http://news.issuelab.org/issuelabIssueLab is an online publishing forum for nonprofit research. We carry 35 news feeds covering a variety of social issues and provide direct access to full research works. You are viewing our comprehensive news feed. Create a LabRat account at www.issuelab.org/accounts/create and access all of our feeds for free -- and tag, rate, and review research to boot! IssueLab - bringing nonprofit research into focus. Join us!en-usWed, 02 Jul 2008 19:59:01 -0400
By burning fossil fuels and destroying forests, we are releasing greenhouse gases, importantly carbon dioxide (CO2), into the atmosphere. These heat-trapping gases are warming the planet, setting in motion changes that are taking us outside the climate bounds within which civilization developed.

We cannot afford to let the planet get much hotter. At today's already elevated temperatures, the massive Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets -- which together contain enough water to raise sea level by 12 meters (39 feet) -- are melting at accelerating rates. Glaciers around the world are shrinking and at risk of disappearing, including those in the mountains of Asia whose ice melt feeds the continent's major rivers during the dry season.

Delaying action will only lead to greater damage. It's time for Plan B.

The alternative to business as usual, Plan B calls for cutting net carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent by 2020. This will allow us to prevent the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, already at 384 parts per million (ppm), from exceeding 400 ppm, thus keeping future global temperature rise to a minimum.

Cutting CO2 e...]]>http://issuelab.org/research/time_for_plan_b_cutting_carbon_emissions_80_percent_by_2020http://issuelab.org/research/time_for_plan_b_cutting_carbon_emissions_80_percent_by_2020Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:59:01 -0400
This study, funded by the Retirement Research Foundation, was undertaken in response to reports from homeless service agencies that this cohort of people was growing. Starting in 2005, agencies including Matthew House, Featherfist and Deborah's Place reported a fast-growing number of people aged 50-64 using homeless services, and that they seemed to both share issues with the rest of the homeless population and face circumstances unique to their age and stage of life.

The goal of this study, then, was threefold:

1. To obtain a demographic profile of people who are homeless in Chicago and are between the ages of 50 and 64;

2. To understand how the various systems designed to serve this population do and do not meet their needs; and

3. To begin to suggest a range of policy and programmatic responses to the needs of this population.
...]]>http://issuelab.org/research/homeless_over_50_the_graying_of_chicagos_homeless_populationhttp://issuelab.org/research/homeless_over_50_the_graying_of_chicagos_homeless_populationTue, 01 Jul 2008 19:59:01 -0400This paper extrapolates from data from the 2004 Survey of Consumer Finance to project household wealth, by wealth quintile, for the cohort that will be between the ages of 45-54 in 2009 under three alternative scenarios. The first scenario assumes that real house prices fall no further than their level as of March 2008. The second scenario assumes that real house prices fall an additional 10 percent as a 2009 average. The third scenario assumes that real house prices fall an additional 20 percent for a 2009 average. The projections show that the vast majority of families in these age cohorts will have little or no wealth by 2009 in any of these scenarios and that the cohorts just approaching retirement will have very little to support themselves in retirement other than their Social Security. The projections also show that a large number of families in these age cohorts will have little or no equity in their homes in 2009. Finally, the projections show that the renters within the same wealth quintiles in 2004 will have more wealth in 2009 than homeowners in all three scenarios.

...]]>http://issuelab.org/research/housing_crash_and_the_retirement_prospects_of_late_baby_boomershttp://issuelab.org/research/housing_crash_and_the_retirement_prospects_of_late_baby_boomersTue, 01 Jul 2008 19:59:01 -0400This issue brief compares projected savings from drilling in presently restricted offshore zones and savings if the nation had continued adjusting fuel efficiency standards at 1980-1985 rates. The issue brief projects savings through 2027, the year in which offshore drilling would reach peak capacity.

...]]>http://issuelab.org/research/offshore_drilling_and_energy_conservation_the_relative_impact_on_gas_priceshttp://issuelab.org/research/offshore_drilling_and_energy_conservation_the_relative_impact_on_gas_pricesMon, 30 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/career_academies_long_term_impacts_on_labor_market_outcomes_educational_attainment_and_transitions_to_adulthoodhttp://issuelab.org/research/career_academies_long_term_impacts_on_labor_market_outcomes_educational_attainment_and_transitions_to_adulthoodMon, 30 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/women_reentry_and_everyday_life_time_to_workhttp://issuelab.org/research/women_reentry_and_everyday_life_time_to_workThu, 26 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/lesbian_gay_bisexual_transgender_and_queer_lgbtq_grantmaking_by_us_foundationshttp://issuelab.org/research/lesbian_gay_bisexual_transgender_and_queer_lgbtq_grantmaking_by_us_foundationsThu, 26 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/lgbtq_grantmakers_2008_report_card_on_racial_equityhttp://issuelab.org/research/lgbtq_grantmakers_2008_report_card_on_racial_equityThu, 26 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/out_for_change_racial_and_economic_justice_issues_in_lesbian_gay_bisexual_and_transgender_communitieshttp://issuelab.org/research/out_for_change_racial_and_economic_justice_issues_in_lesbian_gay_bisexual_and_transgender_communitiesThu, 26 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/building_communities_autonomous_lgbtq_people_of_color_organizations_in_the_ushttp://issuelab.org/research/building_communities_autonomous_lgbtq_people_of_color_organizations_in_the_usThu, 26 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/global_gaze_lgbti_grantmaking_in_the_global_south_and_easthttp://issuelab.org/research/global_gaze_lgbti_grantmaking_in_the_global_south_and_eastThu, 26 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/aging_in_equity_lesbian_gay_bisexual_and_transgender_elders_in_americahttp://issuelab.org/research/aging_in_equity_lesbian_gay_bisexual_and_transgender_elders_in_americaWed, 25 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400(CAFHA) details the extent of housing discrimination and segregation in
the region and outlines a blueprint for change. This report
demonstrates the need to prioritize fair housing activities and
provides a plan for progress that will ensure equal housing
opportunity, promote integration, and improve regional sustainability.
Kathy Clark, CAFHA's president, notes, "Discrimination and segregation
both harm individuals and adversely impact goals of regional growth."...]]>http://issuelab.org/research/state_of_fair_housing_forty_years_after_the_fair_housing_act_and_a_blueprint_for_changehttp://issuelab.org/research/state_of_fair_housing_forty_years_after_the_fair_housing_act_and_a_blueprint_for_changeFri, 20 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/benwood_plan_a_lesson_in_comprehensive_teacher_reformhttp://issuelab.org/research/benwood_plan_a_lesson_in_comprehensive_teacher_reformFri, 20 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/fair_trade_five_deals_to_expand_and_improve_charter_schoolinghttp://issuelab.org/research/fair_trade_five_deals_to_expand_and_improve_charter_schoolingFri, 20 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400higher rate than white students....]]>http://issuelab.org/research/graduation_rate_watch_making_minority_student_success_a_priorityhttp://issuelab.org/research/graduation_rate_watch_making_minority_student_success_a_priorityFri, 20 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/nonprofit_leadership_a_sampler_of_networks_fellowships_and_workshopshttp://issuelab.org/research/nonprofit_leadership_a_sampler_of_networks_fellowships_and_workshopsFri, 20 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400raise the bar for academic achievement. But many states have undermined the spirit of the law by lowering achievement goals every year. Kevin Carey explains how these states are gaming NCLB's accountability system -- and doing so with the full approval of the U.S. Department of Education....]]>http://issuelab.org/research/pangloss_index_how_states_game_the_no_child_left_behind_acthttp://issuelab.org/research/pangloss_index_how_states_game_the_no_child_left_behind_actFri, 20 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400
The data raises one cautionary note: to the extent programs to engage young Americans in the democratic process focus primarily on college campuses, they will not only miss half of voting-eligible Americans ages 18-24 but also overlook a majority of Blacks and Latinos in this age group....]]>http://issuelab.org/research/registration_and_voting_among_americans_ages_18_29http://issuelab.org/research/registration_and_voting_among_americans_ages_18_29Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400The troubled state of teacher evaluation is a glaring and largely neglected problem in public education. Co-director Thomas Toch and Robert Rothman of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform examine the causes and consequences of the crisis in teacher evaluation, as well as its implications for the current debate about performance pay.

...]]>http://issuelab.org/research/rush_to_judgment_teacher_evaluation_in_public_educationhttp://issuelab.org/research/rush_to_judgment_teacher_evaluation_in_public_educationFri, 20 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400In the national conversation on teacher quality, there is considerable debate about what teachers think and what they want. Too often assumptions guide the discussion rather than actual evidence of teachers' views. In a new report, Education Sector and the FDR Group provide that evidence, detailing findings from a national survey of public school teachers.

...]]>http://issuelab.org/research/waiting_to_be_won_over_teacher_speak_on_the_profession_unions_and_reformhttp://issuelab.org/research/waiting_to_be_won_over_teacher_speak_on_the_profession_unions_and_reformFri, 20 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/understanding_naep_inside_the_nations_education_report_cardhttp://issuelab.org/research/understanding_naep_inside_the_nations_education_report_cardFri, 20 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/sum_greater_than_the_parts_what_states_can_teach_each_other_about_charter_schoolinghttp://issuelab.org/research/sum_greater_than_the_parts_what_states_can_teach_each_other_about_charter_schoolingFri, 20 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/states_evidence_what_it_means_to_make_adequate_yearly_progress_under_nclbhttp://issuelab.org/research/states_evidence_what_it_means_to_make_adequate_yearly_progress_under_nclbFri, 20 Jun 2008 19:59:01 -0400http://issuelab.org/research/smart_charter_school_capshttp://issuelab.org/research/smart_charter_school_caps