Saab Story Auto enthusiasts across the country were dismayed by the news December 18 that General Motors was planning to shut down Saab, the Swedish carmaker it bought two decades ago, after a deal to sell it fell apart. Even with its modest and steadily declining sales, Saab long stood out as a powerful brand in spite of itself. “It wasn’t designed to be a fashion statement,” said Ron Pinelli, president of Autodata, which tracks industry statistics. “ It was designed to provide transportation under miserable weather conditions.” But in the process, Saab became a statement of its own. Saab had taut steering, requiring drivers to actively guide the car as it powered through ice and snow. Priced several thousand dollars above Japanese rivals, Saabs featured front-wheel drive and turbo-charged engines, and many were sold with manual transmissions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/business/19brand.html

EPA Releases First-Ever Baseline Study of U.S. Lakes
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its most comprehensive study of the nation’s lakes to date. The draft study, which rated the condition of 56 percent of the lakes in the United States as good and the remainder as fair or poor, marked the first time EPA and its partners used a nationally consistent approach to survey the ecological and water quality of lakes. A total of 1,028 lakes were randomly sampled during 2007 by states, tribes and EPA.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2010, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:
50 cents per mile for business miles driven
16.5 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-09-54.pdf

In 2009, 275 new magazines were launched while 428 ceased publication, according to MediaFinder.com- the largest online database of U.S. and Canadian publications. Regional magazines topped the list of new launches with 21 new titles, such as Maine Magazine and B-metro Birmingham, while it also topped the list of ceased publications (34), with titles such Atlanta Life and Denver Living. http://mediafinder.com/public.cfm?page=pressReleases/275%20new%20magazines%20launch%20and%20428%20fold%20in%202009

On the morning of Dec. 8, several dozen volunteer newsies spread out across San Francisco to hawk copies of the city's brand new newspaper, the San Francisco Panorama. The 320-page doorstop, printed in full color on old-fashioned broadsheet paper, sold for $5 on the street and $16 in bookstores. With articles by Stephen King, Michael Chabon and Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist Robert Porterfield, the Panorama was an homage to the increasingly threatened—some would say obsolete—institution of print journalism. The paper's entire print run sold out in less than 90 minutes. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1947391,00.html#ixzz0aA2u55QZ

The Naperville (Illinois) Public Library Board has decided to offer an “Internet Only” card to the public. The card would allow members of Prior to this decision, only Naperville Public Library card holders could have extended use of these machines. The Internet Only card will cost $50 for 12 months of service. This fee allows purchasers to use all the library's computer resources — broadband speed on the actual computers as well as access to the subscription databases — for up to three hours a day
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1945632,Library-Internet-only-card-NA121709.article

Guide to green wrapping for gifts
1. Use scrap paper. Wrap with tissue paper, newspaper comics (for kids' gifts) or travel pages (for adult ones), colorful magazine pages, road maps, take-out menus, wall calendars, phone book listings, brown grocery shopping bags. Don't hesitate to make a collage if one piece is too small.
2. Try fabric. You can wrap gifts in a light blanket or scarf. If you're crafty, make a cloth sack.
3. Use gift bags/holiday gift boxes. These can be reused.
4. Reuse wrappings. Carefully unwrap a gift and save whatever paper isn't torn. Fold it up or put in a poster tube and stash away for next year.
5. Wrap gifts in gifts. Kitchen towels, for example, can hold kitchen utensils. A new kids backpack can contain toys.
6. Recycle whatever possible. Check, though, with your local recycling program to see if they accept traditional wrapping paper.
7. Use cereal boxes. Top with a ribbon or gift tag for a festive look.
8. Or baskets. Buy used, pretty ones from your local thrift store.
9. Buy recycled paper. Numerous companies sells attractive ones with recycled content, including hemp. Among them: paporganics; savitris ; KidBean; greenpaperstudio.com; fishlipspaperdesigns.com.
10. Don't buy stuff to wrap. Treat your friends or relatives to experiences, such as afternoon tea or massages (see my earlier holiday gift guide) or do something special for them, such as cleaning their car or babysitting their kids.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2009/12/go-green-save-green-with-christmas-gift-wrapping-alternatives/1