Recovery: ECOPOD. Alternative Home Design using Cargo Shipping Containers

http://ecopods.ca/index.php

THE ECOPOD  (Recreational)



Another container home designed for on- or off-grid living is the Ecopod. Made from a shipping container, an electric winch is used to raise and lower the heavy deck door (power is supplied by a solar panel). The floor is made from recycled car tires, and the walls have birch paneling (over closed-cell soya foam insulation). The glass is double paned to slow heat transfer.

The Ecopod can be used as a stand alone unit or with other structures. It is designed to minimize environmental impact.


Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/shipping-container-homes-460309#ixzz2Fq3zMnGB

Rebuilding your home and community using pre-fabricated structures

http://www.archdaily.com/160892/the-pros-and-cons-of-cargo-container-architecture/





The Pros and Cons of Cargo Container Architecture

With the green premise growing in popularity across the globe, more and more people are turning to cargo container structures for green alternatives. There are countless numbers of empty, unused shipping containers around the world just sitting on shipping docks taking up space. The reason for this is that it’s too expensive for a country to ship empty containers back to their origin. In most cases, it’s just cheaper to buy new containers from Asia. The result is an extremely high surplus of empty shipping containers that are just waiting to become a home, office, apartment, school, dormitory, studio, emergency shelter, and everything else. More information after the break.

   

There are copious benefits to the so-called shipping container architecture model. A few of these advantages include: strength, durability, availability, and cost. The abundance and relative cheapness (some sell for as little as $900) of these containers during the last decade comes from the deficit in manufactured goods coming from North America. These manufactured goods come to North America, from Asia and Europe, in containers that often have to be shipped back empty at a considerable expense. Therefore, new applications are sought for the used containers that have reached their final destination.

On November 23, 1987, Phillip C. Clark file for a United States patent describe as a “Method for converting one or more steel shipping containers into a habitable building at a building site and the product thereof.” This patent was granted on August 8, 1989 as patent 4854094. The diagrams and information contained within the documentation of the patent appear to lay the groundwork for many current shipping container architectural ideas.

In 2006, Southern California architect Peter DeMaria, designed the first two-story shipping container home in the U.S. as an approved structural system under the strict guidelines of the nationally recognized Uniform Building Code. Even more impressive is Lot-Tek’s Puma City, which was built with abundant material at a low price, without substituting design quality. As such, there are many great examples of shipping container architecture in the world.

Puma City, Photo by Ari Herzog - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ari-herzog/

Shipping container architecture gets a lot of encouraging coverage in the design world as a trendy green alternative to traditional building materials, and seems like a smart choice for people looking for eco-consciousness. However, there are a lot of downsides to building with cargo containers. For instance, the coatings used to make the containers durable for ocean transport also happen to contain a number of harmful chemicals, such as chromate, phosphorous, and lead-based paints. Moreover, wood floors that line the majority of shipping container buildings are infused with hazardous chemical pesticides like arsenic and chromium to keep pests away.

Reusing containers seems to be a low energy alternative, however, few people factor in the amount of energy required to make the box habitable. The entire structure needs to be sandblasted bare, floors need to be replaced, and openings need to be cut with a torch or fireman’s saw. The average container eventually produces nearly a thousand pounds of hazardous waste before it can be used as a structure. All of this, coupled with the fossil fuels required to move the container into place with heavy machinery, contribute significantly to its ecological footprint.

Another downside is that dimensionally, an individual container creates awkward living/working spaces. Taking into account added insulation, you have a long narrow box with less than eight foot ceiling. To make an adequate sized space, multiple boxes need to be combined, which again, requires energy.

In many areas, it is cheaper and less energy to build a similarly scaled structure using wood framing. Shipping container homes makes sense where resources are scarce, containers are in abundance, and where people are in need of immediate shelter such as, developing nations and disaster relief. While there are certainly striking and innovative examples of architecture using cargo containers, it is typically not the best method of design and construction.

Give Your Loved Ones The Gift Of Emergency Preparedness ..

         

Release date: 

December 22, 2012

Release Number: 

4086-067

TRENTON, N.J. -- With the holidays fast approaching, New Jersey residents might want to consider giving gifts that will help protect their family members and friends during a future emergency. 

Supplies for an emergency preparedness kit can make unique — and potentially life-saving — holiday gifts.

Excellent emergency preparedness gifts include:

• Battery-powered or hand-crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert.
• A quality flashlight and extra batteries.
• Solar-powered cell phone charger.
• Smoke detector and/or carbon monoxide detectors.
• First aid kit.
• Fire extinguisher and fire escape ladder.
• Enrollment in a CPR or first aid class.
• Books, coloring books, crayons and board games for the kids, in case the power goes out.
• Personal hygiene comfort kit, including shampoo, body wash, wash cloth, hairbrush, comb, toothbrush, toothpaste and deodorant.
• A waterproof pouch or backpack containing any of the above items, or with such things as a rain poncho, moist towelettes, work gloves, batteries, duct tape, whistle, food bars, etc.

Holiday shoppers might also consider giving a winter car kit, equipped with a shovel, ice scraper, emergency flares, fluorescent distress flags and jumper cables. For animal lovers, a pet disaster kit with emergency food, bottled water, toys and a leash is also a good gift.

The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency urge Garden State residents to give at least one of these practical gifts – either as a present under the  tree or as a stocking stuffer. It might just save the life of a friend or family member. For more information, preparedness tips or other gift ideas, visit www.Ready.gov.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Training: Mental Health First Aid

About the Program: Program Overview

Find a Course Near You
News and Updates
Become an Instructor
Webinars

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Mental Health First Aid is a groundbreaking public education program that  helps the public identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. Mental Health First Aid USA is managed, operated, and disseminated by three national authorities — the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

Mental Health First Aid is offered in the form of an interactive 12-hour course that presents an overview of mental illness and substance use disorders in the U.S. and introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common treatments. Those who take the 12-hour course to certify as Mental Health First Aiders learn a 5-step action plan encompassing the skills, resources and knowledge to help an individual in crisis connect with appropriate professional, peer, social, and self-help care.

The 12-hour Mental Health First Aid USA course has benefited a variety of audiences and key professions, including: primary care professionals, employers and business leaders, faith communities, school personnel and educators, state police and corrections officers, nursing home staff, mental health authorities, state policymakers, volunteers, young people, families and the general public. See how you can get involved — find a 12-hour Mental Health First Aid course near you or learn how you can become a certified instructor to teach the 12-hour course in your community.

Governments are paying attention to Mental Health First Aid.

Mental Health First Aid is featured in USA Today.

Mental Health First Aid has been featured in national media on NPR Morning Edition, NPR Talk of the Nation, and ABC News Now.

Upcoming Instructor Certification Courses


Questions about Mental Health First Aid USA? Contact Us.

U.S. Joins Brazil, Peru to End Forced Labor, Child Labor

20 December 2012 The U.S. Department of Labor's International Labor Affairs Bureau is providing a $5.35 million grant to support efforts by the governments of Brazil and Peru to end child labor and forced labor.

The U.S. Department of Labor's International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) is providing a $5.35 million grant to support efforts by the governments of Brazil and Peru to end child labor and forced labor.
The grant will fund a project implemented by the International Labour Organization that builds on Brazil's pioneering efforts to combat forced labor through a trilateral partnership with the United States and Peru.

In Brazil, the project will help link victims and their households to social and livelihood programs. In Peru, the project will share good practices developed in Brazil to strengthen Peru's ongoing efforts to combat forced labor.

Since 1995, ILAB projects have rescued approximately 1.5 million children from exploitive labor. The U.S. Labor Department has funded 260 such projects implemented by more than 65 organizations in 91 countries. ILAB currently oversees more than $210 million of active programming to combat the worst forms of child labor.

For more information, see the Labor Department news release.

Read more: http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/inbrief/2012/12/20121220140303.html?CP.rss=true#ixzz2FeyPCgMI

U.S. Unveils Plan to Assist Children Facing Adversity

By Kathryn McConnell | Staff Writer | 20 December 2012

The U.S. plan to assist vulnerable children aims to increase families’ capacity to feed, educate and nurture their children.

Washington — Achieving a world where all children survive, grow up with protective family care and are free from deprivation, exploitation and danger is the goal of a new blueprint for U.S. international assistance.
The five-year plan, introduced December 19 at the White House, is the latest step in the ongoing U.S. effort to improve the lives of children worldwide. In June, the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) joined the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the governments of Ethiopia and India in an event called “Child Survival Call to Action,” designed to accelerate progress on newborn, child and maternal survival. To date, 168 countries have signed on to the initiative.

USAID will implement the new plan with the departments of State, Labor, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Defense, along with the Peace Corps and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR,) in more than 100 countries.

More than 100 civil society and faith-based organizations endorsed the plan. A public-private partnership is being formed to mobilize resources to meet its objectives, USAID says.

Research shows that children who experience violence or are exploited, abandoned, abused or severely neglected face significant threats to their survival and to their social and economic well-being, USAID says. Children in adversity do not have protective family care, or they live in abusive households, on the streets or in institutions. They are trafficked, participate in armed groups or are exploited for labor. Others face risks from extreme poverty, disease, disability or disaster, USAID says.

“The science is clear. Childhood experiences shape adult outcomes, including long-term health, cognitive development, academic achievement and one’s ability to be gainfully and safely employed,” said Neil Boothby, U.S. government special adviser on children in adversity.

The five-year plan says evidence shows that nations that invest in their children have promising futures.
Thirty percent of the world’s children do not reach their developmental potential because of poverty, disease, conflict and disaster, according to USAID. “If we are serious about change, really breaking through cycles of poverty and inequality, we must start early,” Boothby said.

The plan seeks to build strong beginnings by strengthening child welfare and protection systems, putting family care first, and protecting children from domestic and sexual violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect. The plan aims to significantly reduce the number of children living outside of family care; increase families’ capacity to feed, educate, nurture and protect their children; and increase the number of children meeting age-appropriate growth and developmental milestones.

The plan states that past efforts to assist vulnerable children in low- and middle-income countries focused on single vulnerabilities — such as being affected by HIV/AIDS, or being in an emergency, child labor or trafficking situation. “Coordinated, multifaceted action can help ensure that children in adversity benefit fully from polices and services,” it says.

In 2010, the United States joined governments, international organizations, civil society groups and private sector companies to create a global commitment to improve child nutrition during the 1,000 days from the start of a woman’s pregnancy through the child's second year, a period that is critical to a child’s ability to thrive for a lifetime.

The U.S. Government Action Plan on Children in Adversity (PDF, 2.56MB) is available on a multiagency website.

Read more: http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2012/12/20121220140256.html?CP.rss=true#ixzz2Fexlssnw

2013 National Mentoring Summit

  

100 Black Men of America, Inc. is a co-sponsor of the 2013 National Mentoring Summit. We're hoping that 100 Black Men Members will attend the summit and share innovations, examine new research, project future developments in the field and chart a course for increasing the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships for our young people.

 

Click here for more 2013 National Mentoring Summit Info

 

FREE\No Cost: OUT OF THE BOX College Education.

Online University Courses Revolutionize Learning

By Kathryn McConnell | Staff Writer | 18 December 2012

Stanford University computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller started Coursera. The venture’s office is in Mountain View, California.

Washington — A revolution in higher education is taking place across the United States and the world.
The revolution is being led by the groups Coursera, Udacity and edX, which provide online university courses from some of the biggest names in postsecondary education to students all over the world at no cost.

The largest of the three — the for-profit Coursera — has more than 2 million students enrolled in at least one course offered by any of its 33 partners, including Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Duke and London universities.

The company was founded in late 2011 by two Stanford University computer science professors after they noticed that earlier in the year Stanford had enrolled some 100,000 students in online courses they had developed. “We … realized we needed to live up to the technology we’d developed,” said co-founder Andrew Ng.

He said free courses offered by Coursera partners democratize learning.

“Most students will never have access to classes from the top universities, Ng said. “Now, if they wake up tomorrow morning and feel like signing up for a Princeton, Caltech [California Institute of Technology] or Stanford class, they can now do so for free. I think that's just amazing!” Coursera’s more than 200 “massive open online courses,” or MOOCs, range from the humanities to social and basic sciences, business, law, finance and engineering, Ng said.

He said that not charging even a minimal fee to take a course is important to the company, whose staff consists of about 30 people. “When I look at the neediest and the most vulnerable people in our society … to throw up a barrier preventing these students from accessing our content would just be a tragedy,“ he said. “I'm much more interested in educating people than in making money, and offering the courses for free is a big part of that.”

More than half of Coursera’s students come from outside the United States, notably Russia, India, the United Kingdom and Brazil, Ng said.

He explained that Coursera’s courses resemble those taught in person, with lectures (via video subtitled in Spanish, Chinese, Russian and other languages) and homework assignments.

University of Illinois freshmen Jill Marik, left, and Jeremy Vivit study on campus. The university has teamed with online education company Coursera.

COURSERA so far has attracted $22 million from venture capitalists and from university partners. The funding allows the company to develop its technology and add more partnerships so it can reach more students, according to Ng.
He predicts that the company eventually may make a profit by introducing top students to companies wanting to hire them and charging the company for the service. It also could generate revenue by charging fees for university-branded certificates or by licensing course content, he said.

UDACITY
Another outgrowth of free computer science classes offered by Stanford is Udacity, founded in 2011 by three California robotics experts. A few weeks after its launch, Udacity had more than 160,000 students in more than 190 countries enrolled in its first class, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence. It now has about 1 million students in North America, Europe, Brazil and India.

Udacity bills itself as “a 21st-century university” offering interactive computer and business courses in units of a week’s worth of work. Its teaching method includes quizzes embedded into lecture videos and assignments with no due dates. So far, Silicon Valley–based Udacity has six educational institution partners, according to its website. It offers courses in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subject areas and business.

EDX
A third member of the online learning group is the nonprofit edX, launched by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in May with courses mainly in technical fields such as electronics and computer science. With its partners the University of California–Berkeley, Wellesley College and the University of Texas, edX pursues the goal of educating 1 billion students.

In December, edX added Georgetown University as a partner. Georgetown’s commitment to make quality education widely available informed its decision to join edX as part of its “technology-enhanced learning” initiative, said Provost Robert Groves. “We are able to live our mission in new ways and better understand what it means to educate the whole person … through the opportunities presented in this new and evolving space,” he said.

“This platform gives us new ways of understanding methods of teaching and learning,” he added.

More information about Coursera, Udacity and edX is available on their websites.

Read more: http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2012/12/20121218140095.html?CP.rss=true#ixzz2FbCWz0DZ

Run, Hide, Fight

 From Houston

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VcSwejU2D0

BEMA Network Members, Non-Members:

Outstanding presentation.  Please pass along, disseminate as wide as possible.

Push on your human resources (HR) departments as a standard safety briefing for all employees in addition to ethics, ITAR, and other annual online training.

Charles

Charles D. Sharp
Chief Executive
Black Emergency Managers Association   2027 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.  S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20020

Office:   202-618-9097

SUPPORTING ADULTS WITH AUTISM. EVERYONE Communicates: Training Ourselves to Better Hear One Another!

THERE'S STILL TIME TO REGISTER AT ALL LOCATIONS! DDA/MCDD SUPPORTING ADULTS WITH AUTISM TRAINING SERIES presents:  EVERYONE Communicates: Training Ourselves to Better Hear One Another!

COLUMBIA Monday January 7, 2012  9:00 AM to 4:00 PM EST Owen Brown Interfaith Center 7246 Cradlerock Way Columbia, MD 21045 ***************************************  CAMBRIDGE Tuesday January 8, 2012 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Holiday Inn Express 2715 Ocean Gateway Cambridge, MD 21613    ***************************************  HAGERSTOWN Wednesday January 9, 2012 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Ramada Plaza Hotel 1718 Underpass Way Hagerstown MD, 21740  *************************************** BOWIE Thursday January 10, 2012 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Bowie Comfort Inn Conference Center 4500 Crain Highway Bowie, MD 20716

Greetings! Too often those we care about and support are seen as "non-communicative" due to perceptions of autism and other disabilities.  Many have come to realize just the opposite..." "EVERYONE COMMUNICATES!"  Every person is expressing themselves and communicating all of the time, in a variety of different ways... sometimes we just need to learn to listen a bit differently.  Join us in this highly interactive workshop where participants will:      1.  Assess their limitations, awkwardness, and inexperience in hearing those with "severe communication issues" as well as acknowledging their innate abilities to notice, read, and hear subliminal communications all around them.       2. Learn and practice various simple techniques and strategies to "read" others' subtle communications and strategize ways to expand this knowledge with others.      3. Explore possible systems, methods, devices, and other materials that may be used to augment communication.      4. Design recommendations and suggestions to increase and expand their and other's work in this area along with identifying needed supports, further learning, and ideas to increase the communication of everyone. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS The Team from Networks for Training and Development, Inc.    Ramenta Cotrell, M.Ed., M.A. holds Bachelor's degrees in Psychology and Spanish from Temple University, a Masters in Special Education from Arcadia University and a Master's in Counseling Psychology.  After completing Networks' Communication Mentors' Course in 2009, Ramenta continued her work supporting individuals transitioning from institutions to independent living. She currently lives in Maryland and works full-time as an Employment Specialist for The League of Baltimore.    Nancy Jo Geise is the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Liaison at Networks for Training and Development, Inc.'s Northcentral PA office. Nancy Jo is a graduate of Networks' Communication Mentors' Course and a member of the Community Unity and Ampes programs of Northumberland County.      Jennifer Seybert, M.S.Ed. holds a B.A. in Psychology from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. and a Master's degree in Disability Studies at Syracuse University.  She has been noted as the first person with "classic Autism" to receive a Masters degree.  She serves on the Executive Board for the Autism National Committee (AUTCOM) as Vice President and is an associate with Networks for Training and Development, Inc. Jessica Stover, M.S., A.T.P. is the Assistive Technology Specialist and Central PA Coordinator for Networks for Training and Development, Inc. and is a RESNA (Rehabilitation and Engineering Society of North America) certified Assistive Technology Practitioner (A.T.P). REGISTRATION INFORMATION!! Columbia: Monday, January 7, 2013  Click HERE to register for COLUMBIA  Cambridge: Tuesday, January 8, 2013 Click HERE to register for CAMBRIDGE Hagerstown: Wednesday, January 9, 2013 Click HERE to register for HAGERSTOWN Bowie: Thursday, January 10, 2013 Click HERE for BOWIE If you should need any special accommodations please contact Aisha Mason at mcdd@kennedykrieger.org. Hope to see you there!  Sincerely, Aisha Mason MCDD mcdd@kennedykrieger.org 443-923-9555

U.S. DHHS. Office of Minority Health. Grants, and other info

FYI: Minority Resources...Money & More Provided by the Office of Minority Health Resource Center's Information Services Team December 19, 2012     In This Issue ... Funding   Federal Grants   Non Federal Grants   Scholarships/Fellowships Resources American Indians/Alaska Native Health Asian/Pacific Islander Health Cancer Diabetes Health Equity HIV/AIDS-STDs Mental Health Pulmonary Health Substance Abuse Opportunities for Public Comment Funding Federal Grants Minority Population Specific: $500k or more . . .   USDA/National Institute of Food and Agriculture: Alaska Native-Serving and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Education Competitive Grants Program (ANNH) Grant. View Full Announcement $500k or more . . .   HHS/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Cost-Benefit of Incentive-based Smoking Cessation for Pregnant Women. View Full Announcement HHS/National Institutes of Health: Integrated Preclinical/Clinical AIDS Vaccine Development Program (IPCAVD) (U19) Grant. View Full Announcement HHS/National Institutes of Health: Mechanisms of HIV-Related Lung Disease Data Coordinating Center (DCC) (U01). Grant View Full Announcement HHS/National Institutes of Health: AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource (ACSR) (UM1) Grant. View Full Announcement HHS/National Institutes of Health: Diabetes Impact Award-Closed Loop Technologies: Clinical, Physiological and Behavioral Approaches to Improve Type 1 Diabetes Outcomes (DP3) Grant. Grant View Full Announcement $500k or less . . .   HHS/National Institutes of Health: Mechanisms of HIV-Related Lung Disease (U01) Grant. View Full Announcement HHS/Health Resources & Services Administration: Telehealth Network Grant Program Grant. View Full Announcement HHS/Health Resources & Services Administration: Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) Program- Interprofessional Collaborative Practice. View Full Announcement HHS/Health Resources & Services Administration: Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Grant Program Grant View Full Announcement Non Federal Grants $500k or less . . .  Paralyzed Veterans of America Education Foundation: Innovative Educational Projects Grant. View Full Announcement The Sunflower Foundation: Integrated Care Initiative grant View Full Announcement Foundation for the National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI): The Heart Truth® Community Action Program Grant. View Full Announcement JBS International: Adult Immunization and HPV Health Projects grant. View Full Announcement Scholarships/Fellowships Morehouse School of Medicine/Satcher Health Leadership Institute: Health Policy Leadership Fellowship Program. View Full Announcement University of California, Berkeley: The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program, providing holistic support, financial, academic, social, and career counseling to 113 students from Sub-Saharan Africa from 2012 - 2020. View Full Announcement go to top Resources CDC: New digital press kit released. Give the Gift of Health and Safety: Healthy Living Holiday Tips. Learn More HHS/Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: New mobile app challenge. healthfinder.gov Mobile App Challenge, challenges teams of developers and health professionals/ health consumers to co-design a mobile app that can be used to access customized decision support for preventive services and wellness information from healthfinder.gov. Submission deadline is Feb 01, 2013 5:00 pm EST. Learn More go to top American Indians/Alaska Native Health Events The American Indian Institute at the University of Oklahoma: Conference. 15th Native Diabetes Prevention Conference. January 27-30, 2013 in Phoenix, AZ. Learn More go to top Asian/Pacific Islander Health HHS/National Diabetes Education Program: New online resource catalog available. Diabetes Resources Catalog With Special Resources for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Learn More go to top Cancer AHRQ: Effective Health Care Program releases a new report. Gene Expression Profiling for Predicting Outcomes in Stage II Colon Cancer. Read Full Report go to top Diabetes Events The Endocrine Society: Summit. 2013 Reducing Health Disparities in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Summit. March 22 - 23, 2013 at the Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD Learn More go to top Health Equity AHRQ: New report released. Closing the Quality Gap: Revisiting the State of the Science: Improving Health Care and Palliative Care for Advanced and Serious Illness. Read Full Report go to top HIV/AIDS-STDs CDC: New report released. 2011 STD Surveillance Report. Read Full Report The AIDS Institute: New guidance report released to explain how an organization can request CBA services through the CBA Request Information System (CRIS). Protocols for CBA-to-CBA Services in CRIS/TEC. Read Full Report [PDF | 190KB] Events CDC: Webinar. Community Engagement Webinar for Capacity Building with Clinicians. January 8, 2013 11:00 am PST; 2:00 pm EST Learn More go to top Mental Health Child Trends: New Issue Brief report released. Health Insurance Access and Counseling Receipt and their Association with Later Depressive and Suicidal Symptoms. Read Full Report [PDF | 396KB] go to top Pulmonary Health HHS: New smoking cessation resource website released. BeTobaccoFree.gov, includes: Tobacco Basics, Health Effects, Stop, Don't Start, Campaigns, Tobacco Laws, and Policies and Research. Learn More go to top Substance Abuse SAMHSA: New data reports available using the Restricted-Use Data Analysis System (R-DAS). National Survey on Drug Use and Health: 2-Year R-DAS (2002 - 2003, 2004 - 2005, 2006 - 2007, 2008 - 2009, and 2010 - 2011). Learn More go to top Opportunities for Public Comment SAMHSA: Seeking comments on a new concept paper. SAMHSA's Working Definition of Trauma and Principles and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach. Accepting comments until December 21, 2012. Learn More HHS/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology: HIT Policy Committee (HITPC) seeks public comments on proposed quality measures. Stage 3 Definition of Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Comments will be accepted until January 14, 2013 at 5:00 pm EST. Learn More [PDF | 469KB] go to top