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CINCINNATI, OH -- Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union will urge a federal appeals court on Wednesday to uphold the right of taxpayers to challenge public funding of a Baptist childcare agency that proselytizes youngsters in its care and discriminates against gay employees who do not share its belief that homosexuality is sinful. 'This is a vitally important lawsuit for all Americans,' said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United Executive Director. 'It will determine whether taxpayers can be forced to subsidize religious indoctrination and religious discrimination. The civil rights and civil liberties of every American are very much at stake.' The lawsuit, Pedreira v. Kentucky Baptist Homes For Children, Inc., asserts that Kentucky Baptist Homes has no right to accept state and federal funding while imposing religious dogma on the children in its programs and that the Homes' religion-based anti-gay employment policy violates civ

Americans hopped on buses, subways and commuter rails more last year amid record-high gas prices and drove less on the nation's highways, according to industry figures to be released Monday.

It’s happening again. In the 1970s, when oil prices soared, Americans started pursuing alternative energy technologies. But when prices subsequently dropped, so did the promising projects. As recently as six months ago consumers, CEOs and politicians were hell-bent for green technologies, but then the recession worsened, oil prices plummeted and calls rose to postpone clean tech options.Begging off now would be a terrible waste. In an incredibly short time, impressive business, technological and political gains have been made. Venture capital investment in clean tech hit an all-time high in 2008. Airlines are making test flights powered by biofuels. And President Barack Obama--exploiting unprecedented political will to clean up the planet--has promptly set the federal government on a course to confront climate change. [More]

When a word becomes so popular you begin hearing it everywhere, in all sorts of marginally related or even unrelated contexts, it means one of two things. Either the word has devolved into a meaningless cliché, or it has real conceptual heft. “Green” (or, even worse, “going green”) falls squarely into the first category. But “sustainable,” which at first conjures up a similarly vague sense of environmental virtue, actually belongs in the second. True, you hear it applied to everything from cars to agriculture to economics. But that’s because the concept of sustainability is at its heart so simple that it legitimately applies to all these areas and more.Despite its simplicity, however, sustainability is a concept people have a hard time wrapping their minds around. To help, Scientific American Earth 3.0 has consulted with several experts on the topic to find out what kinds of misconceptions they most often encounter. The result is this ta

People over 80 years of age suffering from a certain type of heart failure do not appear to benefit from most commonly prescribed heart medications, according to a study conducted at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and published in the March 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.

After the Gulf Coast assessed the tremendous damage from Hurricane Katrina, many people asked, 'How can we be more prepared next time?' With hurricane season at its peak and more storms predicted,...iParenting.com network has more than 40 community sites covering preconception, pregnancy, parents and families. Research baby names, start a parenting blog, post a question on our extensive message boards or read expert advice in our articles, expert Q&A and news sections. No other parenting site has gathered more wisdom than iParenting.com ? Join the community! http://www.iparenting.com

CINCINNATI, OH - Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union will urge a federal appeals court on Wednesday to uphold the right of taxpayers to challenge public funding of a Baptist childcare agency that proselytizes youngsters in its care and discriminates against gay employees who do not share its belief that homosexuality is sinful.

World Lung Foundation and the American Cancer Society have published The Tobacco Atlas, Third Edition and released an online version of the document at TobaccoAtlas.org. This comprehensive volume of research and its accompanying website graphically display how tobacco is devastating both global health and economies.

(American Society of Agronomy) Bryophites are the first plant life to emerge from the water and develop on dry earth, and as such present an important measure in their ability to withstand increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation. A recent undergraduate biology experiment was developed to further study bryophites, as they could hold a key to helping scientists understand the impacts of increased UVR exposure on crops and other natural plant communities.