Interactive 1940 Census Web Page

According to a news release, the Census Bureau has launched an interactive 1940 Census website in anticipation of the April 2 release of the 1940 Census records. April 2 marks the end of the 72 year embargo period required for confidentiality of census records. The site includes questions asked on that form, a 1940 Census video, a link to the National Archives website for looking up records starting April 2, and an infographic depicting how characteristics of the U.S. population have changed between 1940 and 2010. The Census Bureau will regularly update the site with new interactive features in the days leading up to April 2.

Surging Seas Report and Website

According to a new report, Surging Seas, released by Climate Central, by 2030 many coastal locations are likely to sea waters rise at least 4 feet above the local high-tide level and by 2050 rise above the 5 feet level due to global warming. The report generates "local and national estimates of the land, housing and population in vulnerable low-lying areas, and associate(s) this information with flood risk timelines." Its accompanying Surging Seas website "includes a searchable, interactive online map that zooms down to neighborhood level, and shows risk zones and statistics for 3,000 coastal towns, cities, counties and states affected up to 10 feet above the high tide line."

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (Wise) Images

A March 14, 2012 news release states, "NASA unveiled a new atlas and catalog of the entire infrared sky today showing more than a half billion stars, galaxies and other objects captured by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission." Many of the stars and galaxies captured in the more than 18,000 images have never been seen before.

More information about WISE is available from http://www.nasa.gov/wise . An introduction and quick guide is available from http://wise2.ipac.caltech.edu/docs/release/allsky/ . The collection of WISE images released to date is available from http://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/gallery_images.html .

Macondo Well-Deepwater Horizon Blowout Lessons

The National Academies have made available for free online the 196 page book, Macondo Well-Deepwater Horizon Blowout: Lessons for Offshore Drilling Safety.  After examining the causes of the blowout, the report makes recommendations for the oil and gas industry and government regulators and advises taking a "system safety" approach  "anticipating and managing possible dangers at every level of operation."

A paperback version is also available for purchase from the National Academies website.

U.S. Budget Goes Mobile

The Government Printing Office (GPO) has developed a mobile version of the FY 2013 Budget of the U.S. Government that is supported on iOS 4.3 and above, Android 2.2 and above, and Blackberry OS v. 6.0 and above. To access the app on your mobile phone, go to http://m.gpo.gov/budget . 

The mobile app allows users to access the text and images of the main FY 2013 Budget. Links at the bottom also allow users to purchase a copy of the Budget from the GPO Online Bookstore or to access digital versions of previous Budget volumes through GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys).

For more information see the featured article on FDLP Connection.

American Community Survey Bill

If you use census information, you might be interested in a proposed bill to make responding to the American Community Survey (ACS) voluntary except for some limited questions. The American Community Survey replaced the long form of the census with annual updates and multi-year estimates of the characteristics of population and housing.The Census Bureau randomly selects about 3 million people each year to participate in this confidential survey, and the information gathered from all the questions on the ACS helps the federal government determine how to spend federal funds for infrastructure and services.

View the official text of the bill at The Library of Congress Thomas site: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.112hr931

GovTrack also provides information about the status of the bill and the legislative process: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-931 . Under Primary Source it includes a link to the official Thomas site.