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Renewable energy jobs are growing worldwide
Scott E. Rupp Waste Management & EnvironmentalThe renewable energy sector created more than 500,000 new jobs globally in 2017, with the total number of people employed in renewables surpassing 10 million for the first time. Per the International Renewable Energy Agency’s report, "Renewable Energy and Jobs," jobs in the sector increased 5.3 percent in 2017, for a total of 10.3 million people employed worldwide. China, Brazil, the United States, India, Germany and Japan have remained the world’s largest renewable energy employers, per the report, representing more than 70 percent of all of the sector’s jobs.
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An assortment of forgotten equipment and tools for firefighters
Frank R. Myers Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityOne of the tasks assigned to a new firefighter was to learn the inventory on the trucks in the fire station. It was expected of you to at least open the apparatus compartments and get a mental picture of the location of all equipment and tools. This way, when asked to get a particular item from the truck, you would go straight to its location without wasting time aimlessly searching for it. Over the years, I had noticed that some of the more "unique" items slowly began to disappear and/or were eliminated altogether from the inventory. Some of us "old timers" may remember some of these.
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Report: Underinvestment in higher education harms California’s economy
Seth Sandronsky EducationUnderfunding of higher education harms the Golden State’s economy, according to a new report from the California Budget & Policy Center (CPBC). Though a direct state budget-economy link involving higher education across the U.S. is unclear, California’s case is instructive. First, we look at the numbers. "Per student spending at the CSU and UC are well below pre-recession levels and are significantly below the funding request from each institution," according to Amy Rose of the CBPC.
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Agile proposal management: Proposal team roles
Maryann Lesnick Civil & GovernmentThe Agile Manifesto talks about people, communications, the product, and flexibility. With respect to people, agile practitioners value individuals and interactions over processes and tools. It takes a team to produce a winning proposal, and they must work together effectively through productive interactions. This does not mean that processes and tools are not important, but simply that the interaction between people on the team is more important.
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State of the industry: The 3 biggest changes to social media marketing
Emma Fitzpatrick MarketingSocial media marketing seems to change more than any other industry out there (except perhaps the tech industry itself). One day, your proven tactic to reach your audience no longer works. One week, a new social platform sweeps the web — only to never be heard from again. In short, you always have to be on your toes and on the lookout. That’s exactly what Social Media Examiner does. Each year, for the last 10 years, they’ve surveyed thousands of social media marketers and compiled an annual industry report.
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Supply chain negotiations during inflationary contexts: Adjustment clauses
Pablo Scaffidi Distribution & WarehousingIn this new article, we will review one of the most important tools to be negotiated and included in contracts: adjustment clauses. This tool is by far the most important one to be considered during the negotiation process from both suppliers' and buyers' points of view. From the supplier point of view, it is because the adjustment method settled will determine the evolution of the price and its consequent impact in the profits of the business. From the other side, the buyer side, it is critical to determine and negotiate the correct adjustment clauses, because the price determined by the adjustment will impact the cost and the profits of the company.
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Is California’s healthcare system broken?
Michael Monasky Healthcare AdministrationIn a series of seminars April 26 in Sacramento, politicos, industry lobbyists and state bureaucrats weighed in on two factors beleaguering the current healthcare system in California; cost and access. The tone of the event ranged from apologia to outright hand-wringing, with insiders even confusing themselves about the 2015 Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act federal health funding bill and cheat sheet workarounds for its subprograms.
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Straws are at front lines of plastic reduction war
Scott E. Rupp Waste Management & EnvironmentalThe U.K. Parliament is taking steps to ban all sales of single-use plastics, including plastic straws and Q-tips, as early as next year. Prime Minister Theresa May announced the ban, noting that plastic waste is one of the greatest environmental challenges the country faces. The ban is part of a larger effort by the U.K. to eliminate avoidable plastic waste as part of a 25-year environmental plan, designed to help to clean up England's rivers, beaches and oceans from plastic, which is often ingested by marine life.
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The high price of public subsidies
Seth Sandronsky Civil & GovernmentDoes public assistance to businesses level the marketplace? Just ask Greg LeRoy, head of Good Jobs First (GJF), an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Public "subsidies favor big businesses and shortchange small, local and entrepreneurial firms — including a third of the Forbes 400," according to him. That policy dynamic has other effects. Governing magazine, tracking GJF data that examined cities’ tax-cut disclosures under a new accounting rule that studies federal measures of income distribution in municipalities, found that "local governments most heavily reliant on tax incentives tend to be those with greater levels of economic inequality."
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House passes FAA reauthorization, general aviation responds
Ryan Clark Transportation Technology & AutomotiveOn April 27, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 by a vote of 393-20-13, funding the FAA for another five years. The welcomed bipartisan move was widely lauded and celebrated by a general aviation industry that had coalesced for progress. Additionally, the privatization of air traffic control (ATC) was abandoned in the final bill, another win for general aviation groups. "While not a perfect bill, it's most definitely a good day for general aviation with the House passage of it," noted Amy J. Bednarcik, executive vice president of I Fly America (IFA).
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