I wanted to mention a couple of good events happening nearby over the next few weeks. Both are related to research on sustainable energy.

The first is the conference Kansas E3: Energy, the Environment, and Economics, happening on Thursday October 11.This gathering features an entire day of speakers at both Lawrence and Ulysses KU campuses. Among the distinguished speakers is James L. Spigarelli, President and CEO of Midwest Research Institute. His talk is entitled "The Increasing National Emphasis on Making Energy Efficient and Renewable." Another fascinating presentation will be the panel discussion happening at Ulysses. it features executives from BP America, Sunflower Electric Power and Conestoga Energy, an ethanol production company. This should be a great chance for attendees to find out what plans are on the horizon in terms of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. I assume there will be the opportunity to ask questions as well. Check out the conference website for more information and registration options.

Another event coming up more quickly is the "Conversations on the Environment" speakers series beginning on September 26. The first of six events over the next year will feature carpet manufacturer Ray Anderson "one of the foremost corporate advocates for sustainability." He will appear at Unity Temple on 9/26 from 5-6:30PM. Admission is free.

The Kansas City Health Department released a study last month called Dying so young: Infant mortality in Kansas City, MO. The report outlines the number and causes of infant deaths in the city. More importantly it traces the infant mortality rate among different ethnic and racial groups. While overall, infant mortality is decresing, it still continues to be more prevalent in African American families than in White ones. In some cases, the disparity has actually increased.

The Health department released this report in August and it recently became available on their website and in KCResearch. This is an excellent piece of work for those interested in public health and issues of disparity in health care.

Thanks to the mayor for mentioning KCResearch on his blog. It is great to know that the site is being used by people at the city and they appreciate the work that we do here at the Library.

Indeed, various City departments have been very cooperative and forthcoming as we built the database over the last year. Currently we host documents from the Finance, Auditor's, Health and City Planning Departments. Not to mention all the City-sponsored projects that were authored by others. City Planning is probably the most active department in terms of producing research. The willingness of these departments to make their research available, and then to share it with KCResearch is laudable. Yes, much of this is public information and should be made accessible anyway, but they could certainly make it a lot more difficult for us.

It would be great to work more closely with people at the city in building KCResearch. For instance, there is undoubtedly a ton of older research that has never been put online that would be excellent additions to the collection.

With the bridge catastrophe in Minnesota heating up discussions about the state of crossings in KC and elsewhere, I thought I would take a peak to see what KCResearch has that might shed light on the issue.

First, there is the Greater KC Chamber of Commerce's analysis of KC deferred maintenance problem. Namely, they identify a whole series of projects that need funding, but are competing for resources and more often than not left for future years. The report states that bridges receive less than half the funding that they need. Check out the table on page 11.

Also there is a 2005 analysis of the steel strut failure of the Paseo bridge.

Another report from MoDot summarizes the girder repair on a Jackson county bridge, on route 24 in Independence.

We have a few more documents as well. Just search for the subject "Bridges"

The City of KCMO is currently accepting applications for a Task Force on Light Rail. They will be appointing up to 30 people to the group "representing a broad spectrum of interests and backgrounds." If you are interested fill out the application (PDF) and send to:

KCATA - Light Rail Citizen's Task Force
1200 W. 18th St.
Kansas City, MO 64102
E-mail: cbaker@kcata.org
Fax: (816) 346-0263