves by the Obama administration to introduce – and, in the case of assault weapons, reintroduce – gun control measures. The FBI figures show that in January, the agency performed 2,495,440 gun background checks, initiated by gun sellers before they sold a gun to a customer.

  • Labor unions join campaign for immigration reform

    The immigration reform debate continues to grab the headlines, and labor unions are now entering the ring,  hoping that organizing immigrant workers can boost the unions’ shrinking ranks.

  • Facebook new search feature has cyber experts worried

    A new Facebook search feature has security experts concerned. They  are warning users of the site to strengthen their security settings to avoid embarrassment and to protect themselves from cybercriminals.

  • Wastewater from fracking is often highly radioactive

    New studies have found that waste from fracking operations can be highly radioactive. A geological survey reported that millions of barrels of wastewater from unconventional wells in Pennsylvania and conventional wells in New York are 3,609 times more radioactive than the federal limit for drinking water, and 300 times more radioactive than a Nuclear Regulatory Commission limit for nuclear plant discharges.

  • Climate change threatens public health, safety, economy along U.S. coasts

    A new technical study from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports that the effects of climate change will continue to threaten the health and vitality of U.S. coastal communities’ social, economic, and natural systems. All U.S. coasts are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change such as sea-level rise, erosion, storms, and flooding, especially in the more populated low-lying parts of the U.S. coast along the Gulf of Mexico, Mid-Atlantic, northern Alaska, Hawaii, and island territories. The report says that the financial risks associated with both private and public hazard insurance are expected to increase dramatically.

  • U.S. tech companies hope visa reform for high-skilled immigrants is near

    U.S. technology companies hope that what appears to be a more bi-partisan approach to immigration reform will not overlook the need to address the issue of high-skilled immigrants. The current number for H-1B visas fir skilled immigrants is 65,000 a year. “A 65,000 starting point is just not feasible for this economy. That’s the same number we started with in 1990, when the economy was one-third the size it is today,” say a high-tech industry representative.

  • New bridge construction technologies to shore up U.S. infrastructure

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    Experts agree that there is an urgent need to construct and repair bridges across the United States. Around 70,000 bridges in the country are considered “structurally deficient” by government standards. New technology could help the United States manage its growing, and aging, infrastructure without breaking the bank or levying high taxes on citizens.

  • U.S. to adopt tougher stance toward China’s persistent cyberattacks

    The Obama administration let it be known that it is examining the adoption of a more assertive stance against China in response to a persistent cyber-espionage campaign waged by Chinese government hackers against U.S. companies and government agencies. The administration is preparing a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) which will detail the cyberthreat, particularly from China, as a growing economic problem.

  • Chinese hackers infiltrate Wall Street Journal’s computer systems

    Chinese hackers with government connections have infiltrated the computer systems of the Wall Street Journal, in the second such Chinese attack on a major U.S. media outlet. WSJ says the hackers were trying to monitor its coverage of Chinese affairs.

  • America’s outdated waterways, ports hurting economy

    Underinvestment in America’s inland waterways cost American businesses approximately $33 billion in 2010. Without a significant increase in investment, that number could increase to $49 billion by 2020. If improvements are not made, 80 percent of American locks will be functionally obsolete by 2020. The extended failure of just one lock can cost agriculture exporters up to $45 million and barge operators as much as $163 million.

  • Google wants to limit law enforcement’s access to e-mails, users’ information

    In 2012 Google received 16,407 requests for user data, which affected 31,072 users or accounts. More than half of the requests were accompanied with a subpoena, the others were not. Google is planning on lobbying Washington this year to persuade lawmakers that they should make it harder for law enforcement to gain access to  e-mails and other digital messages.

  • The historical probability of drought

    Droughts can severely limit crop growth, causing yearly losses of around $8 billion in the United States. It may be possible, however, to minimize those losses if farmers can synchronize the growth of crops with periods of time when drought is less likely to occur. Researchers are working to create a reliable “calendar” of seasonal drought patterns that could help farmers optimize crop production by avoiding days prone to drought.