Sponsored by the Kurdistan Regional Government

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Qatar\u27s School Transportation System

In consideration of the many challenges associated with Qatar\u27s continued growth and demographic changes, the government of Qatar is interested in updating its school transportation system (STS). This volume assesses the perspectives of parents and school administrators on Qatar\u27s STS, identifies a vision and goals for the STS, reviews international norms for school transportation, and discusses strategies to achieve the vision and better align Qatar\u27s STS with international norms. The authors articulate four elements of a vision for Qatar\u27s STS: Provide safe, efficient, and high-quality transportation for Qatar\u27s students; support educational options by enabling mobility and access; provide a transportation experience that is supportive of Qatari values and culture; and minimize the impact on traffic congestion and the environment. The authors recommend 13 strategies to help achieve this vision, such as establishing clearly marked schools zones with standardized safety features and establishing standards for licensing and training bus drivers. The authors also provide a preliminary evaluation of several other strategies with less certain costs and benefits, such as changing the composition of the school bus fleet, implementing bus stops, and staggering school start times

A Tale of Two Spills: Novel Science and Policy Implications of an Emerging New Oil Spill Model

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil release posed the challenges of two types of spill: a familiar spill characterized by buoyant oil, fouling and killing organisms at the sea surface and eventually grounding on and damaging sensitive shoreline habitats, and a novel deepwater spill involving many unknowns. The subsurface retention of oil as finely dispersed droplets and emulsions, wellhead injection of dispersants, and deepwater retention of plumes of natural gas undergoing rapid microbial degradation were unprecedented and demanded the development of a new model for deepwater well blowouts that includes subsurface consequences. Existing governmental programs and policies had not anticipated this new theater of impacts, which thereby challenged decisionmaking on the spill response, on the assessment of natural resource damages, on the preparation for litigation to achieve compensation for public trust losses, and on restoration. Modification of laws and policies designed to protect and restore ocean resources is needed in order to accommodate oil drilling in the deep sea and other frontiers.National Science Foundation (Grant EF-0553768