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Saving US grasslands: a bid to turn back the clock on desertification

Desertification caused by climate change and human activity now threatens the livelihoods of more than 1 billion people worldwide, according to the United Nations. Globally, 52 percent of land used to grow food has been affected either moderately or severely.
But on a patch of Colorado prairie, something different happened: The grass came back. Today, "the grass has covered the sand," says Mr. Livingston. A dozen or more sandy, wind-blown basins have become lush and green.

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At last, a state budget year when the sky is not falling

According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, at least 45 states saw their revenues increase over the past year. After a four-year run during which states had to close budget gaps of historic proportions, the term “surplus” is finally making a modest comeback in capitals. Whether they slashed K-12 education during the budget crisis, closed state parks or cut doctors’ rates for treating poor patients, many states will start reversing the most painful of their recent cuts in 2012.

There are asterisks on all this positive news, of course. One is that while state revenues are generally up, they fell so far during the recession that most states have not caught back up to where they were before. “Eight quarters of growth is a good trend,” says Rockefeller’s Robert Ward. “The problem is that states were down so deep that they effectively have lost three years worth of growth.”

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White House to propose raise for federal workers

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The federal worker pay freeze might be over. The White House will propose a 0.5% pay increase for federal workers in its 2013 budget proposal, an official from the Office of Management and Budget said Friday.

Federal pay has been frozen since December 2010, when Congress signed off on an Obama administration proposal to freeze federal worker pay for two years in the name of deficit reduction.
The administration is expected to release its new budget in February, and any proposed increase in federal pay will require the approval of Congress.

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