Sustainable Budgeting

At the forefront of current discussion and social conscience is the importance of ecological sustainability. An also important but often overlooked issue is the importance of sustainable budgeting practices for our various levels of government. Governments often provide social services such as food, clothing, shelter, education, public safety, or health care. If the money to pay for the social services comes from additional government debt, social services to future citizens become imperiled. In this paper, the authors set forth a theoretical framework for sustainable government decision making with special emphasis on sustainable governmental budgeting. The authors outline the intricacies of sustainable budgeting, describe why sustainable budgeting is important, and illustrate which countries and states are doing the best and worst jobs of sustainable budgeting. Finally, the authors offer practical advice for creating sustainable budgeting practices

A High Resolution Spectroscopic Study of the Nu2 Band of Hydrogen Sulfide and the 1-0 Band of Hydrogen Iodide

A tunable diode laser spectrometer was constructed and used to study: (1) the effects of centrifugal distortion on the transition frequencies and strengths of the nu sub 2 band of H2S, and (2) nuclear quadrupole hyperfine structure in the 1-0 band of HI. A total of 126 line frequencies and 94 line strengths in the nu sub 2 band of H2S were measured. The average accuracy of the line frequency measurements was + or - 0.0016 cm. The line strengths were measured to an average accuracy of about 3 percent. The effect of the finite spectral width of the diode laser on the measurement of line strengths is discussed. The observed H2S line frequencies were fit to Watson's AS and NS reduced Hamiltonian in both the Ir and IIIr coordinate representations in order to determine the best set of rotation distortion constants for the upper state of the nu sub 2 band. Comparisons of the observed line strengths in this band to rigid rotor line strengths are also presented. Nuclear quadrupole hyperfine structure in the low J lines of the 1-0 band of HI was observed. The upper vibrational state nuclear quadrupole coupling constant, determined from the observed splittings, was -1850 MHz + or - 12 MHz or 1.2 percent + or - 0.7 percent larger than the ground state coupling constant

Forward model and CO retrieval algorithm

A progress report on the forward model and CO retrieval algorithm is presented. For the forward model, the fast-transmittance algorithm is discussed including monochromatic calculations, determination of fast-transmittance parameters, and regression errors. Simulations, retrieval technique, and sensitivity of the CO retrieval algorithm are discussed

Restoring the Upper Missouri River Ecosystem: A Plan for Managing Fish in the Upper Missouri River

This adaptive management plan synthesizes current research in order to guide future fish management in the Upper Missouri River

Effect of Low-Carbohydrate, Unlimited Calorie Diet on the Treatment of Childhood Obesity: A Prospective Controlled Study

Background: Childhood obesity has been recognized as the new epidemic in developed countries. Caloric restriction with physical activity is the main therapeutic treatment available for these children. We compared two different dietary protocols to assess treatment efficacy. Methods: Obese children from the Pediatric Endocrinology clinic were prospectively recruited for the study. Children and their parents were allowed to choose one of two dietary protocols: (1) carbohydrate restricted diet (\u3c30 g/day), with unlimited calories, protein, and fat (High protein, Low CHO Diet), and (2) calorie restricted diet (Low Cal Diet). Anthropometric data were measured at baseline and at the 2 month follow up appointment. Results: Thirty-seven children completed the study of whom 27 chose High Protein, Low CHO Diet and 10 chose Low Cal diet. No differences in gender ratio, age, or BMI were observed at baseline. At 2 months, children in the High Protein, Low CHO Diet lost an average of 5.21 ± 3.44 kg (p \u3c 0.001) and decreased their BMI by 2.42 ± 1.3 points (p \u3c 0.001), compared to the children in the Low Cal Diet who gained an average of 2.36 ± 2.54 kg and 1.00 point on the BMI value (p \u3c 0.001). Conclusions: A high protein, low carbohydrate, unlimited calorie diet was superior to a restricted calorie protocol for weight loss in obese school age children; moreover, compliance was better

How Well Can Infrared Sounders Observe the Atmosphere and Surface Through Clouds?

Infrared sounders, such as the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI), and the Cross-track Infrared sounder (CrIS), have a cloud-impenetrable disadvantage in observing the atmosphere and surface under opaque cloudy conditions. However, recent studies indicate that hyperspectral, infrared sounders have the ability to detect cloud effective-optical and microphysical properties and to penetrate optically thin clouds in observing the atmosphere and surface to a certain degree. We have developed a retrieval scheme dealing with atmospheric conditions with cloud presence. This scheme can be used to analyze the retrieval accuracy of atmospheric and surface parameters under clear and cloudy conditions. In this paper, we present the surface emissivity results derived from IASI global measurements under both clear and cloudy conditions. The accuracy of surface emissivity derived under cloudy conditions is statistically estimated in comparison with those derived under clear sky conditions. The retrieval error caused by the clouds is shown as a function of cloud optical depth, which helps us to understand how well infrared sounders can observe the atmosphere and surface through clouds

Ultraspectral Sounding Retrieval Error Budget and Estimation

The ultraspectral infrared radiances obtained from satellite observations provide atmospheric, surface, and/or cloud information. The intent of the measurement of the thermodynamic state is the initialization of weather and climate models. Great effort has been given to retrieving and validating these atmospheric, surface, and/or cloud properties. Error Consistency Analysis Scheme (ECAS), through fast radiative transfer model (RTM) forward and inverse calculations, has been developed to estimate the error budget in terms of absolute and standard deviation of differences in both spectral radiance and retrieved geophysical parameter domains. The retrieval error is assessed through ECAS without assistance of other independent measurements such as radiosonde data. ECAS re-evaluates instrument random noise, and establishes the link between radiometric accuracy and retrieved geophysical parameter accuracy. ECAS can be applied to measurements of any ultraspectral instrument and any retrieval scheme with associated RTM. In this paper, ECAS is described and demonstration is made with the measurements of the METOP-A satellite Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI).