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$1.6 trillion needed to shore up U.S. failing infrastructure
Experts say that the U.S. needs to invest $1.6 trillion over five years to shore up the country’s crumbling infrastructure; estimates show that each billion dollars invested in infrastructure creates between 40,000 and 50,000 new jobs, and that every $1 billion invested in transportation infrastructure generates $2 billion in economic activity throughout our economy
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Connecting renewable energy sources to the national grid
Connecting different renewable energy sources to the national grid may be a costly proposition; new study aims to find community generation schemes which are able to connect to the grid without the need for expensive cable upgrades or digging up roads
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King coal, III: DOE makes case for FutureGen restructuring
The Department of Energy restructures its approach to FutureGen — the ambitious plan to develop clean coal technology which produces hydrogen and electricity and mitigates greenhouse gas emissions
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King coal, II: Administration restructures approach to clean coal funding
DOE restructures FutureGen approach; under the new plan, DOE’s investment would provide funding for no more than the carbon capture and storage (CCS) component of the power plant — not the entire plant construction; the original 2003 FutureGen concept called for the federal government to cover 74 percent of the cost of the entire project; DOE requests $648 million in FY2009 budget for coal research, development, and deployment
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Life of U.K. project aiming to halve cost solar panels extended
U.K. government agency injects £6 million into research aiming to halve the cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells; in the first four years of the project, scientists created platform technologies in crystalline silicon, thin film silicon, thin film cadmium telluride, and thin film copper indium diselenide; now they will narrow down the research
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King coal, I: U.S. ends FutureGen funding; clean coal future unclear
The Bush administration, as part of a new approach to producing clean cole, has ended government participation in the FutureGen project; government says that the private sector can now pick up the tab; the administration unfolds new clean cole initiatives
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Government agencies over-rely on outside contractors
GAO criticizes DHS for profligate use of outside contractors; employees in other agencies write to say their agencies, too, are culpable
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GAO criticizes DHS's reliance on contractors
GAO says DHS spends too much money on contractors who do work which is usually reserved for government employees; as a result, DHS’s decision making may be unduly influenced by contractors
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Bush unveils updated national homeland security strategy
President says “The purpose of our Strategy is to guide, organize, and unify our Nation’s homeland security efforts”
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Senate approves defense budget; more money to border security
Senate passes a record $459 billion budget for the Pentagon; budget, even adjusted for inflation, is more than 20 percent higher than the average cold war budget; it has gone up more than 40 percent since 9/11
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DHS big projects offer opportunities for nimble contractors
Some of DHS’s big projects — EAGLE and non-EAGLE — are underway and they offer opportunities for specialists
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U.K. homeland security market earned revenues of $609 million in 2007
U.K. homeland security market to grow steadily until 2012, then contract; emphasis on securing mass transportation, urban areas
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DHS awards $1.7 billion in FY2007 Homeland Security Grant Program
More than half the money is allocated to six high-risk urban areas
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The long view
A Brief History of Federal Funding for Basic Science
Biomedical science in the United States is at a crossroads. For 75 years, the federal government has partnered with academic institutions, fueling discoveries that have transformed medicine and saved lives. Recent moves by the Trump administration — including funding cuts and proposed changes to how research support is allocated — now threaten this legacy.