The costliest hurricane in U.S. history since 1900 was Andrew in 1992. Hurricane Andrew hit southeast Florida and southeast Louisiana causing about $26,500,000,000 in damages. That dollar amount has not been adjusted for inflation.
I checked NOAA's Nationa Hurricane Center Website for this information (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastcost.shtml).

I found a list of links to Websites (mostly FEMA) that give information on what to do before, during, and after earthquakes. The page I am looking at is http://earthquake.usgs.gov/prepare/

According to the National Transportation Safety Board Website there have been no fatal plane crashes in Boulder in the past year. However, there was a nonfatal crash on Aug. 21, 2009. The next previous airplane accident was in Nov. 2008. Both incidents involved non-commercial aircraft. The two aircraft were of different makes.
On Jan. 31, 2000 Alaska Airlines flight 261 crashed into the Pacific Ocean killing 88.
On Aug. 27, 2006 49 people perished in a plane crash in Lexington, Kentucky.

Memogate

The scandal involving CBS News and the forged National Guard documents opens one's eyes to the implications of poor journalism. The consequences for reporting inaccurate information can severely affect a news organization and its employees.

CBS broke the story over the air on Sept. 8, 2004. According to documents they believed at the time to be accurate, President George W. Bush easily slid through his Texas Air National Guard experience and did not give as much of an effort as is usually required of National Guardsmen.

Soon after the story aired, independent investigators and bloggers began to test the authenticity of the documents and claim their falsehood. A panel assembled to investigate the issue determined the documents to be false and that CBS had acted irresponsibly in the reportage of the story.

Since many of us do not have the time or resources to investigate such matters on our own we rely on news sources such as CBS to deliver accurate material. When our news organizations fail to report issues accurately we are slighted and ill-informed. A well-informed citizenry is imperative for democracy to work.

It is disheartening to see accurate and thorough reporting pushed aside in favor of sensational news. I think it is good that journalists are held to high standards and that consequences for poor work are severe. People make mistakes, to be sure, but one must put one's best effort into conveying the news accurately.

thoughts concerning treehugger's blog site

I looked over the treehugger blog site (http://www.treehugger.com/) to get the feel for what a blog site is and how it can be used.

Treehugger.com is part of the Discovery Communications corporation and has links to other Discovery Communications sites at the bottom of the homepage. Some sponsors ads appear on the site, such as, Planet Green, Marylhurst University and Seventh Generation.

Treehugger.com was founded by entrepreneur Graham Hill and now has over 19 staff members and more than 55 writers. They have won numerous awards and command a large, global readership.

Treehugger.com states that they strive to be the go-to site for green news and issues. They cover a varied range of topics, such as, architecture and design, fashion, health and travel. Their global assemblage of writers covers these topics with aplomb.

I believe their intended audience is anyone interested in learning about sustainable living practices. Their topics certainly cover an amalgam of interests.

I think Treehugger's blog is nicely laid out and is packed full of information. The colorful homepage is constantly changing and being updated. The tops of the pages display the links to other topics covered on the site.

I like Treehugger.com's use of photos and graphics. Each article I looked at had a visual element to help tell the story. This makes the site more interesting, inviting and informative. If I had a blog site of this nature, I would strive to have a similar visual appeal.

First assignment

"The news of the day as it reaches the newspaper office is an incredible medley of fact, propaganda, rumor, suspicion, clues, hopes, and fears, and the task of selecting and ordering that news is one of the truly sacred and priestly offices in a democracy." Walter Lippman

I believe what Walter Lippman is saying in the above quote is that the position of the people who disseminate information to the general public have great responsibility and privilege. Journalists must be able to make sense of the ocean of information they find and siphon the necessary and truthful from it. The bulk of the general public will make decisions based on what they read in the newspapers and magazines, hear on the radio, or watch on television. People must be able to rely on the information they are given.

In a democratic society with the freedom of speech and press the public is fortunate to have the ability to hear multiple sides to each story and decide for themselves what is truthful and relevant. Journalists are charged with the responsibility to convey the information they gather accurately and in a way that is easy for people to digest. No side should be favored over another. Voters base their opinions and cast their ballots based on what they learn about candidates through the media.

With all of the information available on any given topic, it is a challenge to convey an objective stance. Journalists should always strive to disseminate accurate and objective information.

This is my second posting. :-) :-)

This is a test post. :-)