U.S. takes a new step toward commercial drones

Jason Cannon
Unit 5
12/31/13

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/30/politics/drones-faa/index.html?hpt=po_c2
http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/uas/

The initial news article I read was on CNN.  I then went to the Federal Aviation Administration website to learn more about drones and the new research cites.  Within the faa.gov link there are several links to pdfs that have great information.

Synopsis:

Six drone (or unmanned aircraft) research locations have been revealed by the Federal Aviation Administration.  There are several purposes behind the research centers, some of which include safety testing, finding regulation standards, testing the influence on the environment, and performance testing.  Michael Huerta, the FAA administrator, said, "The important thing about today's announcement is it provides the platform for this research to really be carried out [on] a very large scale across the entire country."  The FAA's actions are in accordance with the request of Congress for private drones to be safely flying in the US by 2015.  There are drones in use right now, some of which are used in law enforcement and border control.  To fly a drone in the airspace of the United States, one must get specific permission.  Many states/groups wanted to house a research center, but only Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas, and Virginia will contain a research center.  Several of the centers will be located at Universities.  Drones are becoming a big thing in the commercial world.  Amazon is looking into getting drones called "octocopters" to deliver packages, but has not got permission from the FAA yet.

Comments:

I think that this whole idea of unmanned aircraft is amazing and also very useful.  The article mentioned that drones are already being used in foreign lands to help fight the terrorists.  The amount of money these military drones cost is probably tremendous.  Military policy is probably to just get the best equipment even if it costs a ton.  It is hard to find the right balance between cutting our military spending and improving our military.  I think these drones are probably necessary in the war on terror, and improving the technology associated with them is important.  But at what point does it become to expensive to improve the technology?  I don't know if the costs of these new research centers will be categorized under military spending, but if they are, they will add a significant cost.  Wherever the money is coming from for these research centers, there will need to be a lot of it.

On the FAA website it mentioned that drones "may have a wingspan as large as a Boeing 737 or smaller than a radio-controlled model airplane."  I would love to order something on Amazon and have it get to my house in 30 minutes on a small drone.  That would be awesome.  This idea of Amazon will probably make them a lot of money because it will cost us a lot of money.  I bet the cost of getting a drone to fly my package to me would be more than the cost of my package.

Large oil and gas project up for public review

Jason Cannon
Unit 5
12/30/13

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865593122/Large-oil-and-gas-project-up-for-public-review.html

Synopsis:

Newfield Exploration Company has wanted to do a lot more oil and natural gas drilling in the Uintah Basin, and they are currently waiting on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which has submitted a report to the public.  If they were allowed to expand their drilling, about 335 million oil barrels and 541,000 million ft³ of natural gas would be harvested.    The BLM denied their request in 2010, but have recently created a plan to allow them to drill with a few restrictions based on environmental concerns.  Juan Palma, a leader of the BLM, said, “This important project milestone underscores the BLM's commitment to facilitating oil and gas development using a balanced approach that supports energy production on public lands in Utah where it's most appropriate.”  The plan includes restrictions such as the lowering of the impact on two types of cacti and the reducing of the affected habitat of the western yellow-billed cuckoo from 19 acres to 1 acre.  Information meetings are available around the state in late January before there is a “45-day comment period closing”.

Comments:

I don't completely understand what needs to happen for this project to be implemented.  I was somewhat confused when reading the article about what stage it is in, and how much more needs to happen for it to be put into effect.  It said that the "45 day comment period" ends on February 4th, and so I guess that is when they stop accepting public opinion.  I don't know if they have to follow the public's ideas or whether they are just testing what they think.  I assume the project will pass because the BLM, a federal agency that helps protect the environment, came up with a plan.

I think that the BLM's approach on this environmental policy issue is great.  They allow the drilling, but also try to protect the environment.  I think it would be extreme to forbid this company from drilling in the Utah desert, but I also think that being aware of the environment is important.  This event illustrates what environmental compromise can look like.  It is important to be able to use our resources without destroying the environment.

Thousands of Utahns to lose jobless benefits next week

Jason Cannon
Unit 5
12/28/13

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865593112/Thousands-of-Utahns-to-lose-jobless-benefits-next-week.html?pg=all

Synopsis:

With the recent budget plan that Congress passed, federal long term unemployment aid will be cut.  This federal aid program was set up by President Bush, and it helps those who are unemployed longer than the individual state programs cover.  It is an extension of the state unemployment aid programs, which usually last for about 6 months.  About 3000 Utahns and 1.3 million Americans will be directly affected by this cut.  The average American unemployment lasts about 2 months longer than the state programs cover.  The cut of this program is projected to hurt the economy because of the decrease in spending that will occur.  President Obama said, "When Congress comes back to work, their first order of business should be making this right."  Reenacting this program will increase the national debt, but will help the unemployed and the economy.

Comments:

This example of social welfare shows the complexity of social welfare issues.  Social welfare is all about who deserves benefits and who does not.  I am sure that there are Americans who have taken advantage of this federal unemployment aid program.  I also am sure that there are many who have greatly needed it and have benefited greatly from it.  In my opinion, this program is legitimate and is needed.  While there are some who take advantage of it, many more use it in the right way to get back on their feet.  In the article, it quotes Maurice Emsellem as saying that the program, "is really a lifeline to help pay the bills, put food on the table, and put gas in the tank so people can look for work."  It would be hard to look for a job if you had to worry about what you were going to eat that night.

This issue also highlights the view of most Americans on political policy.  No one likes adding to the national debt, but everyone wants more spending on programs that will benefit them and that they deem legitimate and necessary.  There really is not a country wide solution to this desire.  This specific program is an example of client politics.