Tax and Policy Implications of Changes to Reporting Requirements for Construction Services

[Excerpt] New York and other states could increase revenue and improve their tax systems by requiring information reporting for all payments by businesses for construction services, utilizing a form similar to the Federal form 1099. The state could also advance other important policy goals including an increase in the fairness of the tax system and a reduction of the misclassification of workers as independent contractors

From life cycle talking to taking action

Introduction - The biannual Life Cycle Management conference series aims to create a platform for users and developers of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and related tools to share their experiences. A key concern of the LCM community has been to move beyond the production of LCA reports toward using the developed knowledge. This paper reports and evaluates some of the main outcomes of the 4th International Life Cycle Management Conference (LCM 2009). Results - Conference focus: While the focus of the conference was LCM, LCA remains a main analytical tool for supporting LCM. This is clearly shown by the overall program in which roughly half of the contributions focused on or used LCA. Some products and resources and environmental themes were markedly represented in the presentation subjects. Conference participation: The 180 delegates included 40 South Africans, 20 from other African countries, and 140 from as far afield as Brazil, Sweden, Japan, and Australia. The surveyable number of delegates and conference rooms, in combination with the well-balanced scientific and social program, facilitated optimal professional exchange and discussion. Conference structure: LCM 2009 featured some 140 contributions from 47 leading environmental practitioners, consultants, and academic researchers. The interactive conference format included three plenary sessions and training workshops. Conclusions - LCM 2009 successfully engaged with the critical questions of what it means to manage (not merely shift) the environmental and social impacts of global economic activity, what this entails for industry and public services in emerging economies, and how supply chains, networks, and partnerships can be stimulated and managed to deliver truly sustainable practic

The effects of ground hydrology on climate sensitivity to solar constant variations

The effects of two different evaporation parameterizations on the climate sensitivity to solar constant variations are investigated by using a zonally averaged climate model. The model is based on a two-level quasi-geostrophic zonally averaged annual mean model. One of the evaporation parameterizations tested is a nonlinear formulation with the Bowen ratio determined by the predicted vertical temperature and humidity gradients near the earth's surface. The other is the linear formulation with the Bowen ratio essentially determined by the prescribed linear coefficient

Does a Weak Social Fabric Fuel the Predatory Lending Industry? The Link Between Payday Lending Activity and Community Trust

The purpose of this paper is to address a gap in theory pertaining to the relation between payday lending activity in each state and the level of trust and social capital in that state. This research has been motivated by the fact that no study has explicitly looked at the association between predatory financial institutions and the overall level of trust and social capital in a community. Nor has a nation-wide study been done. Multiple years of data is employed in this study to examine both the concentration of payday lenders in each state and the volume of payday activity in relation to trust. Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis was used to test the effect of an increase in the level of trust in each state, which serves as the independent variable of interest, on the level of payday lending activity in each state, which serves as the dependent variable. The contributions of this study include evidence that there is a relationship between both the concentration of payday lenders in each state and trust, as well as the volume of payday activity and trust. This paper may serve as the catalyst for new directions of future research

Ichnology of Pleistocene Carbonates on San Salvador, Bahamas

ABSTRACT-Trace fossils, well preserved and in full relief, are present in Pleistocene calcarenites of subtidal, beach, and dune facies on San Salvador, Bahamas. Most prominent are irregular boxworks of Ophiomorpha sp. that occur in current-bedded, medium to coarse skeletal calcarenites in association with fossil coral reefs in the subtidal facies. Ophiomorpha sp. also occurs in beds deposited in a tidal delta environment. Found with Ophiomorpha sp., often in abundance, are vertical burrow tubes assigned to Skolithos linearis. Trace fossils are absent from beds of the lower beach facies, but upper beach facies beds (backshore zone) contain distinctive Y-shaped crab burrows, attributed to the burrowing activity of the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata. Rhizocretions formed of calcrete and initiated by plant root systems are present in all facies and are particularly well developed in eolianites of the dune facies. In some cases rhizocretions easily can be confused with trace fossils of invertebrate origin, particularly Ophiomorpha sp. Criteria for distinguishing Ophiomorpha sp. from rhizocretions include: 1) Ophiomorpha sp. burrows have a uniform lining and consistent diameter; rhizocretions are irregular with respect to lining and diameter. 2) The interior surface of an Ophiomorpha sp. burrow is smooth and the exterior surface distinctly mammillated; rhizocretions have highly variable interior and exterior surfaces. 3) Ophiomorpha sp. complexes have much more consistent patterns of shaft/tunnel arrangement than those exhibited by rhizocretion systems. Modem carbonate environments of San Salvador exhibit much trace- making activity and contain analogs for the Pleistocene trace fossils. The implications of these analogs for further interpretation of the trace fossils and their associated paleoenvironments are examined with respect to each trace fossil

Enigmatic Structures on Upper Pleistocene Laminar Caliche Surfaces of the Bahamas: Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?

Trace fossils are a common and important component of most Quaternary carbonate rock units of the Bahamas and other, similar tropical carbonate regions. In the Bahamas, the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary is typically marked by a calichified paleosol horizon that formed on the exposed limestone surfaces of the islands during the time of lowered sea level of the Last Glacial. On the north coast of San Salvador Island, an extensive horizontal surface of laminar caliche is exposed at Singer Bar Point and to the west. This surface formed on carbonate eolianite of Late Pleistocene (Eemian) age and is overlain by Holocene eolianite. The surface bears numerous and distinctive large, meandering structures that typically are preserved in half relief, with sharp, parallel ridge-like edges that slope inward to form a smooth, medial \u27trough.\u27 Widths of these trough shaped structures mostly range between 1 to 3 cm, although some are wider, and individual structures commonly can be traced for lengths of several meters, with one specimen having a length of greater than 5m. Patterns formed by the structures can be quite complex and unusual, with crossovers common but branching only occasionally present

Sinuous Rhizoliths Mimic Invertebrate Trace Fossils on Upper Pleistocene Caliche Surfaces, San Salvador Island, Bahamas

The Pleistocene–Holocene boundary on islands of the Bahama Archipelago is typically marked by a calichified paleosol horizon that formed on exposed limestone surfaces during lowered sea level of the Last Glacial. On the north coast of San Salvador, an extensive laminar caliche surface is present west of Singer Bar Point. Formed on Upper Pleistocene (Eemian) carbonate eolianite and overlain by Holocene eolianite, this surface bears numerous and distinctive large, sinuous structures typically preserved in half relief, and with sharp, parallel ridge-like edges that slope inward to form a smooth, medial ‘trough’ having widths mostly between 1 and 3 cm. Individual structures can commonly be traced for lengths of several metres and exhibit complex patterns, with branching only occasionally present. Three hypotheses for the origin of these structures are presented and discussed: physical processes, invertebrate trails similar to the ichnogenus Archaeonassa, and formation by plant roots. The last hypothesis is favoured. Similar structures have been found on Upper Pleistocene laminar caliche surfaces at other coastal locations on San Salvador, and they likely are present on similar surfaces throughout the Bahamas and beyond. This suggests that structures of this origin may be far more common and widespread on the surfaces of Quaternary and older carbonate facies elsewhere than previously recognized

Ichnofacies, Ichnocoenoses, and Ichnofabrics of Quaternary Shallow-Marine to Dunal Tropical Carbonates: A Model and Implications

A model of five ichnocoenoses within the Skolithos and Psilonichnus ichnofacies characterizes the modern, Holocene, and Pleistocene coastal-carbonate depositional environments and limestones of the Bahamas, as well as the Miami Limestone of south Florida. The subtidal to intertidal ichnocosnoses of the Skolithos ichnofacies are dominated by trace-making activities and trace fossils of callianassid shrimp, which can create distinctive and maximum ichnofabrics. Fossil Upogebia vasquezi burrows found in intertidal calcarenites and burrows of the trace fossil Psilonichnus upsilon, most common in beach backshore beds, have excellent potential as stratigraphic markers and can be used as indicators of past sea-level positions. The dunal ichnocoenosis exhibits a high ichno-diversity owing to the presence of arthropod-generated trace fossil and rhizomorphs, resulting from activities of plants; trace fossils created by insects can be large and complex and can impart distinctive ichnofabrics to eolianites. Ichnologic studies of modern tropical carbonate environments and their rock-record equivalents have great potential for future development, and information form carbonates should be fully integrated with that of siliciclastics, with carbonates not viewed as a separate ichnologic subdiscipline

Trace Fossils in Pleistocene Carbonate Rocks of San Salvador, Bahamas

Reprinted from: D.T. Gerace (ed.), Proceedings of 1st Symposium on Geology of Bahamas, CCFL, Bahamas Field Station, San Salvador, Bahama