Black Americans are becoming entrepreneurs at a rapidly increasing rate and Pittsburgh is following the trend, a new report issued by the Census Bureau suggests. The report, ‘Survey of Business Owners: Black-Owned Firms: 2002,’ says that between 1997 and 2002, the number of black-owned businesses in the United States rose 45 percent to 1.2 million, while the combined revenue increased 25 percent to $88.8 billion. ‘It’s encouraging to see not just the number but the sales and receipts of black-owned businesses are growing at such a robust rate, confirming that these firms are among the fastest growing segments of our economy,’ said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon. Slated for release today, the report also shows a significant if not quite as dramatic increase in local black business ownership. It found 4,363 black-owned firms in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area as of 2002, up 38.8 percent from 3,142 in 1997. Revenue figures for the metro area, which includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties, were not available. Doris Carson Williams, president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania, found the Census Bureau figures encouraging but not surprising. As blacks join the […]
Money makes the world go ’round. But those who attribute an era of petroleum addiction as the culprit of major global conflicts might argue oil does. Throughout the University, experts, researchers, professors and students are addressing the idea of creating a sustainable oil economy. ‘The issue isn’t whether oil is running out, but rather how much people are willing to pay for it,’ said Chris Paola, a professor of geology and geophysics and director of the University’s National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics. Paola said he has been working with five oil companies for several years helping to locate oil by finding sand and sediment deposits. Roger Ruan, co-director of the University’s Center for BioRefining, holds a jug of bio-crude oil in his laboratory. He works with a research group to turn solid biomass and wastes into burnable synthesis gas, liquid biocrude and solid residue. He said by the time an oil company loses interest in a typical oilfield, only about one-third of the oil in the ground is recovered because that’s all that is economically feasible. In the search for oil, fluctuating gas prices and foreign dependency are relevant issues, he said. ‘The […]
BEIJING — A new study in mice published in U.S. lately suggests that chronic stress may be a cause – not an effect of – depression. After years of circumstantial evidence, the new findings relating to the human stress hormone cortisol are being seen as the ‘smoking gun’ of what causes mood disorders for some people. Scientists already knew that many people with depression have high levels of cortisol but it was not clear whether this was a cause or an effect of the problem. The new study conducted by a research team from Harvard Medical School suggests that long-term exposure to cortisol may actually contribute to depression. The study involved exposing mice to their equivalent of the stress hormone, corticosterone, for short (24 hours) and long (17 to 18 days) periods. The mice given corticosterone for more than two weeks showed less willingness to explore a new environment and dulled reactions to startling stimuli, both symptoms of depression. The findings, published in the April issue of the journal Behavioral Neuroscience, could help improve treatments for depression, the researchers say.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two hours after South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signed an abortion ban last month, NARAL Pro-Choice America blasted an e-mail to its supporters: ‘Is your state next?’ The South Dakota legislation and the abortion rights group’s warning are early skirmishes in a battle over what states would do if the landmark Roe v. Wade decision were overturned – though both sides concede that may never happen. If it does, a fight that for three decades has focused on nine members of the Supreme Court would be waged instead among more than 7,000 legislators in 50 state capitals. ‘Now is the time to get moving on this in Ohio,’ says Tom Brinkman, a state legislator who has introduced a bill to ban almost all abortions. Meanwhile, Kellie Copeland of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio is braced. ‘Our supporters feel the fight is coming back to the states,’ she says. What would states do? Ultimately, that would depend on factors ranging from who was governor to where public opinion stood. Even so, there are clues from what state legislatures have chosen to do already and what they’re considering doing next. For instance, four states have […]
WASHINGTON — Simply going online isn’t good enough to make full use of cyberspace. Without the high-speed connectivity that broadband offers, it’s difficult, if not downright impossible, to make full use of what can be done via the Internet. As such, the push for greater broadband access is gaining momentum worldwide, and the latest global report card on high-speed access showed that some of the most unlikely countries are at the forefront of the mass Internet revolution. According to the Organization for Economic and Cooperation and Development in a Thursday release, Iceland currently boasts the highest penetration rate among the group’s 30 richest nations in the world, with 26.7 percent of the population having broadband access. South Korea came in at second place at 25.4 percent, while the Netherlands followed with 25.3 percent, and Denmark ranked fourth with 25.0 percent. For the OECD membership as a whole, broadband subscription increased to 158 million by December 2005 from 136 million in June 2005, with 13.6 people subscribing to broadband per 100 inhabitants. The strongest per-capita subscriber growth came from Iceland, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, and Australia, each of which added more than six subscribers per 100 inhabitants during […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
