TOXMAP uses maps of the United States to help users visually explore data from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and Superfund Program.

Illinois EPA to recognize environmental projects by Illinois youth
Agency accepting project applications from Illinois students

Classrooms or individual students currently enrolled in K – 12 school, scouts, 4-H or others, and who have participated in an environmental project started no earlier than 2008 are eligible for the award.

The project must involve one or more of the following categories: waste reduction; prevention/reduction of pollution in the air (climate change/global warming), land or water; restoration, preservation or enhancement of natural areas; and energy or water efficiency.

An application and additional information about the program are available from the Illinois EPA web site at: http://www.epa.state.il.us/green-youth/index.html, or by calling Deirdre McQuillen at 217-558-0073 or email Deirdre.McQuillen@illinois.gov. The deadline for applications is Friday, March 19, 2010.

15 Of The Worst Experimental Deaths Of All Time

Stateville Penitentiary Malaria Study

So, you have a prison in Illinois 1940s, and a medical department, Army and State Department who want to run a controlled study of malaria—a.k.a the disease that has killed the most human beings, ever. Oddly enough, they even got the prisoner’s consent, including infamous murderer Nathan Leopold. 441 inmates volunteered, I assume for extra cigarettes or something similar, and were bitten by 10 disease carrying mosquitos each. Only one died, from a heart attack after battling a number of rounds with the fever. The interesting thing about this situation, is the defence team of the Nazis during the Nuremberg Medical Trials claimed there was no difference between the prison experiments, and the forced experimentation in the concentration camp. It was during this trial that the concept of “informed consent” was cemented, into the form we know and love today.

(via linkfilter)

New Tool Kit: Poverty Elimination Strategies that Work

We are proud to announce the release of the Poverty Elimination Strategies that Work. The report, which highlights programs that work to reduce poverty in transportation, housing, health care, food and nutrition, affordable child care, sustainable work, and income supports was written with two goals in mind.

One goal is to detail how each of the eight areas mentioned can specifically impede an individual experiencing extreme poverty. Poverty is an all-encompassing word that can take on many different meanings for different people. The report details how poverty can impact these eight different issues of a person’s life, providing a more holistic view of how local programs address extreme poverty.

The second goal is to provide a resource guide for policymakers, community groups, foundations, service providers, advocates, and faith-based agencies who want to address poverty within their neighborhoods. By separating the programs into these eight categories, individuals can easily pick and choose which programs can best address poverty in their own community. All of the programs highlighted in the report are not only proven effective, but replicable as well. Each program should be seen as a reasonable blueprint for implementing programs within your own community.

Here at the From Poverty to Opportunity Campaign we spend a lot of time discussing poverty. We write about its root causes, its detriment to society and how it should be addressed. Unfortunately, given the rising poverty rates all across the country, this discussion tends to be prescriptive rather than descriptive. It is easier to point the finger and bemoan the failures of others rather than offering alternative solutions. This is not to say that being a skeptical critic is not important. The threat of criticism keeps everybody honest. It pushes us to be better. Yet criticism that is not balanced with the offer of effective, alternative solutions is akin to a spinning wheel that does not move. It was with this sentiment in mind that we framed the report.

So please take some time to read the report, and ask yourself: what are the biggest obstacles that those experiencing extreme poverty face in MY community? Once that question is answered, this report may prove very useful in alleviating these barriers.

From Progress Illinois: Will State Lawmakers Take On TIF This Year?

Concerned about the pressure that TIF districts are putting on taxpayers who are forced to pick up the slack for the billions that are siphoned off the tax rolls across Illinois each year, the legislative Property Tax Reform & Relief Task Force is recommending that the General Assembly finally review the state’s TIF statutes in an effort to rein in the billions that are diverted off the tax rolls each year.

I’d say it is past time to address TIF issues.

Could we borrow pink underwear and pink cuffs for him from his station and parade him out the doors in front of national reporters?

In Arizona, Bully with a badge getting his due

Despite Threats, Scientists Say State of Affairs Is ‘Hopeful’

IL State of the State Address LIVE @noon. WUIS

WUIS will air live coverage of Governor Pat Quinn’s State of the State address today at noon. Governor Quinn will deliver his message before a joint session of the Illinois legislature, followed by reaction and analysis from WUIS State Week in Review moderator Bill Wheelhouse and WUIS News Director Sean Crawford along with State Senator Michael Frerichs (D-District 52, Champaign) and State Representative Jim Durkin (R-District 82, Western Springs).

hat tip Progress IL

Joshua Klein: The amazing intelligence of crows

Video of Houston Police secret aerial drones