Southern Oregon University Highlighted by U.S. Energy Department for its Investment in Clean Energy

Southern Oregon University Highlighted by U.S. Energy Department for its Investment in Clean Energy | Department of Energy Skip to main content Energy.gov Find information about your town or city. Search form Search Energy.gov Public ServicesTax Credits, Rebates & SavingsHomesVehiclesBuilding DesignManufacturingNational Security & SafetyEnergy EconomyFunding OpportunitiesState & Local GovernmentScience & InnovationScience & TechnologyScience EducationInnovationEnergy SourcesEnergy UsageEnergy EfficiencyMissionNews & BlogMaps & DataAbout UsFor Staff & ContractorsOfficesAll OfficesProgram OfficesStaff OfficesLabs & Technology CentersField SitesPower Marketing AdministrationOther Agencies You are hereHome » Southern Oregon University Highlighted by U.S. Energy Department for its Investment in Clean Energy Southern Oregon University Highlighted by U.S. Energy Department for its Investment in Clean Energy November 16, 2012 - 3:22pm Addthis NEWS MEDIA CONTACTDepartment of Energy: (202) 586-4940Southern Oregon University: (541) 552-6093

WASHINGTON – Today, the Energy Department released its fourth video in the “Clean Energy in Our Community” video series, highlighting clean energy investments by Southern Oregon University (SOU).  The school’s investments in renewable energy, sustainability, and purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are benefiting residents and workers across Ashland, a city of about 20,000 people.  SOU is working to reduce its energy waste and deploy clean, renewable energy projects both on its campus and throughout the Ashland community.

“Southern Oregon University is a leading example of how local institutions and communities can help lead the way in making sure that America wins the global clean energy race, while creating good local jobs and protecting the environment,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.

SOU is nationally recognized for its involvement in sustainability initiatives through its membership in the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment and Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. 

The University is committed to becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. SOU students created a self-imposed fee to support SOU's continued commitment to power the campus with clean, renewable energy. Funds from the student fee may be used for on-site energy generation or to purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). SOU has also committed to purchasing Water Restoration Certificates (WRCs), becoming the first university to restore 100 percent of the water used on campus to a critically dewatered stream in the nearby Klamath River Basin.

“SOU's location in a beautiful mountain town surrounded by national forests and clear whitewater rivers and streams inspires our community and reminds us daily of the importance of preserving our natural resources,” says SOU President Mary Cullinan. “Our faculty teach sustainable practices. Our students are actively engaged in sustainable projects. And our staff and administration are dedicated to sustainable operations.” 

SOU is also producing its own renewable energy through the purchase of a 56-kW solar photovoltaic array in 200that produces more than 70,000 kWh per year.  This array helped the University qualify for a LEED Platinum certification for the Higher Education Center in nearby Medford.  The certification is the highest level of LEED certification in the Oregon University system. 

Addthis Related Articles Southern Oregon University: Committed to Sustainability Meadville, Pennsylvania’s Allegheny College Highlighted by U.S. Energy Department for Its Investments in Clean Energy U.S. Energy Department Launches “Clean Energy in Our Community” Video Series What We Do For You Energy EconomyEnergy Economy InnovationInnovation Nuclear Security & SafetyNuclear Security & Safety Energy.gov Careers & InternshipsContact UsEmail Updates Popular Topics SavingsHeating & CoolingIndustrial Heating & CoolingSolarHome WeatherizationAppliances & ElectronicsAbout this siteWeb PoliciesPrivacyNo Fear ActInformation QualityOpen GovEnergy DepartmentBudget & PerformanceDirectives, Delegations & RequirementsFOIAInspector GeneralPrivacy ProgramSmall BusinessFederal GovernmentThe White HouseUSA.gov

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How to Be Successful

Everyone should strive to be successful. Success is the meaning of life: your struggle, goals, where you are, where you're going, and where you have been. Success is a journey. Your job is to not give up and find a way to reach your destination. Below are 8 ways to find your way to success. You may have heard them before but that is because of how important they are. I will go into great detail with them so you know what is expected of you to be successful.

Define your idea of success
Everyone has a different idea on the definition of success. You need to have your ideologies straightened out to plan your goals. Your idea of success is not a goal let's be clear. Your idea of success is your visualization of what it is that makes someone successful. For example, my idea of success is self growth and experience. I believe with these things, I can become the best person possible over time. With that said, I now plan out my goal.

Plan out a goal
Obviously, there are two types of goals: Long and short term. Goals are a must. I think of them as checkpoints and once you complete them, they are behind you. You just keep looking forward.

Short term

I believe this one to be the more important of the two for one reason: confidence/reassurance. The correct way to have a short term goal is to make it for a short time. I would say daily. I would write down a list of what you need to do that relates towards your long term goal. As the days, weeks, months go by, you will look back on that list and see day after day that items are crossed off your list. Nothing is stronger than visually seeing forward process by looking at your to do list being completed day after day.

Long term

Long term goals when added up, together, get you where you believe is your idea of success.

Short term = long term= success. One builds off the other. Your long term goals can be looked at as a gathering or grouping of successful short term goals. For example, if I feel successful by getting married (which I don't), my long term goal would be to meet a woman. How do I do that? Through short term goals. My short term goals would be: work on myself, work on my interactions with women, maybe talk to 5 women a day, go out more often, go on dates, and so on. If I do that time after time, hopefully, I would reach my long term goal and get a girlfriend. Now when that Long term goal is completed, it's time to make another long goal which would be to get past the first year mark. So now you write down small daily goals that get you there. You keep doing this process over and over until you reach what you believe is successful. It's honestly a fail-proof formula if you stick with it.

Lifestyle
If you want to be successful, you have to live the lifestyle of success. What do I mean by that? Well, to be a writer, I would live the life of a writer. I would read, write, write, write, read, go to conferences, talk to other writers, attend classes, write, and read. You get the picture. Every aspect of your life should be around your goals. A writer once told me "I work full time to support my writing." I respected her for saying that. She made good money but her life and passion was to write. So she literally just worked so she could live day to day writing.

People
You want to surround yourself with people that have the same goals as you. It's good for a competitive drive, inside information, inspiration, and positivity. For me, I feel like I already met my goals when I have the people around me that have the same goals. I feel like a team. As a writer, surrounding yourself with other writers makes you feel accomplished and accepted as if I was a writer all along.

Mindset
Success is a mental game. You have to mentally endure the journey ahead and realize it's never easy obtaining greatness. You have to have that "no excuse" attitude and make things happen. Stop wishing and start doing. You should be positive. Success is more than having materials. A good mindset and some gratitude is a common trait among successful people. You will be amazed on what it can do for you.

Effort
My father is one of the wisest men I had the pleasure to be around. His famous phrase was "Don't tell me what you're going to do, show me what you've done." He drilled this into my head so much that I wouldn't tell him my short term goals anymore. Instead, I showed him the results of having them. I never told him when I got a job, great grades, or a girlfriend. I only showed him that I got the raise at the job, the degree at school, and the anniversary of the relationship.

Everyone talks. It's time to separate yourself from the crowd and start doing. Show people your capabilities. Challenge yourself. That is what life is about.

Time
The problem with a lot of younger people is they want things now. I was one of those people trying to find the fastest way to get what I want. Everything takes time. In fact, you should take your time anyway and enjoy the journey. You will grow and learn a lot about yourself if you grind through a long road of obstacles instead of trying cut corners and cheat your way to success. Ask anyone 30+ years old and they will tell you everything from getting over a heartbreak to getting a six digit salary will take some time.

Don't give up
This is the most important on the list. This list will not work unless you are consistent. You have to keep moving ahead. It's easy to give up. Be different and take on a challenge. Stop complaining if you had to take a step back, start over, or not getting the results you want. Go back to setting your short term goals and start over. Time flies and you'll be amazed on how much you can accomplish in a short period of time if you are consistent day to day with your task.

I promise if you follow these 8 things, you will be successful. The most important things to remember are the journey and the commitment. You have to stay on it. If you do so, you will only move forward. Good luck.

Any more tips? Comment below.

Remain Happy and Joyful During and After the Holidays

Childhood holiday memories are among our most common life experiences. I remember, growing up in a village on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, the holidays seemed to take forever to arrive. That is the experience of every child: a year is like eternity. For us too, the holiday period was simply Christmas-New Year.

What I remember most about the holidays was the anguish I caused my mother when she took me to the market to buy new clothes. There was an open market in the village twice a week and as the holidays approached, merchants and vendors from far and near filled the market with every kind of merchandize.

My mother would tell me ahead of time the choices I had: I could have a pair of shoes and a shirt, or a pair of shorts and shoes, or a pair of socks and a shirt. The choices always seemed to be incomplete. Going through the display of goods there was so much that I wanted but my mother would say, no; either this or that, not both.

I would then cry in the market which in turn caused her embarrassment and even anguish. What I did not know until I grew up was that my mother simply did not have enough money to buy me everything I wanted. There was no way she could have satisfied my desires.

So, how could she have found joy and happiness in the holidays given that she had six of us?

Even in that remote village on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, holiday demands today have extended far beyond a pair of shoes, pants and shirts. The list today includes iPads and iPhones... some electronic devices that are very alien to me but household names with sixth graders! The anguish my mother experienced that many years ago is many times more today.

One of - if not the - main feature of the holidays is giving; typically giving presents. With giving, inevitably, there is receiving. My mother was giving all the time and we, kids, were on the receiving side.

For Christians and the spiritual, giving is a response, not a cause. We give because we have received. If we get it right, this can be the main source of joy and happiness. Giving to those who have given us or will give us quite often will be unfulfilling. For the Christian giving is in response to the gift of Christ already received. Similarly for spirituality: The realization and appreciation of the gifts of the Universe prompt us to joyously give in response.

There is a second aspect to giving, and that is sharing. There is joy in sharing what we have received, be it material or spiritual. This means that everybody has something they can give or share and find joy and happiness in doing so.

Remember these four points:

1. Give your heart first and if that is all it will suffice.

2. Give because you have received. Count your blessings first and give out of those blessings.

3. Give what you have because you cannot give what you don't have.

4. Giving and obligation are not the same. It is a spiritual exercise not a law.

The Invisible Little Burrowing Owl, Is He Your Neighbor Too?

One thing most owls are good at is being invisible. We can walk right under them and not even notice. This little owl is even better than most owls. The Burrowing Owl is wide-spread across America but, few of us have noticed one. Or if we did get a glimpse, we're not quite sure of what we had seen.

Around 1782 in Chili was the first time this little owl was documented. They have been called Ground Owls, Rattlesnake Owls, Hill Owls, Prairie Dog Owls, Tunnel Owls, Gopher Owls but they all mean the same thing; the Burrowing Owl. This owl is only about ten inches high with a wing span of 1 1/2 - 2 feet. It is easy to see how they can be over looked so often, they are a bit un-owl like in appearance and behavior. With a small rounded head with no ear tufts, and white eyebrows, sitting on top of a fence post or a log they blend right in and look like part of the wood. Their color is that of aged wood so it is hard to tell where the branch stops and the owl starts.

Burrowing Owls are one of the few that can be active during the day. Their favorite time is still dawn or dusk for their hunting! But, because of their size they like to be done feeding by the time the bigger "owl eating" predators come out later at night. Since they can see in the daylight too, if the evening feed didn't go very well they have the option of hunting longer in the morning. Due to this most Burrowing Owl sightings are during the day. Most states west of the Mississippi Valley have these owls at least for part of the year. If you have Prairie Dogs, Gophers, Voles, grasshoppers, or mice chances are pretty good you have this owl. His favorite habitat is grass lands but he will be adaptable if his food source is available. They also can perch in pine trees, or on the fence in your suburb. He prefers to live in old Prairie Dog or Gopher holes though he can do some pretty good digging if necessary, to have that just perfect hole. If your in the top states closer to Canada, this owl is migratory, the lower half of the US. he stays year around. It just depends on the weather. (OK, Bad pun!)

And yes, this owl has it's nest in dens in the ground. The mom and dad will both feed the young. If they have to they will feed their young 24/7 taking turns sleeping and getting food. At around 14 days old they can be sitting on top of their mound, outside the den entrance. By two months they will be chasing insects around on their own for dinner. If there is room the Burrowing Owl may stay close to his family unit if there are enough burrows and food.

The Gopher Owl can live up to ten years in captivity. Other owls, hawks, badgers, skunks, cars, cats and dogs all try to shorten that life span in the wild. Unfortunately in Colorado the Burrowing Owl is listed as "State Threatened" which is just a breath away from endangered. Most of the states that have the Prairie Dog Owl, have it listed either protected or endangered. But which do you save first, the owl or its food source which is a nuisance to most of us? Maybe we should look a little closer at the food chain.

Wildthings Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is in the foot hills of Colorado. We are licensed and trained in over a hundred species of wildlife native to Colorado. Our web page can help with human / wildlife conflict, finding a licensed rehabilitator near you. and other helpful links. With all of us we have released thousands of Colorado's wildlife. Thats enough to make a difference, one at a time.
http://www.wildthingsrehab.webs.com/

Finding Your "Why"

The purpose of finding your why is to create a passionate reason for you to accomplish whatever you are looking to achieve in your life.

You may have a number of different "whys" and over time, your direction may change. If your mission is to create wealth and have passive income, your "why" is financial security. If you want to create wealth to take care of your family, your "why" is your family.

To create your mission statement, one that is created on purpose and in alignment with you true desires, your reason for accomplishing your mission must be bigger than you.

Knowing your "why" is very important. If you goal is to create wealth but you don't have a why, at the first obstacle, hurdle or challenge, you will give up. Knowing your why, you may still stumble and even fall, but your why will keep you focused and give you the strength and determination to get up and continue on your journey. Overcoming adversity will prepare you for greatness. Your "why" will act like an invisible magnet, drawing you step by step towards your goals and dreams, until you achieve them.

Creating your mission statement:

By knowing and standing by your mission statement, you control your results. When you are faced with a decision, you will make that decision easily and without delay, because your mission statement will give you the specific directions you require and you will know exactly which actions to take to keep you on the right path to achieve your goals and dreams.

You may not enjoy every moment of the process. What is important is keeping your eyes on the outcome so you continue the process. You must focus on the results. A woman may not enjoy the pain of childbirth; she will enjoy the results - a beautiful baby! An athlete may not enjoy the pain of training; an athlete will enjoy the results - winning!

Average people compare themselves to other people. That is why they are average. You only need to compare yourself to your potential and you will not be average.

Exercise:

You may have multiple statements for different areas of your life, 1 for personal, 1 for business, 1 for physical or any other area in your life you want to change. A mission statement is only a paragraph long, has specific and measurable outcomes and a deadline to achieve that outcome. It is the best way to start your journey to success.

Food for thought for your mission statement:

List 5 positive characteristics that describe you:

1__________________________________________________
2__________________________________________________
3__________________________________________________
4__________________________________________________
5__________________________________________________

List 5 goals (personal and/or professional) you would like to accomplish 12 months from today:

1________________________________________________________________-
2________________________________________________________________
3________________________________________________________________
4________________________________________________________________
5________________________________________________________________

List 2 financial goals you would like to accomplish 12 months from today:

1________________________________________________________________
2________________________________________________________________

To Your Success.

For more information, lessons and exercises, visit our website and sign up for the FREE 7 Day Success E-Course: http://www.createyourownlife.com.au/

iPhone App Development - What You Should Be Looking for in a Developer

So you've just realized that you need an iPhone app for your business. You go on line, Google-search app developers, but you a hit a snag. You've pulled up hundreds of entries and you've got no clue as to how and who to choose. iPhone app developers and development companies indeed number by the thousands. Discretion is certainly needed to be sure that your ideas, specifications and requirements are complied with, as well as to avoid mishaps, especially when the app is already out in the market.

To that end, we wish to provide you with a few tips in order to avoid incurring these dangerous problems.

Check rates
Smart buying sense would tell you that in most cases, it is important to compare rates. Just because you're sure of the quality, doesn't mean you'll jump into it straight away. Go down the list further and, you might find a cheaper service with the same quality if not even better. It's also important to find out the prevailing rates to get a clear picture. You could use this information should you get the chance to negotiate for price.

Experience and Testimonials
Experience will tell you that experience is a good determinant of the quality of work that an individual or a company is capable of putting into a project. Ideally, the longer the experience, the better the results, the faster the delivery and the better they are at dealing with clients. To be safe, a lot of people do go for trusted names. However, counter-verify the experience that they claim to have by going through their portfolios. Some put up testimonials on their websites from allegedly satisfied clients. Don't take their word for it though. Contact those clients if you can. Ask for their number or e-mail address from the iPhone app developer, and if they refuse to give it to you, well, experience will also tell you that there must be something fishy.

Of course, these are true only if it is your first time to do business with that developer. If you've already established a connection with them through past deals, then there is no need to do background check on them. If they assign you a new hiree, however, you might want to ask for more information about him just to be sure.

Time
Being able to deliver on time is also an important factor. This is part of being professional. If they can't keep their promise, you have a very good reason to go elsewhere next time. Try not to be too strict about mistakes, however-they are but humans too. Minor mistakes won't be hard to redeem. The important thing is that you get updated in every step of the project, that they repair the damage and still be able to finish on time (with some leeway if need be and if you approve so).

Extra Details
Some other details that should be looked into include the following:

Should you decide to transfer to another developer, your app should be readily and easily understood and edited by the next guy/s. Your app should be exactly like that now so that you won't run into problems in the future.

Your developer should make your app, as much as possible, not be too heavy such that it consumes too much power. Apps that drain batteries fast could annoy users, who might then choose to stop using it (i.e. delete it). Drum it in your developers' ears if you must.

Finally the developer should also able to make your app SEO-friendly.

Alfie Ethan is a Content Manager for Techliance, he writes mostly on Web Development, gadgets and iPhone application development. Feel free to say hello on Facebook.

In How Many Ways Can You Use a Blog in the Classroom?

The introduction of the online marketing brought about a boon in the ways of formulating strategic advertising campaigns and promotions. Individuals and organizations have started using social networking websites to promote their products, services, and events on a large scale; surpassing national boundaries of a country. Educational institutes have also started exploring the online world to communicate with varied people and university authorities. A number of school and university management have created their own organizational website and blog to inform and update prospective students and their parents about their programs and course schedules. Blogs can be used in a number of ways to enhance the learning experience in the classroom.

· Update students about courses you intend to offer in the upcoming semester. Allow students to view class catalogs plus fill up or download an online class registration form along with easy transfer of registration fees without travelling to the school or university to complete formalities.

· Blogs are great platforms to carry on discussions from a distance. Students can simply respond to blog posts and discuss topics through comments.

· Allow students to publish their assignments and project works on their individual blogs for you to easily edit the same.

· Teachers can post various assignment outlines; plus the key points of the lectures on the class blog which is easily accessible by the learners. It will specifically benefit those students who were unable to attend the lecture. They can follow the discussions without any problems.

· Add important website links plus your upcoming class registration details (online class registration form, etc.) on the blog for people to book a seat.

· Communicate with students and their parents by posting important information about upcoming field trips, related registration forms, and trip-related documents for easy viewing online with instant downloading options.

Teachers should encourage their students to create blogs and update it regularly posting topics that will be discussed in the upcoming classes. It will help students to get an idea as to what will be discussed in the next class; plus read through text books or search for added information on the internet preparing themselves before joining the class.

Get your students blogging so that they can share their work and thoughts every day. Blogging provides the learners with a stage to be more interactive and glued to the lessons taught or to be taught in the classroom. Blogs act as a great collaborative platform where all students and teachers can participate and quickly create, co-manage, and even edit content, if needed.

Jonathan is a professional trainer. He employs latest technology for online class registration and online training registration that results in more attendance and ROI.

New Titan Supercomputer Named Fastest in the World

New Titan Supercomputer Named Fastest in the World | Department of Energy Skip to main content Energy.gov Find information about your town or city. Search form Search Energy.gov Public ServicesTax Credits, Rebates & SavingsHomesVehiclesBuilding DesignManufacturingNational Security & SafetyEnergy EconomyFunding OpportunitiesState & Local GovernmentScience & InnovationScience & TechnologyScience EducationInnovationEnergy SourcesEnergy UsageEnergy EfficiencyMissionNews & BlogMaps & DataAbout UsFor Staff & ContractorsOfficesAll OfficesProgram OfficesStaff OfficesLabs & Technology CentersField SitesPower Marketing AdministrationOther Agencies You are hereHome » New Titan Supercomputer Named Fastest in the World New Titan Supercomputer Named Fastest in the World November 12, 2012 - 11:04am Addthis NEWS MEDIA CONTACT(202) 586-4940

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced that Titan, a new supercomputer located at the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, has been named the world’s most powerful according to the TOP500 list of the world’s fastest supercomputers. Ten times more powerful than its predecessor, the Jaguar system, Titan will provide unprecedented power to accelerate scientific discoveries using technologies first developed for video game systems like Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The Department now has five systems out of the fastest 20 in the world, with Sequoia at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, in second place; Mira at Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois, in fourth place; Cielo, located in Los Alamos, New Mexico and operated jointly by Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, ranked 18th; and Hopper at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, ranked 19th.

“The nation that leads the world in high-performance computing will have an enormous competitive advantage across a broad range of sectors, including national defense, science and medicine, energy production, transmission and distribution, storm weather and climate prediction, finance, commercial product development, and manufacturing,” said Secretary Chu.  “Titan joins the Department’s top-ranking supercomputers in equipping our nation’s researchers with the tools needed to keep the United States on the cutting edge of innovation.”

Titan uses a combination of traditional central processing units (CPUs) and a family of processors called graphic processing units (GPUs) that were first created for computer gaming and have a unique capacity to perform the same operation simultaneously on multiple pieces of data. In video games, this capacity enables them to update the pixels on a display to make the imaging more realistic. For Titan, the combination of CPUs and GPUs help the system perform parallel processing operations at blinding speeds.  Titan reached a speed of 17.59 petaflops (quadrillion calculations per second) on the Linpack benchmark test – the specific application that is used to rank supercomputers on the Top500 list.  Titan is capable of a theoretical peak speed of 27 petaflops.  Additionally, because the CPU-GPU combination provides more processing per watt of power, Titan occupies the same space as Jaguar while using only marginally more electricity.

Scientists will use Titan’s computing power for a wide range of research, including developing the next generation of materials used to manufacture U.S. goods; for nuclear research to model the behavior of neutrons in a nuclear power reactor; to model the combustion of fuels in an internal combustion engine to improve engines for cars and trucks; and to simulate the atmosphere at new levels to help researchers better understand future air quality.

Earlier this fall, 61 science and engineering projects were selected for access to 1.84 billion core processing hours on Oak Ridge’s Titan and 2.83 billion hours on Argonne’s Intrepid and Mira computers through the Department’s Innovative & Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment (INCITE) program. INCITE grants scientists and engineers at universities, national laboratories, industry and other research organizations access to lightning-fast high-performance computing systems not commonly available in academia or the private sector. For a complete list of the 61 projects, visit: http://www.doeleadershipcomputing.org/awards/2013INCITEFactSheets.pdf.

For more information on the Energy Department’s supercomputers, visit http://energy.gov/science-innovation/science-technology/computing.

Addthis Related Articles New Titan Supercomputer Named Fastest in the World Sequoia Ranked as Fastest Supercomputer in the World United States Regains Lead with World’s Fastest Supercomputer What We Do For You Energy EconomyEnergy Economy InnovationInnovation Nuclear Security & SafetyNuclear Security & Safety Energy.gov Careers & InternshipsContact UsEmail Updates Popular Topics SavingsHeating & CoolingIndustrial Heating & CoolingSolarHome WeatherizationAppliances & ElectronicsAbout this siteWeb PoliciesPrivacyNo Fear ActInformation QualityOpen GovEnergy DepartmentBudget & PerformanceDirectives, Delegations & RequirementsFOIAInspector GeneralPrivacy ProgramSmall BusinessFederal GovernmentThe White HouseUSA.gov

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Finding the Right Direction Part 1

Happiness is a direction, not a place.

- Sydney J. Harris

The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction not a destination.

- Carl Rogers

In last week's post, I wrote about the importance of persistence and determination, about not giving up. I wrote about the importance of recognizing when something wasn't working and of being willing to try a different approach. That we can become so invested in the direction we've taken that it blinds us to other possibilities.

I used the image of going up a hill as a metaphor for going after a goal or an objective. I also wrote that sometimes taking a different approach might mean choosing a different hill, a different goal, or objective.

I thought a lot about that metaphor this week. After thinking about it, I'm not sure I liked it, or maybe it's I just didn't like the way I used it. It gives the impression that once you've got to the top and reached your goal, you're done. I think you will agree that's not true.

Because there is always another goal, something else you want to achieve, or there is the feeling like there is something more, something left undone, unfulfilled.

I thought back to the times when I had completed something, achieved what had been an important goal. There was the initial elation, the glow of satisfaction, and the mental high fiving that puts a snap in your step. But before long you start to feel something crowding in on your sense of satisfaction, like some small, persistent child tugging at your sleeve demanding something that eventually becomes a thought impossible to ignore: So now what do I do?

Then, if you are like me, you discover that whatever baggage you thought you had left at the bottom of the hill: the fear, the doubt, those nagging insecurities, worries, anxieties, and the rest of your particular problems, have all seemed to find their way to the top of your new hill just in time to "help" you enjoy it.

Finally, you realize that the hill you're on is surrounded by even higher hills. As one person put it, success is just a ticket to solving a more complex problem. And so off you go eventually onto the next climb.

I like the way Carl Rodgers and Sydney J. Harris describe this notion in their quotes. Success, happiness, living the good life is a process, a set of actions and tools that keep you moving in a direction of your choosing. Its not "I'll be happy after I do X, or I'll have no more worries when I make Y dollars".

For Carl and Sydney, what makes you happy, or at least should make you happy, is the process of completing X or making Y, and then going on to make or complete Z, and so on.

However, I don't know about you, but I haven't always felt so good about the "process" I was in. Clearly, you have to be moving in a direction that works for you. But when you are doing something that is right for you, it really feels good. It is the good life.

So, if happiness, the good life, success is about moving in the right direction, taking the right hill, how do you know what is the right direction or hill.

Conversely, how do you avoid taking the wrong direction, and how do you figure out when you are going in the wrong direction?

Is it even possible to really know, or is it just a roll of the dice, some kind of trial and error, hoping that we end up liking where we end up.

I believe that you can determine the direction that is right for you at any time in your life and you can determine when it is time to change direction in the future.

Figuring out the answers to those what-to-do-next questions begins with understanding what you find meaningful in your life.

Meaning in this context is composed of all the things that you value most in life. Sometimes people will describe meaning as your purpose; what you are meant to do, or what you were put on earth to do. However, I think it is much more than just things you do in the world. Meaning includes what you experience in the world, the events, and people that engage you, your interactions with your environment.

Meaning is closely aligned with inner satisfaction, the aspects of your life that give you pleasure, a deep sense of fulfillment.

Next week I'm going to further explore this concept of meaning and why linking your actions to meaning is so important in finding the right direction, the right set of hills.

Ultimately, we should not ask what the meaning of life is, but rather we must recognize that it is we who must answer what is the meaning of our life. (Paraphrased from a quote by Viktor E. Frankl)

John Golding left a successful 25+ year career as an Information Technology executive to pursue the one part of his old career that he had truly come to love: coaching people.

As a mentor and coach, John has been strongly influenced by Victor Frankel's seminal work Man's Search for Meaning. John has discovered that as important as it is for you to clearly define what you want to do, it is even more important for you to understand why. John teaches that once you understand your purpose, what gives meaning to your life, you become the driver of your actions, and not a passenger.

John often likes to quote Dale Carnegie who wrote, "Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get."

Begin your journey to the life you want, to the life you deserve. Learn more at http://www.thesuccesstrigger.com/

Life Is Made Up of Kindness and Smiles

"Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindness, and small obligations, given habitually are what win and preserve the heart and secure comfort." Sir Humphry Davy

It doesn't take a lot of effort to be kind.

Imagine the following scenario: it is 6:30 am in early February in Northeast Ohio. It's pitch black, 18°F outside, and the wintery winds are gusting at about 20 miles per hour. You are in front of a large healthcare facility, along with a group of adults, and you are all impatiently waiting for a crossing guard to let you across the street so you can get to work. Finally, the traffic light changes and you all walk past the guard, either scowling or ignoring him entirely.

If this for you, what would you do when you passed the guard? Would you be one of the scowlers, or would you pause to consider that in less than two minutes you are going to be inside a nice warm building while he is still working outside in the bitter cold? Would you smile at him? Would you take just a second and acknowledge him for what he's doing? Think about it.

Several years ago, I was in that group of cold adults. I want to get into that building, believe me, and I was on my way. Instead of joining the crowd of scowling faces, I took a different tact. As I walked by, I put my hand on the crossing guard's shoulder, smiled and said, "Dude, I am so glad I am not you today." The expression on his face was priceless; he lit up. Just for a moment, somebody saw him in his discomfort and acknowledged him. Sometimes that's all it takes.

In the scheme of things, this incident was an extremely small part of my day. Yet when I recall the expression on that gentleman's face, it brings me delightful memories and still makes me feel happy years later.

Think about the number of people that you come into contact with on a daily basis. If you consciously took the time to see each and every one of those people, how many people would it be? 10? 25? 100? The thing is: it only takes one. Connecting with one person at a time gives you a golden opportunity to make a difference.

A smile, a caring word, an act of kindness - that's all it takes to make this world a little better place. Is there someone that you see all the time but you don't take the time to acknowledge? How about changing that? Today, make it a point to bring a smile to someone's face. Chances are excellent that this act will bring happiness to you as well. And who knows, the memory of one short encounter may still light you up years from now.

Have fun,

Lisa

The crossing guard, the cleaning person, the early morning barista at your favorite coffee shop - who is it that you can bring joy to today?

Lisa Ryan is the Chief Appreciation Strategist with Grategy. She is a keynote speaker, gratitude expert, and author of "The Upside of Down Times: Discovering the Power of Gratitude" and she is featured in the documentary, "The Keeper of the Keys" with Jack Canfield, Marci Shimoff, and John Gray.

Learn more about Lisa Ryan at http://www.grategy.com/

Energy Department Announces New Investment in U.S. Small Modular Reactor Design and Commercialization

Energy Department Announces New Investment in U.S. Small Modular Reactor Design and Commercialization | Department of Energy Skip to main content Energy.gov Find information about your town or city. Search form Search Energy.gov Public ServicesTax Credits, Rebates & SavingsHomesVehiclesBuilding DesignManufacturingNational Security & SafetyEnergy EconomyFunding OpportunitiesState & Local GovernmentScience & InnovationScience & TechnologyScience EducationInnovationEnergy SourcesEnergy UsageEnergy EfficiencyMissionNews & BlogMaps & DataAbout UsFor Staff & ContractorsOfficesAll OfficesProgram OfficesStaff OfficesLabs & Technology CentersField SitesPower Marketing AdministrationOther Agencies You are hereHome » Energy Department Announces New Investment in U.S. Small Modular Reactor Design and Commercialization Energy Department Announces New Investment in U.S. Small Modular Reactor Design and Commercialization November 20, 2012 - 2:48pm Addthis News Media Contact(202) 586-4940

WASHINGTON – As part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above strategy to deploy every available source of American energy, the Energy Department today announced an award to support a new project to design, license and help commercialize small modular reactors (SMR) in the United States.  This award follows a funding opportunity announcement in March 2012.  The project supported by the award will be led by Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Bechtel.  In addition, the Department announced plans to issue a follow-on solicitation open to other companies and manufacturers, focused on furthering small modular reactor efficiency, operations and design.  

“The Obama Administration continues to believe that low-carbon nuclear energy has an important role to play in America’s energy future,” said Secretary Chu.  “Restarting the nation’s nuclear industry and advancing small modular reactor technologies will help create new jobs and export opportunities for American workers and businesses, and ensure we continue to take an all-of-the-above approach to American energy production.”

This project represents a significant investment in first-of-a-kind engineering, design certification and licensing for small modular reactors in the United States. Through a five-year cost-share agreement, the Energy Department will invest up to half of the total project cost, with the project’s industry partners matching this investment by at least one-to-one.  The specific total will be negotiated between the Energy Department and Babcock & Wilcox (B&W). 

The Energy Department investment will help B&W obtain Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing and achieve commercial operations by 2022 – helping to provide U.S. utilities with low carbon energy options as well as create important export opportunities for the United States and advance our nation’s competitive edge in this emerging global industry. The project will be based in Tennessee and will support additional suppliers and operations in Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Small modular reactors - which are approximately one-third the size of current nuclear power plants - have compact, scalable designs that are expected to offer a host of safety, construction and economic benefits. Small modular reactors can also be made in factories and transported to sites where they would be ready to “plug and play” upon arrival, reducing both capital costs and construction times. The smaller size also makes these reactors ideal for small electric grids and for locations that cannot support large reactors, offering utilities the flexibility to scale production as demand changes.

As this nascent industry continues to grow, the Energy Department is committed to supporting research and development that will advance efficient, safe and cost-effective small modular reactor technologies. The Department plans to issue a new funding opportunity announcement to address this goal and support continued design development and certification of innovative SMR technologies.

Find more information on the important steps the Department is taking to jumpstart America’s nuclear industry at www.energy.gov/nuclear.

 

 

Addthis Related Articles Energy Department Announces Small Modular Reactor Technology Partnerships at Savannah River Site Energy Department Takes First Step to Spur U.S. Manufacturing of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Obama Administration Announces $450 Million to Design and Commercialize U.S. Small Modular Nuclear Reactors What We Do For You Energy EconomyEnergy Economy InnovationInnovation Nuclear Security & SafetyNuclear Security & Safety Energy.gov Careers & InternshipsContact UsEmail Updates Popular Topics SavingsHeating & CoolingIndustrial Heating & CoolingSolarHome WeatherizationAppliances & ElectronicsAbout this siteWeb PoliciesPrivacyNo Fear ActInformation QualityOpen GovEnergy DepartmentBudget & PerformanceDirectives, Delegations & RequirementsFOIAInspector GeneralPrivacy ProgramSmall BusinessFederal GovernmentThe White HouseUSA.gov

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Use Power Of Mind Disciplines To Speed Up Your Success Development

A great deal of research has been done on the way our mind works in relation to what we achieve in life. There is a strong connection between success development and the way we think. Researchers have found successful people think in a particular way and manage their life better and more effectively than unsuccessful people. This has led them to develop power of mind disciplines to teach others to think in a similar way. These tools are readily available to all of us.

Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP)

NLP explores the relationship of how we think, communicate and behave. It helps people unblock the structures of human communications and excellence. People can study and learn how these are related and they can change the way they think and act. They can then adopt new, more successful models of human excellence.

It has been used effectively in all areas of personal development such as business management, sales and sports coaching. It is an effective tool to help you remove barriers and roadblocks that might stand in your way of you own success development. There are a number of books, CDs and online courses you can use. You can employ the services of a NLP coach for faster more effective results.

Self-Hypnosis

When we think of hypnosis we can get images of a stage hypnotist or a Svengali type taking control of our minds and having us do things we would not normally do. Just as an aside: hypnotists cannot put us under their influence unless we want that to happen and they cannot make us do things that would go against our normal behaviour.

A Scottish doctor, James Braid in 1841, brought self-hypnosis to light. He employed the same hypnotherapy techniques he used on patients to relieve his own severe rheumatism. Since then, it has been used extensively to relieve many physical and mental ailments. Its techniques can be applied to any area of life we want to change and they can be learned by anyone. It is one of the most effective self-help systems we have.

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

This is a combination of Western and Eastern medicine. We use the repetitive phrasing of hypnotherapy with the physical connection to the meridians of the body found in Chinese acupuncture. You stimulate energy points in the body by tapping with your fingers while repeating a phrase. Professionals who use it say is quicker than traditional treatment, which can take several sessions with a psychiatrist to get the same results. Many professional believe it is a breakthrough in modern mental treatment.

The great part is, it is something we can all easily learn, it does not cost anything and it is effective. While it was originally used to deal with emotional issues, it is now used to relieve physical pain, overweight and habits such as smoking. It is very effective in helping us to change the way we think and to remove mental barriers to our personal development.

These three disciplines have been proven to be effective in success development. They recognize the fundamental principle that proper use of mind power dictates the results we get in life. They can be an effective form of self-help, but NLP is more difficult and works better with a professional. However, it is easy to learn the basics of self-hypnosis and EFT and they work very well together.

You can use these modern power of mind techniques to start changing yourself to the person you want to be. There is no doubt they will accelerate your success development and give you every chance of achieving the goals you have set.

You can find EFT and hypnotherapy techniques on the FREE software at http://powerofmind.personaldevelopment.mobi/ William Burnell has built and sold his own business, and he has run successful sales teams. He knows what it takes to stay motivated and to stay focused on your objectives to get what you want.

Is There a Contradiction Between Euroscepticism and Unionism?

Is there something contradictory about being in favour of the UK leaving the EU, but being against Scotland leaving the UK? Eurosceptics cite that they don't want to be ruled from Brussels, but likewise the SNP does not want to be ruled from London. Are unionist eurosceptics not being hypocritical in denying to the Scots what they want for themselves?

Not at all. Firstly Scotland is going to have a referendum on independence. The first thing that eurosceptics want is a referendum on the EU membership. If we lose we will accept the result just as we will accept the result of the referendum on independence.

Why are eurosceptics against the EU? Personally I'm against the EU not because I'm against unions in general. The United States, for instance, strikes me as an ideal multi state union. Why does it work? Because there is a common identity, a common language and there are common political parties which stand in every state. Each state has a lot of devolved power and each state devolves that power still further so that a great number of decisions are taken by politicians who are close to the people who elect them and who can easily be voted out if they go against the wishes of the electorate. Overseeing all of this is a strong national government, with responsibility over matters, which affect the country as a whole. Of course there are faults with American democracy, but on the whole it is an enviable model.

If the European Union were like that, there might be a case for being a member. But the EU can never be a free, democratic multi state country like the United States, because it lacks the conditions for being a successful nation, a common identity and a common language. It is for this reason primarily that the Eurozone is failing as an optimum currency union. Whereas someone from New York can easily seek work in California, someone from Greece cannot easily seek work in Germany. Whereas richer parts of the United States are happy to transfer money to poorer parts, richer parts of the EU resent the idea of subsidising people who they consider to be foreigners.

Britain already is an optimum currency union, because we have the conditions for being an optimum nation. We have a common language, culture and identity. We do not see people from other parts of the UK as foreigners. We have in Britain what the United States has, a fully democratic country, we have what the EU lacks and can never have.

It is for this reason that I am opposed to breaking up the union of the UK, while being in favour of breaking up the EU. There is no contradiction here.

Scottish independence makes no more sense than Texan independence. Of course each of these formerly independent States could function successfully on their own, but they each benefit from being in a political fiscal and currency union with other people who speak the same language as them, have similar values and cultures and just as a Texan benefits from not being a foreigner in Washington, so a Scot benefits from not being a foreigner in London.

http://effiedeans.wordpress.com/

The Scottish independence referendum will be in 2014. I'm campaigning for Scotland to remain in the United Kingdom, by means of a regular blog exploring all of the issues involved. Please come and join the debate by clicking on the above link.

Many Socialists Believe Since Most Small Businesses Stay Small They Don't Help the Economy

Over the years, I've discussed with many left-leaning political thinking folks about how unfair our rules and regulations are upon our small business community. I am often completely and utterly dismayed by some of the dialogue they use to refute my comments, although in hindsight I am beginning to understand why they think the way they do. Many of these socialist thinking folks believe that since most small businesses and remain small they don't help the economy much. Further, they contend that the small businesses don't provide "good jobs" or well-paying jobs, and therefore it isn't really that critical. Well, I disagree so let's talk about this for second shall we?

You see, before I retired I was in the franchising business. Every single franchisee we got started was a small business. Over that period of time we established small franchised outlets in 23 states serving 450 cities. Would the socialists have preferred that I had never founded a franchising company and done that? It seems to me that their answer is yes. They would like everyone to work for the government, or for a large corporation, preferably union, and one that pays big benefits, Cadillac healthcare, and guaranteed pensions.

Sounds great right? Only from their point-of-view and perspective, let look in hindsight what has actually happened? Many of those Cadillac healthcare benefits have been cut, and are hardly what they used to be, further it has driven up healthcare costs for everyone, well that plus the massive government flows into the sector. Many of those guaranteed pensions are completely underfunded, and all those promises that were made by all those corporations and even government agencies may never come to fruition. As

While I was growing my business it was hard for me to attract the top talent because the larger corporations kept promising better benefits and pensions. In the end, all those promises they made were BS, but they got the talent promising what was supposed to be a good job, but they reneged.

Further, not everyone can work for a large corporation, and I would submit to you that I don't want to live in a society and civilization where every what works for the government. Did you know that government plus large corporations employ less than 25% of working Americans? 75% are employed by small businesses, or they are their own small business.

Do these socialist and left-leaning thinking individuals really believe that we don't want that 75% of the people employed? Because if they do, there is no way that their little benefit packages, and gifts from the government can continue.

Sometimes I wish that socialists were smarter so they could understand basic economics. But that is one wish I doubt will ever be fulfilled, because trust me when I tell you; the Obama Administration is no genie out of the bottle, and whatever three wishes they promised you, it'll be a cold day in hell before you get your personal million dollar stimulus check in the mail. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Economic Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

The ObamaCare Nightmare - How Bad Is It Really?

Well, as an entrepreneur and having started my first company at age 12, you might have guessed that I am not a proponent of ObamaCare. In fact I see it is a nightmare, and yet many people don't agree, they believe that somehow this will bring equality to healthcare, and help the estimated 38 million people who don't have healthcare insurance. Still, if 38 million people all of a sudden have healthcare insurance, and if those people don't have to pay for it, the demand for healthcare services will increase drastically almost right away.

Where is all that money going to come from you ask. Well, what's going to happen is everyone who has healthcare insurance will have to pay more, and supply and demand will dictate increases in prices, and the government will go nearly bankrupt trying to provide payments for all of this healthcare, or they will ration it, and then no one gets decent services.

Still, as a businessman I would say that's the least of our problems, in fact, I'd say it's a lot worse. Not long ago an acquaintance told me that I didn't know what I was talking about, that ObamaCare wouldn't hurt business, but it would make workers happier, therefore they would work harder and have more productivity.

Again, from everything I've read I just don't see how the Affordable Health Care Act is going to do any good for anyone. The beginning estimates are already stating that it will cost an employer an average of $4500 per year or more per employee. There's a lot of businesses where that amount of money would wipe out their profit completely.

They are already running on razor thin margins during the recession, and it looks as if with all the government spending and the trillions of dollars being spent by the Obama Administration, that things are only going to get worse, and with increased taxes consumers will have less money to spend, therefore getting out of the recession probably won't be possible.

MSNBC had an interesting article on their Money Section on November 20, 2012 titled; "Why restaurants freak out over ObamaCare - Papa John's, Denny's and others are as worried about employee pay as health insurance," by Jason Notte which noted;

"The report found that in 2010, 50% of restaurant employees worked part-time "i.e. under 35 hours per week." Under the Affordable Care Act, once an employee puts in 30 or more hours a week, he or she is "full-time equivalent,"

And;

"Under the new law, health insurance premiums charged by employers to employees can't exceed 9.5% of an employee's household income. The largest franchise group in the world, the International Franchise Association, issued a report stating that as many as 38% of employers may be at risk of violating that particular provision."

It seems to me that most people are taking into consideration all of these issues, and these are only a few of the challenges we face as employers with the ObamaCare nightmare. Right now many entrepreneurs and business owners are starting to get quite stressed out, meanwhile their lawyers and accountants still haven't read up on all this, and they don't even know how to advise anyone, because in reality there are very few people who have even read those 1600 pages of law. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank.

CO2 Robotic Laser Manufacturing Recapturing Strategy

More and more, CO2 lasers are being used in modern high-tech manufacturing. This is a good use of CO2 and as we try to get rid of CO2 in our atmosphere collecting it from the smokestacks perhaps of electrical energy generation, it becomes a cheap and valuable gas for running these lasers. Now then, CO2 lasers put out a decent amount of heat. We should collect that heat, heat should never be wasted. He should not be waste it from robotic factory welding machines or from lasers. Okay so let's talk for second shall we?

It might be entirely possible to collect a good deal of this energy which is deflected during that laser cutting process, or which finds its way through to the other side. What if we tried this strategy to recapture some of that energy; what if we had a "houseplant pot shaped device" on the other side of the material being cut, and what if we had several of these types of shaped objects surrounding the CO2 laser beam? Those recapturing apparatuses surrounding the laser beam would be set in a concave pattern.

As the energy was deflected, or made it through the material all of that heat and energy would make its way into openings in all of these devices. Inside of those devices we could put small spinning wheels, and then use that energy once again, rather than wasting it. We could use that energy to power up the laser itself, the robotic arm, and perhaps the assembly line mechanism. By recapturing and reusing we would indeed be one with the theory and methodology behind Six Sigma manufacturing strategies.

If each of those little devices had a curved lip on the inside, it would continually redirect the vortex flows within until all of the energy was dissipated. Until all of the heat had been discharged, and the more we use the CO2 laser, the more energy and heat we would accumulate, therefore the faster those wheels would spin on the inside around the inside of that curved opening. Therefore, allowing us to capture the highest percentage of energy used in the CO2 laser cutting and manufacturing process.

If we did the same thing for robotic welding machines at our modern automobile factories we would surely have enough heat energy spinning those small wheels to power up all the lights in the factory.

Wouldn't it be great to know that even if the power went off, the grid went down, or there was any sort of power failure that the factory could keep running because it kept reusing at least most of its energy? Remember in the manufacturing process it's all about efficiency, and that's why I came up with a strategy. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

Collaboration, Mobility and BYOD - The Holy Trinity of Enterprise Communication

Today's business has changed a lot. People no longer have to stay within offices to perform their work. Technology has transformed the way a person works and interacts with others. Mobility, real-time collaboration, speech recognition tools, video conferencing or social media are just some facts that a company needs to leverage in order to communicate internally as well with its customers and prospects.

Expensive and inefficient platforms of the past-mobility are no longer trendy and users or businesses have started paying attention to speech recognition and cloud communication.

Mobility via Speech Technology

Gradually, customers have stopped using old voicemail systems, spell-the-name directories and directory-trees and stay in touch with their dear ones or businesses by using various mobile devices and connecting from remote locations. Benefits like real time collaboration and fast communication have transformed speech technology in a have to have.

Great speech technology devices keep mobile employees and customers connected, companies become numberless enterprises, transform the way calls are made, for example voice messages can be translated into text and delivered to the recipient in their preferred method - via email alerts or SMS messaging. Spoken words can be translated to text and typed words converted to speech, creating a seamless communications experience for all parties.

Enterprise Integration & Real Time Collaboration

Businesses can have access to video conferencing and voice services by contracting cloud-based business communications providers. Integrated contact center solutions, presence-aware help desks and other applications that can be accessed by a variety of business partners and clients make keypads obsolete.

BYOD and Dispersed Workforce

Home offices, multiple locations, remote workers, all require unified communication solutions in order to maintain a clear and efficient business relationship. With a dispersed workforce comes the additional issue of supporting a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) environment. Your customers and employees use a diversity of mobile devices to access your data or to contact you.

Efficient cloud based solutions help increase BYOD flexibility in all call handling and messaging for both person-to-person and business contacts, reduce paper-based processes by using mobile-friendly applications, and through permanently innovation creates a truly seamless and smarter workplace.

UC doesn't stop

UC solutions have evolved to improve your company's customer service, improve employee productivity, and make it easier for your customers and partners to do business with you. Many companies and SMB's are already enjoying the benefits of Unified Communication solutions integrated with business applications and processes. What about yours?

Department of Energy Cites Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC for Worker Safety and Health Violations

Department of Energy Cites Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC for Worker Safety and Health Violations | Department of Energy Skip to main content Energy.gov Find information about your town or city. Search form Search Energy.gov Public ServicesTax Credits, Rebates & SavingsHomesVehiclesBuilding DesignManufacturingNational Security & SafetyEnergy EconomyFunding OpportunitiesState & Local GovernmentScience & InnovationScience & TechnologyScience EducationInnovationEnergy SourcesEnergy UsageEnergy EfficiencyMissionNews & BlogMaps & DataAbout UsFor Staff & ContractorsOfficesAll OfficesProgram OfficesStaff OfficesLabs & Technology CentersField SitesPower Marketing AdministrationOther Agencies You are hereHome » Department of Energy Cites Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC for Worker Safety and Health Violations Department of Energy Cites Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC for Worker Safety and Health Violations November 9, 2012 - 5:50pm Addthis News Media Contact(202) 586-4940

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a Preliminary Notice of Violation (PNOV) to Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC (SRNS) for violations of the Department’s worker safety and health regulations.  The violations are associated with a July 1, 2011, incident that occurred while a worker was using a Tele-Tower® scaffold to perform facility modifications in the Purification Area Vault of Building 105-K in the K-Area Complex at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The SRNS worker fell from the scaffold and was hospitalized with injuries to his head and torso. 

The PNOV cites four violations of Energy Department worker safety and health regulations in the areas of: (1) identification, assessment, prevention, and abatement of hazards; (2) scaffold safety; (3) training and information; and (4) occupational medicine.  SRNS is cited for failure to comply with 10 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Part 851, Worker Safety and Health Program.  The Department has grouped and categorized the deficiencies as two Severity Level I violations and two Severity Level II violations.   

In response to the event, SRNS temporarily suspended all work on mobile scaffolds at SRS while the appropriate investigations and assessments were completed.  SRNS has implemented comprehensive corrective actions that address most aspects of the violations in the PNOV, including revising company procedures to ensure proper assembly and use of scaffolds and improving worker training.  In light of the promptness and extent of SRNS’ response to the event and consistent with the factors established in Appendix B to 10 C.F.R. Part 851, General Statement of Enforcement Policy, the Energy Department elected to grant partial mitigation of the base civil penalty of $225,000.  As a result, the Department is proposing an adjusted civil penalty of $159,375.

The Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 authorizes the Department of Energy to take regulatory actions under 10 C.F.R. Part 851, against contractors for violations of its worker safety and health requirements.  The Energy Department’s Enforcement Program encourages contractors to identify and correct worker safety and health deficiencies at an early stage, before they contribute to or result in more serious events. 

Additional details on this and other enforcement actions are available at www.hss.doe.gov/enforce.

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