USA TODAY articles from September 2010

USA TODAY archives from September 2010

Gulf Birds Not out of the Woods Yet
September 1, 2010... Despite the seemingly permanent capping of the Macondo well (the remnant of BP's Deepwater Horizon oil platform explosion), concern about the disaster's long-term toll on birds and their habitat remains very much alive. "This hasn't been the...

Flushing Our Forests Down the Toilet
September 1, 2010... The equivalent of almost 270,000 trees either is flushed or dumped in landfills worldwide every day and roughly 10% of that total is attributable to toilet paper. Meanwhile, growing populations, adoption of Western lifestyles, and sanitation...

Why Wikipedia Info Is Good and Bad
September 1, 2010... The patterns of collaboration among Wikipedia contributors have a direct effect on the data quality of an article, according to researchers at the University of Arizona, Tucson. "Most of the existing research on Wikipedia is at the aggregate...

Americans remain leery of economic recovery.(Your Life)(Survey)
September 1, 2010... Financial planners certainly have their work cut out for them some two years after the start of the economic crisis, as Americans are keeping their optimism in check and preparing for a long and slow return to growth, according to a national...

Watching for early signs of bankruptcy.(Your Life)(Brief article)
September 1, 2010... Nonbusiness bankruptcy filings more than doubled from 2006 to 2009 and, in 2010, they have increased almost 20% from 2009. The Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA), Fairfax, Va., urges consumers not to wait to...

Let's Celebrate Your Clean Garage
September 1, 2010... Is your garage a hazardous haven for dents, damage, and danger? A survey of U.S. adults by The Lehigh Group, Aurora, Ill., makers of organization products, reveals that 39% have tripped over an item in their cluttered garage; 27% have hit an...

Are Consumers Being "Stalked" by RFID Tags?
September 1, 2010... Putting special electronic inventory tracking lags on individual retail items could be a threat to consumer privacy, according to a pair of information security specialists at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. Several of the world's...

Antibacterial Soaps Should Be Washed Out
September 1, 2010... The Natural Resources Defense Council has filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration for failing to issue a final rule regarding the chemicals triclosan and triclocarban, which commonly are found in antibacterial soaps. These...

Basic Motor Skills Lackine; in Preschoolers
September 1, 2010... Disadvantaged urban preschoolers not only are vulnerable to failure in the classroom--they are likely to struggle on playgrounds and athletic fields as well, suggests research from Ohio State University, Columbus, which found that more than...

How to Play "Spin the Budget"
September 1, 2010... THE RAPID GROWTH of government spending and of deficit financing being experienced in the U.S. underscores the importance of analyzing carefully the huge array of numbers contained in budgetary documents. In turn, that onslaught of statistical...

Tracking Obama's Footprints
September 1, 2010... SOME PRESIDENTS LEAVE a light footprint on history and others a heavy one. Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan's were indelible, vacating the office with the country and the world a different place from when their terms began. The historical...

Perhaps the "Gusher in the Gulf Was Not for Naught
September 1, 2010... PUNDITS HAVE been speculating that the unprecedented British Petroleum oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico will become a "game changer," in the same way that the now-infamous 1969 fire on the Cuyaboga River spurred a generation of...

Why Louisiana Doesn't Matter
September 1, 2010... FIVE YEARS AFTER Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast, the region now faces the prospect of decades of environmental degradation due to the black plague released by British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon oil...

How to Deal with a BP-Sized Problem
September 1, 2010... DECISIONMAKING is challenging, even under routine conditions---and it becomes exponentially more difficult when faced with a highly complex, shifting, and growing dilemma. Many of our first instincts are counterproductive because we find it hard...

High-Tech Firefighting
September 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A FIRE RETARDANT is any substance other than water that reduces the flammability of materials or delays their combustion. Fire and flame retardant technologies have been in existence for many years; as early as 1735,...

Eating through the Forests
September 1, 2010... SOME 3,000 YEARS AGO, farmers in eastern China domesticated the soybean. In 1765, the first soybeans were planted in North America. Today the soybean occupies more U.S. cropland than wheat and, in Brazil, where it spread even more rapidly, the...

Hispanics Flex Their Political Muscle
September 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FROM THE TEA PARTIES to Independents, political pundits constantly attempt to draft the up-and-coming segment of the American electorate. Who will decide the 2010 midterm election? Which constituency will determine the...

COIN of the Realm
September 1, 2010... THE ARMED CONFLICTS in Afghanistan and Iraq have stressed the U.S. military in many ways: multiple deployments; a need to recruit a larger military quickly; and learning how to fight a new type of war, an asymmetrical encounter where our enemies...

Rethinking McChrystal's War
September 1, 2010... MICHAEL HASTINGS' Rolling Stone article on Gen. Stanley McChrystal provides an absorbing insight into the conduct of the war in Afghanistan, civilian-military relations in the U.S., and the counterinsurgency (COIN) that has preoccupied strategy...

The Animal(s) within Us: Life on Earth Took Many Forms before the Emergence of Mammals and Mankind
September 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANIMALS DISPLAY an extreme diversity, of form, lifestyle, and body organization. Their ancestors were built simpler than the species existing today. One of the most interesting questions in biology is how these forms...

Titans of the Ice Age
September 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOR MILLIONS of years they survived, living in temperate climates and on the wind-swept lands of the frozen north--great beasts weighing as much as eight tons and bearing tusks up to 16 feet long. Mammoths and mastodons...

Artists Display Their Animal Instincts: Nature Provides the Perfect Inspiration for the Society of Animal Artists and Its 50th Anniversary Celebration
September 1, 2010... THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY "Annual Exhibition of The Society of Animal Artists" and the "Art and the Animal" tour premieres this month, with approximately 150 flatworks and sculptures on display. "Art and the Animal" is the flagship exhibition of The...

A Decades-Long Love Affair with New Hampshire
September 1, 2010... IT WAS DURING OUR first visit to New Hampshire that we fell in love with the charm and pace of the area. It became an annual tradition: starting our trips on Columbus Day, we relished the idea of hitting the quaint towns just when peak season...

Life in America.
September 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Happy Birthday to Delaram. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Haitian Red Cross volunteer Jean Zacharie delivers first aid to one-month-old Deborah Fatima, whose mother died in the earthquake. Pres. Barack Obama talks with...

Sharing and Caring
September 1, 2010... IF A TREE FALLS in the woods and no one takes a picture, did it really happen? Let's face it, these days, that probably is a moot question. With all the cameras out there, it is hard to imagine a tree falling in the woods, forest, or anywhere...

Invasion of the Advertorials
September 1, 2010... THE BLURRING OF THE LINE between news and entertainment has been going on for hundreds of years but, in the mid 20th century, most U.S. newspapers made a serious attempt to separate the two in specific and tangible ways. The editorial and the...

Bullying by Any Other Name
September 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BULLYING HAS become a much-talked-about topic in Baltimore City and throughout the state of Maryland as well as the country at large. There is a general concern, as incidents of bullying have resulted in much publicized...

Cruelty-Free Offspring: Ways Not to Raise a Bully: No Parent Wants His or Her Child to Be Bullied, but What If Your Kid Is the One Pushing Others Around?
September 1, 2010... WHEN THE NEWS broke about 15-year-old Phoebe Prince hanging herself after being mercilessly bullied by her peers--online and in person--parents everywhere were saddened and horrified. What makes kids so mean? Are my children capable of bullying...

The Distribution Trap
September 1, 2010... THE SPAT BETWEEN MacMillan and Amazon.com about the prices charged for e-books exposes how profoundly dysfunctional the American business model has become. Over the past 30 years, with little fanfare, businesses of all sizes have been drawn into...

Energizing the Nation
September 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE DISASTER and fiasco in the Gulf of Mexico aside, the U.S. is at an energy crossroads, as the nation looks to address serious and broad issues: global climate change, the need for increased energy independence, and...

Pricing for Profit
September 1, 2010... VIRTUALLY EVERY COMPANY in the world is facing the same pricing challenge: a gingerly recovering economy and consumers who have money to spend, but are being prudent in their purchase decisions. A key concern that is keeping managers up at night...

Changing the Climate Is a Family Affair
September 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A FULL-BLOWN discussion of global warming may be too complicated for preschoolers in your family, but elementary school-aged kids want to understand it. As I travel around the country speaking in schools, many children,...

What a Mess! Clutter Can Drag You Down Physically and Emotionally. Weed It out, Now to Create More Time and Energy for Your Priorities
September 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE NEED TO ORGANIZE always is there, but seems especially pervasive this time of year With the back-to-school rush at full throttle and the lax office hours of summer now just a fond memory, many treat the coming of...

Relishing God's Great Gifts-In Our Homes
September 1, 2010... FROM TIME immemorial, humans have decorated their environment and themselves. The cave paintings of Lascaux are evidence of a keen eye and skilled execution; if only more modem galleries showed such expressive me of line and observation....

Everybody Loves Lou (and Coop, Too): "The Pride of the Yankees," with Populist Prototype Gary Cooper Playing Lou Gehrig, the Iconic Iron Horse, Still Has the Ability to Make Grown Men Cry
September 1, 2010... A PRECEDENT-SETTING populist movie in a number of ways, "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942) still resonates with film-loving audiences today--and not just baseball fans caught up in the annual rite of pennant fever. Despite being made well over...

Poisoned Pennant Races: It May Be the Summer Game, but Baseball's Siren Song Most Often Is Sung Come September as the Fight for the Flag Nears Its Apex-Too Bad the Wild Card Makes for Such a Hollow Tune
September 1, 2010... WHILE figuratively beating a dead horse is an exercise in cliched excess, the process can be therapeutic--and, who knows, perhaps the baseball brass could have its collective common sense spring back to life--so we'll keep on swinging and making...

Raising your eyes and minds to the stars.(GeoVision Vega 600 telescope)(WHAT'S NEW?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2010... Now that this brutally, hot season finally is coming to an end, we're reminded of why this period is referred to as the "dog days" of summer. Based on the nickname of Sirius, known as the Dog Star because it is the brightest in the constellation...

Snapfish Let's You Take Them with You
September 1, 2010... Whether going off to college or starting kindergarten, customized products from Snapfish, Hewlett-Packard's web-based photo-sharing, printing, and storage site, will keep the kids organized and feeling secure with the sight of familiar faces in...

Cleaning safe and easy with steam power.(CHI Home 2 in 1 Steam Vac )(WHAT'S NEW?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2010... If you worry about the chemicals in your cleaning products, especially if you have young children or pets, then the CHI Home 2 in 1 Steam Vac from CHI Home LLC, Houston, Tex., is a perfect solution for cleaning your hard floors. In one easy...

Wise Guys' Wise Advice: Eat and Live Healthy
September 1, 2010... Much press has been given to the increasing number of obese children and teenagers in the U.S. In actuality, it may not be necessary to read the statistics in order to be aware of this problem; by taking a look at our schools, it's quite clear...

Delightful aprons that brighten up any kitchen.(Boysenberry Pie aprons)(WHAT'S NEW?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With crisp days of autumn right around the corner--we hope--our thoughts turn to one of our favorite traditions: apple picking. We can just picture pulling the fresh, crisp fruit from the trees and returning home to,...

HP Photosmart: A True Publishing Platform
September 1, 2010... Trying to keep up with the printing demands in a busy family can be daunting--even our elementary school students are being asked to complete reports on the computer. A centralized printer is a must, and a wireless all-in-one suits all of our...

Stay warm and toasty with versatile wrap.(Chilly Jilly Elite Wrap )(WHAT'S NEW?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2010... It happens to women all the time. It's a beautiful day, but the office is so cool you need a sweater. It's easy to tuck one away at work, but what a pain it is to lug sweatshirts and jackets around just in case the restaurant or movie theater is...

iHome pulls apps from its magic hat.(iHome iA5 speaker and alarm clock)(What's New?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2010... There was a time when an alarm clock was just that. Not to date ourselves but, for years and years, we were awakened by the rattle of the classic Big Ben, with its ivory dial and luminous hands. These days, what appear to be timekeepers are...

A DVD That Helps You Become a Big Loser, Too
September 1, 2010... Wanting to get in shape and thinking about getting in shape don't really do much to further your goal of actually getting in shape. The first thing you need to do is take action and, if you're looking for the motivation, look no further than the...

Priming your hair for the real world.(CHI Air Pro Expert hair styling equipment)(What's New?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2010... During the carefree days of summer, we may have been able to get away with (in our minds, anyway) pulling our hair back into a ponytail or tucking it under a baseball cap. Now that September is upon us, and we're getting back to school and the...

Yo Gabba Livens Up the Big Stage
September 1, 2010... If you've got a preschooler and a television, chances are good you've watched many, many episodes of "Yo Gabba Gabba!," Nickelodeon's hit children's show that's been airing for the past three years. Infusing retro style and beat-driven...

Classic notebooks worthy of a master.(Moleskine notebook collection)(What's New?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2010... Just in time for back-to-school, we became reacquainted with the Moleskine collection of notebooks. Created to bring back to life the legendary notebooks used over the past two centuries by artists and thinkers, such as Vincent van Gogh, Pablo...

A comfy way to walk into autumn.(Okabashi clogs)(What's New?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2010... One of our favorite things about footwear in the summer is being able to wear flip-flops and sandals. From their cool, comfortable style, to the ease of slipping them on when we're running around, whether dressed up or dressed down, they're the...

Summer May Be over but the Fun Is Just Starting
September 1, 2010... Plug in your microphones and get your voices ready: it's time to relive the magic with Disney Interactive Studios' Disney Sing It: Family Hits. Featuring beloved songs and videos from classic films, including "Cinderella,' "Mary Poppins," and...

Colorful reminders to stay on schedule.(Expo Neon Black Dry Erase Board)(What's New?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2010... We build up to this moment all summer--that blissful day when the children finally go back to school. (We're confident that the parents out there understand what we mean by that.) Yet, it can be a double-edged sword because, all of a sudden, our...

Now even dollhouses are eco-friendly.(Recycled Cardboard Dollhouse )(What's New?)(Brief article)
September 1, 2010... In keeping with its commitment to environmental awareness, Creativity for Kids, Cleveland, Ohio, has introduced an eco-friendly dollhouse that inspires children to embrace a green approach to this classic play activity, while allowing them to...

The Promise: President Obama, Year One.(Book review)
September 1, 2010... THE PROMISE President Obama, Year One BY JONATHAN ALTER SIMON & SCHUSTER, NEW YORK 2010, 440 PAGES, $28.00 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] An analyst for NBC News and MSNBC and a highly respected national affairs columnist for Newsweek...

No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.(Book review)
September 1, 2010... NO APOLOGY The Case for American Greatness BY MITT ROMNEY ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, NEW YORK 2010, 305 PAGES, $25.99 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After each of three political campaigns, Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, felt...

The Superstress Solution.(Book review)
September 1, 2010... THE SUPERSTRESS SOLUTION BY ROBERTA LEE RANDOM HOUSE, NEW YORK 2010, 286 PAGES, $26.00 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A certain brand of ice cream advertises itself as hearkening back to a less complicated era, when everyone had fewer...

Oh Lord, Who's to Blame?
September 1, 2010... EVERY DAY, I GIVE THANKS that I was born and raised immersed in an antique and musty theology. Dosed with a heady mix of Augustine and Aquinas, stirred with Chesterton and Ratzinger, I am spared the unbearable freedom of an Eckerd Tolle. Neither...