National Zoo’s Clouded Leopard Cubs Reach a New Milestone

Happy News! The now almost three-and-a-half month old clouded leopard cubs born at the conservation and research center of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park have just left the hospital, where they had been hand reared since birth, and moved to their new home at the facility.

The two yet-to-be named cubs are now on an adult diet of chopped up beef and are exploring their new world at the Front Royal, Va., facility.

“They are in a nice enclosure, where they are learning to climb. They have no problem going up. They love to go up. Right now, they go up a large branch and go down a log. Eventually, they will start jumping down,” said JoGayle Howard, a reproductive specialist at the facility.

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Shifting of Coastal Barrier Islands Costing Property Owners Federal Money

Graphic courtesy of ncnatural.com.

Increasing storms over the last few years have resulted in major shifting and eroding of coastal barrier islands around the country, bringing heaps of problems to both native wildlife and property owners.

To examine these issues the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently concluded and submitted a report to Congress called the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resource System (CBRS) Digital Mapping Pilot Project.

The report primarily relates to coastal areas in Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana. Currently, any land that lays within the CBRS boundaries is ineligible for most new federal expenditures, including federal flood insurance and other financial assistance.

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Grants For Training the Green Workforce of the Future

Stock graphic.

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The United States Department of Labor has just announced the availability of several new grants totaling about $500 million to fund projects that prepare workers for green jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.

The grant programs being offered are primarily for organizations, companies, and government agencies that would like to the opportunity to train groups of people for the jobs in green industries.

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Obama’s Principal For Healthcare Reform: ‘Fix What’s Broken; Build On What Works’

CHICAGO- In his speech this week at the Annual Conference of the American Medical Association, President Barack Obama promised Americans that if they like their doctors and medical plans, they can keep them.

On the other hand, if they are unhappy or can’t afford a plan, his new reform initiatives promise give Americans more affordable options.

Obama also announced plans for initiatives that would streamline the administrative aspects of the healthcare industry, such as upgrading the recording keeping system by switching from paper files to electronic ones.

“All that information should be stored securely in a private medical record so that your information can be tracked from one doctor another-even if you change jobs, even if you move, even if you have to see a number of specialists.

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New Lithium Ion Battery Facility to Bring Hundreds of Jobs to Connecticut

First Global Hawk Block 20 flight with a Yardney lithium ion battery used for both emergency power in a loss of power event, as well as main power for specific on board systems. The photo is courtesy of Yardney Technical Products, Inc.

PAWCATUCK, Conn.-Joining together to expand their presence in the United States electric auto industry, Coda Automotive and Yardney Technical Products, Inc. have entered into a joint venture to form Coda Battery Systems LLC, which will design, manufacture, and sell automotive-grade lithium ion battery power systems.

The manufacturing facility will be in Enfield, Conn., with funding coming in part from a stimulus grant through the U.S. Department of Energy. The Coda Battery facility expects to employee about 600 U.S. workers in manufacturing positions.

“This Connecticut factory and the hundreds of new manufacturing jobs it will create are only the beginning of our long term plans,” said Kevin Czinger, president and chief executive officer of newly formed Coda Automotive, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based manufacturer and distributor of all-electric, highway capable vehicles.

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