World Futures Fall 2021

IoT uses electronic sensors connected directly to assets to gather and report critical information to remote locations. This permits continuous, real-time and accurate monitoring of pipelines, vessels and tank farms.

The natural marine environment at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is one of the most corrosive in the continental United States. Corrosion control at KSC involves the flight hardware, ground support equipment, and facilities. A description is given of the space launch vehicles' environment and the process of materials selection for this environment. The corrosion control necessary for the Space Shuttle Orbiter and its ground support equipment is described. There is also a brief history of orbiter corrosion.

The Corrosion Engineering Laboratory is a multiuser facility that serves NASA Centers, various DoD and Government Agencies, private companies, and educational institutions. The KSC Beachside Atmospheric Exposure Test Site is unique within the government, making it a valuable resource that is available to customers outside NASA. Kennedy Space Center's launch facilities are located within 1000 feet of the Atlantic Ocean. Salt from the ocean combined with the heavy lift launch vehicles' acidic rocket exhaust make corrosion protection a high priority. For these reasons, KSC maintains state-of-the-art corrosion protection capabilities. Our Atmospheric Corrosion Test Site has been documented as having higher atmospheric corrosion rates than other known test sites in the United States.

Treasury's just-released Climate Action Plan establishes five priority actions to strengthen and build upon Treasury's climate resilience and adaptive capabilities: (1) rebuilding programs and capabilities that may have atrophied or stagnated in recent years; (2) addressing climate change impacts and vulnerabilities across the range of Departmental operations, including administrative, manufacturing, and law enforcement activities; (3) ensuring a climate-focused approach to managing Treasury's real property portfolio footprint; (4) enabling procurement management to fully consider climate change realities; and (5) providing, measuring, and accounting for a financial investment approach appropriate to the Department's climate objectives.

Child care costs are unrealistic even for middle-income earners

Just when you thought QE (qualitative easing) was getting out of hand, the Federal Reserve is now looking to create a digital Federal Reserve Note. The language of the proposed bill is monumental. > "The bill is called the "Digital Asset Market Structure and Investor Protection Act" ("Digital Asset Bill"). And for the majority, it sets out future rules for crypto. However, hidden in this bill, changes to the foundation of the Dollar are proposed." > "...the Federal Reserve System is authorized to issue digital versions of Federal reserve notes in addition to current physical Federal reserve notes. Further, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, after consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, is authorized to use distributed ledger technology for the creation, distribution and recordation of all transactions involving digital Federal reserve notes." > BitDollars??