Inflation. Interest rates. Monetary policy. Rate hikes. The Fed. The FOMC. Cryptocurrency. What exactly do these words mean, and how will it affect you? These are some of the terms that many people use, but not everyone understands. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has websites that outline and explain these concepts with brief papers on how these ideas affect the economy. Open Vault explains economics in general terms, adding context to the market concepts that affect our lives every day.
Designed for teachers but useful for anyone with an interest in the subject, Econ Lowdown has resources on personal finance and economics. The lesson plans are designed for K-college teachers, but clear definitions and real-world applications make the content here useful for anyone who wants to learn more. You can learn at your own pace, and keep up-to-date with the latest updates on timely topics through the monthly Page One Economics newsletter.
At 2am this coming Sunday morning we fall back one hour as Daylight Saving Time comes to an end once again. Is this the last time? It’s possible, but probably not.
If there’s one thing that most Americans seem to be in agreement about, it’s that they don’t want to change clocks twice per year. Both physical and mental health suffer as our bodies adjust. There is a difference of opinion though on whether we should stick with DST all the time, or use Standard Time all of the time. There are compelling arguments on both sides. Many businesses see increased profits with more daylight in the evening. There is also evidence of a decrease in accidents and crime. Sleep experts, on the other hand, tell us that our bodies are at their best when the sun is highest in the sky at midday. This is more in line with Standard Time. So, while a majority would like to stop changing clocks, we can’t agree on which system to make permanent.
In March of this year, the US Senate picked a side and unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which is set to take effect in November of 2023 and make Daylight Saving Time permanent. This means that we would spring forward in March of 2023 and then just stay on that time, never having to switch back and forth again. In order for this to happen, the US House must also pass the act before it gets sent to the White House for signing. The act is stuck for now, with the House of Representatives not taking any action on the measure. So this could be the last time we fall back, but only time will tell.
Faculty members will examine the current status and global implications of the War in Ukraine. This talk features faculty members: Josh Fulton (History), Jim McIntyre (History), Jason King (Geography), and Kevin Navratil (Political Science & Democracy Commitment). This event is organized by the MVCC Democracy Commitment.
The James Webb Space Telescope in 2017. Image credit: NASA/Desiree Stover (https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2017/james-webb-space-telescope-mirror-seen-in-full-bloom)
After 17 years of construction and testing, Webb was launched into orbit in 2021 as a successor to the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. Built to create high-resolution images by detecting infrared light, scientists expect that Webb will be able to look farther and deeper into space than we’ve ever seen before.
Looking Into the Deep Past
Telescopes allow us to look into the past, rather than see objects as they are now. The further an object is from the telescope, the longer it takes light emitted from the object to reach us. It takes about 8 minutes for light to travel to Earth from the Sun, so on sunny days, you’re seeing the sun 8 minutes in the past.
Now imagine you’re looking at an object one billion light years away. Light from that object has been traveling towards us for one billion years! So when we look at that object in the telescope we’re seeing what it looked like when that light first left the object a billion years ago.
One of first images Webb has taken is a deep field image. This image looks towards a very small, distant part of the cosmos and took 12.5 hours for the telescope to capture. Webb is able to look so far, we can view some of these galaxies as they were about a billion years after the big bang! The farthest galaxy appears to be 13.1 billion years old. Some of the galaxies in the image appear stretched or distorted. Those galaxies are much further away from us and the light they emit is distorted by the immense gravitational pull of galaxies in the foreground.
Webb’s First Deep Field. Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. (https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2022/035/01G7DCWB7137MYJ05CSH1Q5Z1Z)
What’s Next for Webb?
Webb will continue to look deep into the history of our universe, looking for some of the earliest star formation, but will also look at places closer to home, like the outer planets and other structures in our solar system. We may even learn more about exoplanets, planets in other solar systems!
Learn About The Moraine Valley Observatory and Telescope
This event examines the role that disinformation can play in impacting election laws and policymaking. Political Science Professor and Democracy Commitment Coordinator Kevin Navratil will explore how misinformation has influenced recent voting laws, decisions to declare land a national heritage site, anti-GMO labeling, and chemical safety laws.
PBS’ Frontline is an award-winning documentary series that is known globally for its investigative reporting of key issues facing the US and the world.
Frontline has released its documentary on the January 6th insurrection and attack on the United States Capitol. This documentary has available for free online. At the one year anniversary of January 6th, Frontline released an updated version of this episode. You can watch it onlne here:
The Pentagon is worried about climate wars. Iraq is being ravaged by climate change. Australia, Japan, and majors companies are hiding the impacts of climate change. This week has been a major week in terms of Climate Change reporting.
“From cradle to grave. Where civilization emerged between the Tigris and Euphrates, climate change is poisoning the land and emptying the villages.” (Washington Post)
This years One Book, One College program is focused on building sustainable communities in the midst of climate change. Learn more at our One Book website.
If you have children, chances are they have no school tomorrow (October 11th) due to Columbus Day. If they go to Chicago Public Schools, it’s due to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. (Moraine Valley is NOT closed tomorrow.) So which is it, Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day? According to an NBC5 article entitled What to Know about Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day in Illinois, in 2017, Illinois designated the last Monday of September as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. However on Friday, President Biden made a proclamation that October 11th will officially be known as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
If you are interested in learning more about Indigenous Peoples’, the Moraine Valley Library has you covered. We have many books and videos about Indigenous Peoples’. We have many databases that might be useful for finding articles or videos about Indigenous Peoples. Here are the search results from our Academic Search Complete database on Indigenous Peoples of the Americas.
When in doubt, the librarians are always happy to help. Just be sure to Ask a Librarian.
Photo credits: “National Indigenous People’s Day Celebration” by danna § curious tangles is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/
After I finished my library degree, I had the privilege of living in southern Oregon for three of the most adventurous years of my life. Back then, wildfires were frequent, but they rarely turned into the monsters they can be today. Recently, the largest fire in Oregon, the Bootleg Fire, was said to be creating it’s own weather – it even spawned a firenado! This fascinating article by Wired magazine entitled Oh Good, Now there is an Outbreak of Wildfire Thunderclouds, will explain how they do that and what they mean for climate future. For more resources about wildfires, pyrocumulonimbus clouds, or other environmental research questions, please Ask a Librarian for help.
