Image via Wikipedia U.S. oil shale deposits are estimated to contain petroleum deposits potentially extractable by retorting with a mid-point volume estimate of 800 billion barrels (approximately three times the Saudi Arabian proven reserves). Some upper-bound estimates place this volume at over 2 trillion barrels (more than the current total worldwide proven reserves of about…
Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978) was decided by the United States Supreme Court and the court overruled its prior holding in Monroe v. Pape that municipalities did not qualify as “persons” under Section 1983 ( Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167 (1961)). In Monroe v Pape, the…
Public school students are the victims of compressed teacher work schedules and of increased homework loads. In order to reduce the length of teacher work days while continuing to deliver mandated classroom time minima, the average time periods between classes have generally become shorter than such breaks in past decades. Students no longer have enough…
Since 1975, twenty-nine volcanologists have died due to occupational injury and exposures, making this arguably the most dangerous current field of scientific research. Injuries and deaths are due to falls, explosive blasts, flying debris, heat, and toxic gases. Safety equipment for volcanologists should include: 1. Hand-held, two-way radios 2. Protective helmets (hard hats) with chin…
In my opinion, having a written reimbursement policy for all defense witnesses you subpoena would be reasonable. A witness should be entitled to an accommodation allowance, a meal allowance, a travel allowance, and an allowance for loss of earnings. Under certain circumstances, allowances for witness aides (in the event of disabled persons) or for child…
Someone asked, “A member public agency [of an Alaskan insurance pool] requires building permits when a residential dwelling is being constructed. When the building is completed, a Certificate of Occupancy is required. What has occurred, however, is housing is constructed without a building permit in place, and the dwelling is occupied without a Certificate. The…
The National Weather Service uses two lightning detection methodologies, NLDN (National Lightning Detection Network) and LDAR (Lightning Detection and Ranging). The better method is LDAR, an accurate 3D mapping of electrical discharges which was developed by NASA. However, it currently only services central Florida and the Kennedy Space Center (Florida is one of the more…
The point that bothers me about this settlement is precisely that it’s a settlement, not a judgment after appeal. Unless the facts show its liability is sole and definite, California public entities should vigorously defend themselves to the extent of the Government Code and other applicable laws. When presented with liability claims, Californa public entities…
I wouldn’t recommend pursuing Enterprise Risk Management as the best or most serious way of “doing” risk management. Humphrey’s Capability Maturity Model (CMM) forms the theoretical basis for ERM. According to Wikipedia, “CMM was originally intended as a tool for objectively assessing the ability of government contractors’ processes to perform a contracted software project.” According…
Pulling to the curb to make an emergency cell phone call makes sense on most roads at most times, but pulling to the curb isn’t always a practical solution on congested freeways and creates its own nontrivial countervailing risks involving traffic crashes and traffic capacities. There should be room for procedures (individual choice) as well…