#BlackWorkersMatter

Asserting that Black lives matter also means that the quality of those lives matters, and economic opportunity is inextricably linked to quality of life. Decades after the Civil Rights Movement and the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, structural barriers still hold back African Americans in the workplace.The authors of this report provide some broader context on the black jobs crisis, including its origins and effects; the particular impact of the crisis on African American women; the declining state of black workers and their organizations, particularly within the labor movement; and the implications of the twin crises of joblessness and poverty-level wages for organizing. This report also features examples of how black worker organizations are combining strategic research, services, policy advocacy, and organizing to help black workers weather the economic storms and improve the quality of jobs that are open to African Americans over the long term

Solar Panel Efficacy vs. Altitude in an Urban City Environment

In light of current issues of global warming, pollution, and fossil fuel depletion, alternative and renewable energy sources are increasing in desirability. Among these, solar energy is a popular option. However, it is hypothesized that particulate pollution in urban atmospheres limits photovoltaic (PV) efficacy both in accumulated grime and also in altitude via sunlight attenuation. The objective of this study is to measure photovoltaic power output near solar noon at multiple heights within a city environment to determine the influence of altitude on power output. Building rooftops between 200 and 800 feet were sampled simultaneously with a ground level control within a broad university courtyard. Days having no cloud cover were preferentially chosen. Other factors to consider include the “urban heat island” effect and water vapor in the air, so meteorological parameters were measured simultaneously to reduce confounding errors. Multiple repeated tests were conducted to increase confidence, especially since the effect was anticipated to be small in magnitude. Additionally, students affiliated with the project completed surveys to assess how their involvement impacted their learning of experimental design and procedures. Students who chose not to participate were also surveyed to provide a control group. Comparisons in the data are drawn on a power to ambient light ratio to minimize bias between the PV panels used for testing. Preliminary analysis indicates the effect of altitude is minimal within the parameters of this study. Analysis of our data did not significantly demonstrate an improvement in solar productivity at increased altitudes. However, the rigorous test methodology developed provides a means for quantitative analysis in cities with greater levels of pollution relative to the city tested. The survey of students indicated a positive correlation between participation in the project and the amount students felt they learned during the process

Constraints on the evolution of Taranaki Fault from thermochronology and basin analysis: Implications for the Taranaki Fault play

Taranaki Fault is the major structure defining the eastern margin of Taranaki Basin and marks the juxtaposition of basement with the Late Cretaceous-Paleogene succession in the basin. Although the timing of the basement over-thrusting on Taranaki Fault and subsequent marine onlap on to the basement block are well constrained as having occurred during the Early Miocene, the age of formation of this major structure, its character, displacement history and associated regional vertical movement during the Late Cretaceous- Recent are otherwise poorly known. Here we have applied (i) apatite fission track thermochronology to Mesozoic basement encountered in exploration holes and in outcrop to constrain the amount and timing of Late Cretaceous-Eocene exhumation of the eastern side of the fault, (ii) basin analysis of the Oligocene and Miocene succession east of the fault to establish the late-Early Miocene - Early Pliocene subsidence history, and (iii), regional porosity-bulk density trends in Neogene mudstone to establish the late uplift and tilting of eastern Taranaki Basin margin, which may have been associated with the main period of charge of the underlying Taranaki Fault play. We make the following conclusions that may be useful in assessing the viability of the Taranaki Fault play. (1) Mid-Cretaceous Taniwha Formation, intersected in Te Ranga-1 was formerly extensive across the western half of the Kawhia Syncline between Port Waikato and Awakino. (2) Taranaki Fault first formed as a normalfault during the Late Cretaceous around 85±10 Ma, and formed the eastern boundary of the Taranaki Rift-Transform basin. (3) Manganui Fault, located onshore north of Awakino, formed as a steeply east dipping reverse fault and accommodated about four km of displacement during the mid-Cretaceous. (4) Uplift and erosion, involving inversion of Early Oligocene deposits, occurred along the Herangi High during the Late Oligocene. This may have been associated with initial reverse movement on Taranaki Fault. (5) During the Early Miocene (Otaian Stage) the Taranaki and Manganui Faults accommodated the westward transport of Murihiku basement into the eastern margin of Taranaki Basin, but the amount of topography generated over the Herangi High can only have been a few hundred metres in elevation. (6) The Altonian (19-16 Ma) marked the start of the collapse of the eastern margin of Taranaki Basin that lead during the Middle Miocene to the eastward retrogradation of the continental margin wedge into the King Country region. During the Late Miocene, from about 11 Ma, a thick shelf-slope continental margin wedge prograded northward into the King Country region and infilled it (Mt Messenger, Urenui, Kiore and Matemateaonga Formations). (7) During the Pliocene and Pleistocene the whole of central New Zealand, including the eastern margin of Taranaki Basin, became involved in long wavelength up-doming with 1-2 km erosion of much of the Neogene succession in the King Country region. This regionally elevated the Taranaki Fault play into which hydrocarbons may have migrated from the Northern Graben region

Fostering collaborative research for rare genetic disease: The example of Niemann-Pick type C disease

Rare disease represents one of the most significant issues facing the medical community and health care providers worldwide, yet the majority of these disorders never emerge from their obscurity, drawing little attention from the medical community or the pharmaceutical industry. The challenge therefore is how best to mobilize rare disease stakeholders to enhance basic, translational and clinical research to advance understanding of pathogenesis and accelerate therapy development. Here we describe a rare, fatal brain disorder known as Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) and an innovative research collaborative known as Support of Accelerated Research for NPC (SOAR-NPC) which illustrates one pathway through which knowledge of a rare disease and its possible treatments are being successfully advanced. Use of the “SOAR” mechanism, we believe, offers a blueprint for similar advancement for many other rare disorders

Energy Landscapes and the Landscape of Fear

Animals are not distributed randomly in space and time because their movement ecology is influenced by a variety of factors. Energy landscapes and the landscape of fear have recently emerged as largely independent paradigms, both reshaping our perspectives and thinking relating to the spatial ecology of animals across heterogeneous landscapes. We argue that these paradigms are not distinct but rather complementary, collectively providing a better mechanistic basis for understanding the spatial ecology and decision-making of wild animals. We discuss the theoretical underpinnings of each paradigm and illuminate their complementary nature through case studies, then integrate these concepts quantitatively by constructing quantitative pathways of movement modulated by energy and fear to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the spatial ecology of wild animals. Animals are not distributed randomly in space and time because their movement ecology is influenced by a variety of factors.Energy landscapes and the landscape of fear have recently emerged as largely independent paradigms, both reshaping our perspectives and thinking relating to the

Mount St. Helens and Catastrophism

The explosion of Mount St. Helens In Washington State on Hay 18, 1980 was Initiated by an earthquake and rocksiide Involving one half cubic mile of rock. As the sum it and north slope slid off the volcano that morning, pressure was released inside the volcano where super-hot liquid water Immediately flashed to steam. The northward-directed steam explosion released energy equivalent to 20 million tons of TNT which toppled 150 square miles of forest In six minutes. In Spirit Lake north of the volcano, an enormous water wave initiated by one eighth cubic mile of rockslide debris stripped trees from slopes as much as 850 feet above the pre-eruption water level. The total energy output on May 18 was equivalent to 400 million tons TNT, approximately 20,000 Hiroshima-size atomic bombs. On Hay 18 and also during later eruptions critical energy thresholds were exceeded by potent geologic processes which were able to accomplish significant changes in short order. These processes challenge our way of thinking about how the earth works and serve as a miniature laboratory for catastrophisra