April 10, 2010, NPR "On the Media" -- The 300th anniversary of the Statute of Anne, the first copyright law.  Which did two things: It gave copyright to the creator of the work (taking it from the publishing Guilds). It also put a time limit on this right, and at expiration, allowed the material to enter the public domain. 

Entering the public domain and setting a time limit was considered essential "to promote the progress of science and the useful arts".  The title of the statute begins: "An Act for the Encouragement of Learning. . ." Quote from discussion: JAMES BOYLE: "The tragic thing is that the people who wrote the Statute of Anne and the people who wrote the U.S. Constitution really thought the copyright’s goal was about promoting access to knowledge. The idea of a limited term, of holding copyright short, that was central to that notion. That’s how we disseminated the ideas."

 

April 5, 2010: "State and federal environmental officials say flooding in many places has been exacerbated by the roads, patios, parking lots . . . that define our urban and suburban landscapes."  Surprise: paved surfaces don't absorb water very well. . . 

March 29, 2010: Ayer, MA puts water restriction in place due to flooding. . .

                

March 25, 2010: Associated Press - China takes lead on green energy. . .

March 3, 2010: Jeff Jacoby, B.Globe: "By “global-warming pollution,’’ Gore means carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a “pollutant’’ in roughly the way oxygen and water are pollutants. . ."  But can't there be too much of a good thing -- have you tried living in water?