Brookings Institution. May 23, 2013.
Digital connectivity is the most powerful driver of social and economic change the world has seen. The Internet will connect an estimated 5 billion people by 2020. That many already use cell phones. Connectivity is reshaping the landscape we inhabit, changing the ways we communicate, learn and do business. It is behind the world’s most transformative trends, including an unprecedented empowerment of the individual. The free flow of data is a core element of the Internet that has underpinned this growth in connectivity, innovation and productivity. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2013/05/23-growing-global-internet-economy-dreier-meltzer [HTML format].
Natural Resources Defense Council. April 2013.
Improving the energy efficiency of our manufacturing facilities, buildings, and homes can help us meet our energy challenges affordably. It can save consumers money on their energy bills, drive business competitiveness and economic growth and jobs, enhance grid reliability and flexibility, and help protect public health and the environment. Combined heat and power (CHP) systems are strong examples of how energy-efficiency technologies can help achieve these significant benefits for end-user facilities, utilities, and communities. As the case studies featured in this report illustrate, CHP systems are extremely versatile and can be used in a spectrum of industries and facilities, including advanced manufacturing, chemical production, food processing, primary metals, data centers, hotels, multifamily housing, district energy, health care, landfills, and farms. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://www.nrdc.org/energy/files/combined-heat-power-IP.pdf [PDF format, 33 pages].
Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. February 11, 2013.
This report is designed to inform the debate over the health of U.S. manufacturing through a series of charts and tables that depict the position of the U.S. relative to other countries according to various metrics. Understanding which trends in manufacturing reflect factors that may be unique to the U.S. and which are related to broader changes in technology or consumer preferences may be helpful in formulating policies intended to aid firms or workers engaged in manufacturing activity.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42135.pdf [PDF format, 22 pages].
International Information Program, U.S. Department of State. January 22, 2013.
This issue of eJournal USA explores how science is conducted in the 21st century: how the Internet and other technologies are helping shape both the questions pursued by scientists and the ways in which scientists interact and share new knowledge. It also highlights some of the remarkable progress already achieved by younger scientists in understanding the genesis of disease, our place in the universe and the circuitry of the brain. Their scientific pursuits expand the horizons of human knowledge and hold promise for improving the lives of people today and far into the future.
http://photos.state.gov/libraries/amgov/30145/publications-english/1301_EJ_ScienceNewFrontier_English.pdf [PDF format, 28 pages].
Brookings Institution. January 2013.
According to the authors, Congress should establish an initiative to designate 20 institutions of higher education as “U.S. Manufacturing Universities” as part of a needed push to strengthen the position of the United States in the increasingly innovation-driven global economy. In 1862, Congress passed the Morrill Act, which established land-grant colleges to promote learning in “agriculture and the mechanic arts.” These colleges played a key role in enabling the United States to later take the lead in the mechanization of agriculture and the industrialization of the economy. Today, the challenge is even greater as America competes against a wide array of nations seeking to win the race for global innovation advantage, especially in advanced manufacturing. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2013/1/14%20federalism%20series%20manufacturing%20universities/14%20federalism%20series%20manufacturing%20universities.pdf [PDF format, 6 pages].
