Risky business: Report says act now to combat climate change

By Doyle Rice, USA TODAY

By Stephen Lovekin, Getty Images

A report released Thursday by a National Research Councilcommittee cites "the pressing need for substantial action to limit the magnitude of climate change and to prepare to adapt to its impacts."

Since the effects of greenhouse gases can take decades to come about, and then persist for hundreds or even thousands of years, waiting for impacts to occur before taking action will likely be too late for meaningful mitigation, according to the report.

Beginning emissions reductions soon will also lower the pressure to make steeper and costlier cuts later. "It is our judgment that the most effective strategy is to begin ramping down emissions as soon as possible," said committee chairAlbert Carnesale of UCLA.

Substantial reductions of greenhouse gas emissions should be among the nation's highest priorities, the committee said.

"America's response to climate change is ultimately about making choices in the face of risk," says committee vice chairWilliam L. Chameides of Duke University.

The report, titled "America's Climate Choices," was commissioned by the U.S. Congress several years ago. It comes on the heels of a disastrous stretch of weather in the USA: The nation has been hit with five weather disasters costing more than a billion dollars each in 2011, setting a modern record for the most high-cost weather events so early in a year, according to insurance estimates and government records.

Is there a connection between these disasters and climate change?

"All extreme weather events are now subject to human influence," said Peter Gleick, a scientist at the Pacific Institute at a Capitol Hill briefing on Monday and reported by the National Resources Defense Council blog. "We are loading the dice and painting higher numbers on them," Glieck said.

The NRC committee deemed the risks of sticking to "business as usual" to be a much greater concern than the risks associated with a strong response.

The new report says that scientific evidence points to human activities -- primarily the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere -- as the "most likely cause for most of the global warming that has occurred over the last several decades."

It adds that the trend cannot be explained by natural factors such as internal climate variability or changes in incoming energy from the sun. The report also notes that the impacts of climate change on human and natural systems can generally be expected to intensify with warming.

Pick the Best Web Designer

By Karen E. Klein

First check credentials, gauge experience, and examine previous work. Then make sure the contract contains a few important elements

I'm looking for a Web designer but don't know what criteria I should use to evaluate candidates. Can you offer some advice? —M.E., Henderson, Nev.

The relatively young marketplace for Web design services can be difficult to navigate, particularly for small business owners who aren't sure exactly what they need in website development. "We found that a lot of companies are not very truthful. It's like the Wild West out there. Anyone can work out of their grandparents' house and say they design websites," says Gabriel Shaoolian, founder and chief executive of Blue Fountain Media, a Web design and online marketing business based in New York City.

Personal referrals are always a good start for professional services, but once you get a few, do background research on your own. Search on typical keywords and see where—or whether—the recommended companies come up: If they can't get their own sites optimized for search engines, they probably won't do a good job on yours, either.

Inquire about designers' credentials and ask whether they belong to a professional association with membership standards. Investigate their Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) and Better Business Bureau ratings and ask whether they follow W3C international standards for computer coding. If they have done government contracts, those lend additional credibility; public agencies typically vet contractors thoroughly.

DON'T RELY ON REFERENCES

You want original, custom content (not templates or cut-and-paste copy) from professionals, so make sure that all staffers on your project have at least five years' experience. Take references with a grain of salt: "What's stopping them from giving you the names of their friends? Better to check out whether they are industry leaders who do speaking and are actively engaged in the community," Shaoolian says.

Once you have some good candidates, ask what specific results they have provided for their clients. You want a site that enhances brand loyalty (which means that customers return frequently) and that increases sales leads and lead conversion rates. "The beautiful thing about this industry is that you can directly measure the results through Google Analytics," Shaoolian says. "Designers should give you many case studies that show the positive results their clients have experienced."

Read any contract thoroughly before you sign it and do not rely on verbal promises. If an aspect of your project does not appear specifically in the contract's "scope of work" section, make sure the contract is rewritten so it does. "If you have negotiated special payment terms, make sure those are spelled out in the contract rather than verbally agreed upon," says Scott Sanfilippo, co-founder of Solid Cactus, an e-commerce website developer in Shavertown, Pa.

The same goes for copyrights, particularly to photographs, images, and licensed content. "Make sure the contract spells out who retains the ownership of those images and if ownership transfers to you once the site is finished and paid in full," Sanfilippo says.

The contract should also guarantee that you get official ownership of your site design and copies of the original computer files used to create your site. "These files are often needed down the road when you want to make changes to your site," he says. Have them in your possession, because "you never know when you will need them."

Karen E. Klein is a Los Angeles-based writer who covers entrepreneurship and small-business issues.

A Drop's Life

"A Drop's Life," produced by Free Range Studios, tells the story of DC Water's Clean Rivers Project from the perspective of a single water drop.

Learn more: http://www.dcwater.com/cleanrivers

Too many job openings, but no response ... what is wrong with HR?

by Gyaney

In recent job announcement in this group, I was not sure whether the announcement was genuine or this was a media stunt: to attact attention, because a UK based company wants to hire employees for .... in NZ. How would you know that it is a real authentic job opening? Why is there no URL link to the official website of the company? It might be a genuine announcement, but how would you confirm it to make sure that a desperate applicant is not fooled.

Well, there may be too many unemployed professional in this economically bad time. Thanks god, you don't have to spend penny to apply for the most of the jobs these days because everything is online, but you certainly lose your precious time, effort, and interest/motivation.

Why? 99% of the applications never get any response back by the HR people nor they ever receive phone calls, nor reply the emails. It is the trend not only in private companies (where time = money matters), but also in public organizations.

A week back, a HR personnel replied to my application, but disappointingly there was mass reply where all applicants (50+) email and name were disclosed to each other, and the HR personnel declared that the opening continues for another month ... tone was as if they there were no better fit in the list. By looking at the name in the list, I felt majority of them were from the same part of the world and new immigrants to US, and I believe their academic record can be ranked top 1%.

I watched one show on PBS, a few years back, that an engineer applied for job in 700+ openings, and got no response / no luck.

In this internet age, the new graduates around me are desperate in getting new job. Some tell how they got exploited by the so called employer. Some consulting companies in IT sector in US, hire desperate graduates, but it is a conditional employment. The employee has to return the salary in full in cash to the employer in exchanges for H1B with a legal min limit of US3,000/ month as salary. The employer, then asks for return of USD$ 4000/month in exchange of deposits of US$ 3000 - different deductions (Fedral/ State TAX + social security + medicaid + insurance if any) = Say, USD2250. The first 1000 USD goes to the employer's pocket off the record. Second month, the employee earns another 1750, and returns the 2250+1750 =4000 to the employer as cash, and cycle repeats. The so called employee does not work for that employer because the employer does not have any job, he does sponsors dozens of similar unemployed desperate young graduates, and makes living from such practices. When the market is so fluid, and young graduates are so desperate to maintain their immigration status, there are reasons why HR don't have to answer you and neglect your call. It is not surprising to me to not get any response to applications. The new graduates should know that they may or not get any response from the HR, but they should continue to dump (I do not call it a filing an application with a real hope that you will be hired) their applications in desperate hope of getting interviewed.

It is not only a problem with fresh graduates, it is also in teaching jobs. Recently, I got an email reply from one university that the search committee has had hard time screening the lucky or "usually preselected" applicant out of 150 applicants (PhD). The job market is terribly tough, and you want to be hooked no matter what is type of job you are asked to do.

What is the solution? Get a better reference. Without a good reference, you have almost no chance (99%) of getting job, no matter where did you get your degree (except the few league colleges), no matter what knowledge you have, no matter what GPA you secured. Some recruiters might give you a phone call, but your honey moon with the recruiters will soon fade away when they come to know that you are an immigrant. ... ... ...