History of U. S. Flight September 10, 2009

http://www.centennialofflight.gov/hof/index.htm

“The national “Centennial of Flight: Born of Dreams – Inspired by Freedom” celebration commemorates this achievement and 100 years of aviation history. Our Centennial Partners are planning everything from cross-country tours to air shows and exhibitions, seminars and television specials. Use our Web site to access the most up-to-date information on celebration activity as well as the most comprehensive collection of outstanding educational essays, multimedia and links regarding the history of flight.”–From the website.

Gas Prices In Your Area July 6, 2009

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/gasprices/states/index.shtml

You can click on the map on this site to view gas price data for cities in a particular state.

Safercar.gov June 28, 2009

http://www.safercar.gov/

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and U. S. Department of Transportation offer this Web Site as the premier source of vehicle safety information from the U. S. Government.  There is information on automobile crash tests and rollover ratings, defects and recalls and more.

CARS: Car Allowance Rebate System June 26, 2009

www.cars.gov

The Car Allowance Rebate System is a new program from the NHTSA that helps consumers purchase new, more fuel-efficient vehicles when they trade in a vehicle that is less efficient.  Those with eligible vehicles can visit a participating dealer and receive a credit worth either $3500 or $4500 towards the purchase of a new vehicle.

This program was just signed into law, and some of the details are still being worked out, but the website is being updated regularly to include new information.

FreeLargePhotos.com March 12, 2009

http://freelargephotos.com/

With some reasonable restrictions, these are free large photographs available for personal use or for use on a web site.  To use a photograph to promote a product for sale or to promote your business or organization you need to contact the publisher for permission and there will be a fee.  There are over 2,600 images available.

Piracy at Sea December 2, 2008

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/piracy_at_sea/index.html

Who would have thought that the topic of the moment is… piracy?  Luckily, the New York Times has created a topics page with the latest news and background information.

CarZen October 23, 2008

www.carzen.com

CarZen is a new site that aims to assist consumers who are preparing to purchase a new automobile.  There are other sites that provide similar information (Edmunds, NADA, etc.), but CarZen offers a unique questionnaire to match customer’s wants and needs with current vehicles.  The tool is quite comprehensive and will provide the user with a ranked list of cars that fit their needs.  I tested it out and was quite impressed with the details that were covered.  I was also very surprised by the results–the site suggested some cars that I would have never thought to look at.  Hope it’s helpful!

Personal Emissions Calculator — Environmental Protection Agency September 27, 2008

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html

“Use this online calculator to obtain an estimate of your personal greenhouse gas emissions or your family’s greenhouse gas emissions. Then move on to the next section of the calculator to explore actions you and/or your family can take to lower your emissions while reducing your energy and waste disposal costs. For each action you choose to take, the calculator displays the amount of emissions you could avoid and how that amount relates to your total emissions.”–From the web site.

National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) and 811 August 30, 2008

http://www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov/

http://www.call811.com/

Thanks to Caroline Barnett, Cordova Branch Library Manager, for passing these two sites along:

NPMS — “The National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) is a geographic information system (GIS) created by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) in cooperation with other federal and state governmental agencies and the pipeline industry.  The NPMS consists of geospatial data, attribute data, public contact information, and metadata pertaining to the interstate and intrastate gas and hazardous liquid transmission pipelines, liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, and hazardous liquid breakout tanks jurisdictional to PHMSA.”–From the website.

811 — “A new, federally-mandated national “Call Before You Dig” number, 811 was created to help protect you from unintentionally hitting underground utility lines while working on digging projects. People digging often make risky assumptions about whether or not they should get their utility lines marked due to concerns about project delays, costs and previous calls about other projects. These assumptions can be life-threatening.”– From the web site.  811 is the number you should call before beginning any digging project.

Abandoned and Little-Known Airfields July 31, 2008

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/

“On the following pages, you will find information on vanished or abandoned airfields & their unusual histories”– From the web site.

VINCheck July 11, 2008

https://www.nicb.org/cps/rde/xchg/nicb/hs.xsl/vincheck.html

The National Insurance Crime Bureau offers as a service to the public this database of vehicles reported as stolen but not recovered or of ones that have been reported as total loss vehicles by cooperating NICB members.  To do a search of the database requires a vehicles’ vin number.

Alternative and Advanced Fuels July 3, 2008

The U. S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office offers information on alternative fuels such as natural gas, hydrogen, methane, and others that are currently, or have been, available commercially for vehicles, as well as information on other emerging alternative fuels, such as biogas, biobutanol and others.

There is other information including information on alternative fueling stations, which includes a station locator, a route mapper, a view of alternative fueling stations in the U. S., total station counts, and a customer database query, which allows you to search a database for specific fuels in specific states or throughout the U. S.

 

Annual Energy Outlook 2008 : With Projections to 2030 June 26, 2008

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/

The U. S. Dept. of Energy’s Energy Information Administration  offers “The Annual Energy Outlook 2008 (AEO2008) [which] presents projections and analysis of US energy supply, demand, and prices through 2030. The projections are based on results from the Energy Information Administration’s National Energy Modeling System.”–From the website. 

Flooding in the Midwest, 2008 June 21, 2008

http://www.usgs.gov/homepage/science_features/flooding_june08.asp

The U. S. Geological Survey offers this page with links and information on the flooding that has hit the Midwest this summer.

$4 Gallon Gas Should Lower Auto Insurance Rates for Many Consumers–Consumer Federation of America June 12, 2008

http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/$4_gas_press_release_6_10_08.pdf

Information here from the Consumer Federation of America on how many consumers may be able to save money on their automobile insurance because they are driving less because gas is now so expensive.  For example,  if you have stopped driving your car to work or school, then your insurance classification has changed from “Drive to Work” to “Pleasure” and savings on your auto insurance could be 10 to 15 percent, according to the CFA.  More helpful information is included that can help you determine if you are due a rate cut.