Fort McMurray lies in a forested valley 270 miles northeast of Edmonton, beneath the upside-down Y formed by the confluence of the Athabasca and Clearwater rivers. [node:read-more:link]
With their homes and small businesses lacking access to robust fiber Internet service, many American small business operators try to get by with mobile wireless service not intended to support businesses. Larry Korte is an example, trying to run his consulting business in Churchville, Virginia, on 4G cellular service. But since the service is essentially metered Internet, where users pay overage charges for exceeding bandwidth limits, Korte finds the service expensive and a poor value. “I go to the [cell phone provider] and say, ‘Well, we need 300 gigabytes a month. [node:read-more:link]
A foundation executive says some philanthropies may use questions of "capacity" as an excuse not to fund projects in rural America. But in the long run, he says, urban-based philanthropies need rural constituencies to make a difference at the national level. But that’s apparently not what has happened in the recent past. A U.S. Department of Agriculture study released last year showed that rural areas, while they were home to about 19 percent of the U.S. population, received only 6 to 7 percent of private foundation grants awarded from 2005 to 2010. [node:read-more:link]
Energy development was the biggest force transforming landscapes in Colorado and Wyoming in recent years, according to an interactive mapping project called the Disappearing West released earlier this week by the Center for American Progress (CAP), a liberal think tank based in Washington, D.C. Some 362 square miles of Colorado and 491 square miles of Wyoming were altered by energy development between 2001 and 2011, increasing the total land area covered by energy development in those states by 33 percent and 38 percent. [node:read-more:link]
Rural child poverty fell by 3 percentage points from 2012 to 2014. [node:read-more:link]
It was the fifth to be struck down by the courts. In May, the Oregon U.S. District Court rejected that 2014 plan, saying tactics used to manage dams and protect salmon “have already cost billions of dollars, yet they are failing.” This plan is the fifth to be invalidated because it violates the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The judge called for a full analysis of how dams affect salmon, plus a new plan, by March 2018. [node:read-more:link]
If you’re looking for a broadband connection, access to technology, or even a partnership for funding connectivity, your local library could be the place to check out. Changes have been happening within libraries nationwide that make them ideal partners in planning and funding broadband for individuals, businesses, and institution such as schools and hospitals. The people who drive the efforts to bring better broadband to their communities need to understand the potential role that libraries can offer. [node:read-more:link]
Hawaii’s fourth-largest island, says Paxton, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, is seeing a sudden, rapid decline in native birds. The prime suspect is avian malaria. It’s being spread by mosquitoes and it kills rare birds such as the 'i'iwi, a bright red honeycreeper with a curvy Dr. Seuss beak. Surveys carried out on the island’s rugged, roadless interior are finding fewer birds than ever before. Extinction for some species looks imminent. [node:read-more:link]
If you thought the $740 million of money this year was going to be used to strictly buy conservation lands, you will be surprised. State Representative Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, says they went to the Florida Supreme Court to clarify. "Now if somebody misinterprets what was in Amendment 1, I would encourage them to read the amendment or read what was in the Supreme Court opinion. I think it will become very clear to them." [node:read-more:link]
The adult children of aging parents live an average of 480 miles away. You go anyway, because family is counting on you. But it’s often hard both mentally and physically, or at least it is at my age. It’s expensive, whether you fly or drive. And for many of us, it means taking time off work.....In the meantime, Bill and I have had lots of conversations about what happens when it’s our turn to face the transportation challenges that come with aging in rural America. We don’t have children to come to our aid, or the financial resources to hire many services. [node:read-more:link]
