Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This journal of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) includes articles regarding: (1) the Food and Agriculture Organization's audit, management, and governance; (2) fighting corruption and fraud; (3) INTOSAI's conference on internal controls; (4) Romania's Court of Audit; (5) reports in print on auditing; and (6) activities inside INTOSAI."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This journal of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) includes articles regarding: (1) the Food and Agriculture Organization's audit, management, and governance; (2) fighting corruption and fraud; (3) INTOSAI's conference on internal controls; (4) Romania's Court of Audit; (5) reports in print on auditing; and (6) activities inside INTOSAI."

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This draft Executive Guide describes fundamental practices and procedures used in the private sector to achieve consistent and accurate physical counts of inventory and related property. It summarizes the principles that have been successfully implemented by companies recognized for their outstanding record of inventory management. It also explains and describes leading practices from which the federal government may be able to draw lessons and ideas. This guide applies to most forms of federal inventory, but some of the discussed practices may not be applicable to various types of bulk, natural resource, and nonturning inventories, such as the Department of Energy's strategic petroleum reserve."

Personal exposure concentrations of particles with aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm (PM2.5) of prescribed fire workers were measured at two locations in the southeastern United States. Non-impacted ambient concentrations were measured as an estimate of background concentrations during burn activities. Four sampling method comparison studies were designed and performed to compare the FRM with 1) other gravimetric PM2.5 sampling methods in ambient air, 2) optical PM2.5 sampling methods in indoor air, 3) an optical sampling method (Grimm) for particles with aerodynamic diameter <10 μm (PM10) in ambient air, and 4) a gravimetric PM2.5 sampling method downwind of prescribed fires. The gravimetric PM2.5 sampling methods agreed well in ambient air (R2>0.96 for all) except for the MiniVol, the optical PM2.5 sampling methods agree less well in indoor air,(R2>0.592), the Grimm optical PM10 method agrees well in ambient air(R2>0.944 for all), and the personal method agrees well (n=9, R2=0.994) downwind of prescribed fires.

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This journal of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) includes articles regarding: (1) the Food and Agriculture Organization's audit, management, and governance; (2) fighting corruption and fraud; (3) INTOSAI's conference on internal controls; (4) Romania's Court of Audit; (5) reports in print on auditing; and (6) activities inside INTOSAI."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This journal of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) includes articles regarding (1) the symposium of INTOSAI Development Initiative Training Specialists in Oslo, Norway from June 3-9, 2001; (2) the Arab Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions' (ARABOSAI) 8th Triennial General Assembly in Rabat, Morocco from April 24-27, 2001; (3) an audit profile of the Board of Audit and the Inspection of the Republic of Korea; and (4) activities within INTOSAI."

This issue of the State Renewable Energy News highlights state activities in Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington.

Quarterly magazine with articles on auctions of used alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), Royalty Enterprises of Ohio, and introducing AFVs in neglected urban areas. Plus Ford's new CNG school bus and electric buses in Connecticut.

Today's solar technologies are more efficient and versatile than ever before, adding to the appeal of an already desirable energy source. This fact sheet provides information on the basics of a solar electric system, including components of a system, how to choose solar modules, and how to choose a solar system.

CTTS fact sheet describing NREL's new Renewable Fuels and Lubricants (ReFUEL) Research Laboratory, which will be used to facilitate increased renewable diesel use in heavy-duty vehicles.

In recent years, the number of solar-powered homes connected to the local utility grid has increased dramatically. These''grid-connected'' buildings have solar electric panels or''modules'' that provide some or even most of their power, while still being connected to the local utility. This fact sheet provides information on connecting your solar electric system to the utility grid, including information on net metering.

News release about Matthew Diamond, a hospital employee and DART enthusiast recently thanked in person by DART's president for promoting the use of DART around his hospital.

Document details the process used by the NREL Fleet Test & Evaluation team to choose the types of fleets, sites, and technologies they will evaluate. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Fleet Test & Evaluation (FT&amp;E) team was formed to accomplish the objectives of U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) current and emerging programs. Composed of NREL and Battelle personnel, the team supports vehicle test projects initiated by DOE's Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies (OFCVT) and the Office of Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies (OHFCIT). FT&amp;E projects help fleet owners and operators facilitate purchase decisions by providing them with comprehensive laboratory and fleet test data on viable alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) and advanced technology vehicles (ATVs). ATVs include hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles.

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "In January 2002, GAO issued an amendment to Government Auditing Standards, Amendment No. 3, Independence, which substantially changed the previous standard to better serve the public interest and to maintain a high degree of integrity, objectivity and independence for audits of government entities. GAO has received many inquiries about the new independence standard due to its significant effect on audits of federal entities and funds and on those who have adopted or are otherwise required to use Government Auditing Standards. Accordingly, this document responds to questions related to the independence standard's implementation time frame, underlying concepts, and application in specific nonaudit circumstances."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The challenges posed by homeland security exceed the capacity and authority of any one level of government. Protecting the nation against these threats calls for a truly integrated approach, bringing together the resources of all levels of government. The proposed Department of Homeland Security will have a central role in efforts to enhance homeland security. The proposed consolidation of homeland security programs has the potential to reduce fragmentation, improve coordination, and clarify roles and responsibilities. However, formation of a department should not be considered a replacement for the timely issuance of a national homeland security strategy to guide implementation of the complex mission of the department. Appropriate roles and responsibilities within and between the government and private sector need to be clarified. New threats are prompting a reassessment and shifting of long-standing roles and responsibilities, but these shifts are being considered on a piecemeal and ad hoc basis without benefit of an overarching framework and criteria. A national strategy could provide guidance by more systematically identifying the unique capacities and resources at each level of government to enhance homeland security and by providing increased accountability within the intergovernmental …

Final results of the New York City Transit Hybrid-Electric Transit Bus Study. Hybrid buses had lower emissions, higher fuel economy, and higher operating costs compared with diesel buses. New York City Transit (NYCT), part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York, began operating the first of 10 heavy-duty diesel hybrid-electric transit bus prototypes (Model VI) from Orion Bus Industries in 1998. All 10 buses were in revenue service by mid-2000. The hybrid buses are intended to provide NYCT with increased fuel economy and lower levels of harmful exhaust emissions, compared with NYCT's diesel transit buses. Between 1999 and 2001 (over various predefined fuel and maintenance evaluation periods), these first 10 hybrid buses were part of a data collection and analysis project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The operating costs, efficiency, emissions, and overall performance of these low-floor hybrid buses were compared against those of 14 conventional high-floor diesel transit buses (7 each from NovaBUS Corporation and Orion) operated by NYCT in similar service. Results indicate that the hybrid buses operate with greater fuel efficiency and much lower emissions, compared with the diesel buses. Maintenance costs for the prototype hybrid buses were significantly higher than those of …

MPPL (''More Productive Programming Language'') allows programmers to write in a language that is more convenient and powerful than Fortran 77. MPPL then transforms statements written in the MPPL language into standard Fortran 77. This language is essentially an extension to Fortran 77 that provides free-form input and many structured constructs such as ''while'' and ''for'' loops. MPPL's macro pre-processor and file-inclusion facility encourage the creation of structured, easy-to-read programs that contain fewer labels. MPPL provides a more productive programming environment for Fortran 77 users on the Unix, Linux, AIX, IRIX, Solairs, HP-UX, Tru64 operating systems. MPPL can be used independently as well as with Basis.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Zeller. Zeller was born in Fulton County, Indiana on 14 July 1924. Soon after graduating from high school he joined the Army Air Forces. After indoctrination training, he was sent to the Carey Jones School of Aeronautics in Newark, New Jersey. There he had four weeks of training on aircraft engines. He was then sent to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri where he was subjected to six weeks of basic training. On 6 October 1943 he departed Newport News, Virginia on board the SS Marine Robin for a twenty-one day trip to Bombay, India. He recalls the ship being under attack by German bombers using guided missiles. His ship received some damage while another ship in the convoy was sunk. Upon arriving in India he was assigned as crew chief with the 48th Air Depot Group. Zeller’s unit performed maintenance on various aircraft including P-51 fighters, P-38 fighters and B-25 bombers. He recalls that following the surrender of Japan, over one hundred fifty aircraft at the field were purposely destroyed. Zeller returned to the United States in February 1946 and was discharged shortly thereafter.

The plant-wide energy-efficiency assessment performed in 2001 at the Alcoa World Alumina Arkansas Operations in Bauxite, Arkansas, identified seven opportunities to save energy and reduce costs. By implementing five of these improvements, the facility can save 15,100 million British thermal units per year in natural gas and 8.76 million kilowatt-hours per year in electricity. This translates into approximate annual savings of$925,300 in direct energy costs and non-fuel operating and maintenance costs. The required capital investment is estimated at$271,200. The average payback period for all five projects would be approximately 8 months.

Augusta Newsprint undertook a plant-wide energy efficiency assessment of its Augusta, Georgia, plant in 2001. The assessment helped the company decide to implement five energy efficiency projects. Four of the five projects will save the company 11,000 MWh of electrical energy (about$369,000) each year. The remaining project will produce more than$300,000 annually, from sale of the byproduct turpentine. The largest annual savings,$881,000, will come from eliminating Kraft pulp by using better process control. All of the projects could be applied to other paper mills and most of the projects could be applied in other industries.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) provides about 45 percent of all electric power consumed in the Pacific Northwest--Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The power that BPA markets and distributes is generated in large part at hydroelectric projects including dams in the Federal Columbia River Power System. BPA also owns and operates about 75 percent of the region's services. Under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980, BPA is responsible for ensuring an adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable power supply for the Pacific Northwest. To do so, BPA balances the needs of its customers against the highly variable water resources available for generating electricity. In maintaining this balance, BPA sometimes buys and sells or otherwise exchanges power with utilities with entities within and outside the Pacific Northwest. In addition to providing power, BPA is required under the 1980 act, various other laws, treaties and court cases, to "protect, mitigate, and enhance" fish and wildlife resources. Recently, BPA has witnessed a substantial deterioration in its financial condition. For example, BPA's cash reserves of $811 million at the end of fiscal year 2000 had fallen $188 million …

News release about DART and TRE transportation options to Trinity Fest 2003, celebrating the Independence Day holiday.

Summary of The Energy Smart Guide to Campus Cost Savings, an energy efficiency guidebook for College and University business and facility managers.

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-04-546G, Human Capital: A Guide for Assessing Strategic Training and Development Efforts in the Federal Government, March 2004. This guide introduces a framework, consisting of a set of principles and key questions that federal agencies can use to ensure that their training and development investments are targeted strategically and are not wasted on efforts that are irrelevant, duplicative, or ineffective. Effective training and development programs are an integral part of a learning environment that can enhance the federal government's ability to attract and retain employees with the skills and competencies needed to achieve results for the benefit of the American people. Training and developing new and current staff to fill new roles and work in different waqys will be a crucial part of a federal government's endeavors to meet its transformation challenges. Ways that employees learn and achieve results will also continue to transform how agencies do business and engage employees in further innovation and improvements."