President Barack Obama tours the ZBB Energy Corporation with CEO and President Eric Apfelbach and Edward Zanger in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin today in order to tout the government’s incentives to promote green energy in the stimulus bill.

President Barack Obama said government incentives to expand clean-energy industries will help restore jobs, citing a battery maker in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, where he is highlighting the impact of the economic stimulus.

Obama used the example of ZBB Energy Corp., which is using a $1.3 million loan from the legislation to keep 12 workers on staff and eventually hire 80 more as it expands production.

“We expect our commitment to clean energy to lead to more than 800,000 jobs by 2012,” Obama said after a tour of the ZBB factory. “And that’s not just creating work in the short term; that’s going to help lay the foundation for lasting economic growth.”

It’s terribly disappointing that we have not been able to pass a comprehensive energy policy, as Republicans and coal-state Senators block progress.

In 2010, the world will see a movie based on the founding of the website Facebook. Our world today could feasibly be called the age of social media, as almost everyone is connected on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or some other type of social site. However, many people fail to realize just how quickly social media platforms exist and the affect they have on our society. One of the biggest indications of this affect is Facebook’s popularity and how intrigued the public is to know everything about it. Facebook has become more than merely a Web site, but a living and evolving model of pop culture.

The move to turn the story of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, into a movie called “The Social Network” shows just how much impact Facebook has on the social media and networking world. The public is not only interested in using Facebook as a platform, but in understanding the story behind it, and the new movie is set to show just how Zuckerberg came up with the idea for Facebook and the trials and tribulations the young mastermind had to go through in the process.

Facebook revolutionized the way people interact with each other, and helped to bring about the age of social media. In particular, it changed how business can find their clients and connect with each other and a broad fan base. Much like affliate programs which help businesses connect with each other, fan pages can also help business find each other on the Web with Facebook’s unique search and recommendation procedure. With all of the information Facebook stores, the site was also able to pinpoint a new way of finding a target audience through Facebook advertisements.

With its huge following and variety of uses, Facebook has become what many see as a founder’s story for all social media programs.

The news is good so far in the Gulf . . . . finally!

BP began plugging the damaged oil well today with a “static kill” by pumping mud into it. Early reports are encouraging.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Wednesday he has “high confidence” that no more oil will leak from BP’s Gulf of Mexico well, hours after BP announced that the well had reached “static condition” after pumping heavy drilling mud into it.

BP called the outcome a “significant milestone” in its efforts to permanently seal the well.

The energy giant began the “static kill” procedure at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday and workers stopped pumping mud in after about eight hours after the effort achieved its “desired outcome.”

Let’s hope we’ve seen the end of this nightmare.

After being bombarded by countless anti-smoking campaign commercials, most people probably get the picture that smoking can be hazardous for your health. The news isn’t good for those people that continue to inhale the smoke, tar and other damaging things that cigarettes have to offer.

Countless schools across the United States have banded together to spread their message that smoking isn’t cool. Restaurants and nightclubs across the nation have banned the smoking of cigarettes within their facilities, as the news for those that smoke continues to worsen.

With the healthy segment of the populations saying no to smoking in public places, the need for alternatives to smoking continued to grow until news of smokeless cigarettes came along to fill a need.

The water-vapor dispelled from these new cigarettes is not harmful and doesn’t contain the tar, and carcinogens that make regular cigarettes so unhealthy. Thus, the news for these new and improved smokers delights has been received quite nicely.

No longer does a driver need to air-freshen the car before picking up passengers on the way to work. No longer does the 10:15 smoke break leave an employee reeking of cigarette smoke throughout the day. No longer does the running enthusiast have to cough throughout their morning jog, and no longer do mom and dad have to hide their smoking habit from the kids.

An alternative to regular cigarettes was inevitable, as people across the country continue to smoke despite the warnings, (even on the label) that smoking can be hazardous to one’s health. With hundreds of people addicted to regular cigarettes, the news that a new and improved form or smoking is causing quite the stir. Smokers still receive their desired rush of nicotine, while those around them aren’t affected in nearly the same manner.

And that’s good news for all of us!

In October 2008, the U.S. economy went into freefall. Despite talk of a “recovery,” many of us are wondering when that recovery will come. Joblessness is on the rise, home foreclosures are mounting, and American households are coping with mountains of debt.

That’s the big news on the street, but what’s going on at your house? Are you coping with the crisis? If you have a large debt load, the most important decision you can make right now is to face it, and develop a strategy for coping. Debt can be a kind of slavery, and, if not dealt with, it holds the danger of bankruptcy and personal ruin. So let’s look at some real strategies for getting your finances in better shape.

First, get honest with yourself and your family about the realities you are facing. If it seems impossible, talk to a counselor and develop a strategy for getting back on track. If you need counseling for stress, many therapists are available to help for reduced, affordable rates.

Budgeting is critical. Go over all household expenses and take a hard look at where you can cut back. Make a shopping list before going to the grocery story. Compare prices and use coupons and store discount cards.

Using credit cards sparingly, if at all. Pay off cards with the highest interest rates first. Transfer balances from to cards with the lowest interest rates. Work with your creditors. If your accounts are current, many banks will be willing to reduce payments.

Get a Wall Street Journal subscription to stay up on the latest economic trends. Knowledge is power—it really is.

Finally, realize that it all takes time. It may be years before you are debt-free, but if you start coping with it now, you will be well on your way to recovery, and economic freedom, in the near future.

Sometimes purchasing auto insurance can seem like an overwhelming task. Legally, you are required to have insurance if you own a car. Every state requires you to purchase at least the minimum insurance requirement; however, they differ on the amount of coverage you need in regards to coverages, limits, and deductibles.

Think about how much coverage you buy for your car insurance. Determine how much liability coverage you want to have. You want enough coverage to help you if you are ever in a lawsuit so your own personal assets are not affected. You might want to consider liability coverage, which offers coverage for individuals harmed In the case of an accident. You also might want to consider comprehensive and collision coverage.

Comprehensive coverage, also known as OTC or Other Than Collision, covers vehicles that are victims of hail, theft, fire, vandalism, or destruction from natural causes. If an animal breaks your windshield while you are on a roadway, you could make a claim for glass breakage with comprehensive coverage. Collision coverage helps when damage is done to your car in other types of accidents when your car is hit by another vehicle, or your car hits a vehicle or object.

There are more options for coverage that are possibly helpful for individuals. One is called the Personal Injury Protection. This covers hospital, medical, and funeral expenses for the insured as well as passengers in a vehicle or pedestrian struck by the insurance holder. Medical Payments in the type of coverage that covers the medical expenses of the policy holder as well as passengers in a vehicle. Some policies cover damage done to the vehicle by pedestrians and also cover policyholders, including family members, if they are injured while riding in someone else’s vehicle or if a car hits them when they are bicycling or walking.

It’s fascinating to see how Chinese officials are becoming obsessed with energy efficiency and global warming. It worries some in America, as we see China making the investments in clean energy we should be making. In a competitive world, America should be leading the green revolution and thus creating new jobs. While the Obama administration has made great progress, Republicans and Midwest Senators are standing in the way of a new energy bill.

Meanwhile, climate activists fear the impact of China, but have to be somewhat please that Chinese officials are being proactive.

Premier Wen Jiabao has promised to use an “iron hand” this summer to make his nation more energy efficient. The central government has ordered cities to close inefficient factories by September, like the vast Guangzhou Steel mill here, where most of the 6,000 workers will be laid off or pushed into early retirement.

Already, in the last three years, China has shut down more than a thousand older coal-fired power plants that used technology of the sort still common in the United States. China has also surpassed the rest of the world as the biggest investor in wind turbines and other clean energy technology. And it has dictated tough new energy standards for lighting and gas mileage for cars.

That said, China may be fighting a losing battle. As millions of Chinese citizens become real consumers, they will gobble up even more energy. It’s great for the world economy, but terrible from a climate perspective.

Aspiring to a more Western standard of living, in many cases with the government’s encouragement, China’s population, 1.3 billion strong, is clamoring for more and bigger cars, for electricity-dependent home appliances and for more creature comforts like air-conditioned shopping malls.

As a result, China is actually becoming even less energy efficient. And because most of its energy is still produced by burning fossil fuels, China’s emission of carbon dioxide — a so-called greenhouse gas — is growing worse. This past winter and spring showed the largest six-month increase in tonnage ever by a single country.

It’s a real dilemma, but perhaps it will motivate the Chinese, and hopefully the American government, to do even more. Green energy can be the fuel that the world economy needs. It can also ease world security in the long run by making all of us less dependent on sending billions to volatile regions of the world. So it’s good to see the Chinese get religion on green energy. Let’s hope it helps fuel a worldwide movement.

There is a lot of soul searching in your life that the world is never going to see. And this is fine, as you need to keep some degree of mystery in your life. But there are some things that the world is going to see every day, whether you like it or not. And one of the most glaring things that you are bound to show the world is what you are wearing every day, and how you are wearing it. After all, you just never know who might be somewhere that you could go today — and that person might have the opportunity of a life time waiting for you, if you are properly prepared for the situation.

Let’s face facts. How you look is how you are going to be judged in life. If you dress like the kind of person who simply does not care about how you look, people will suspect that you do not care about a bunch of other aspects of your life. Among these are your health (and bathing) habits, your personality (maybe you’re an untreated bipolar or something, for all they know), and how you run the general business aspects of your life. And of course, the exact opposite is also true.

If you roll up into a situation sporting a really great hair cut, with everything lined up really well, and you rock a set of designer clothes, people are going to naturally treat you with more respect than they will if you have the “street vagrant chic” look going on. Status is an incredibly important part of all of human culture — and a significant part of your status is determined both by how you look, and by how you carry yourself in social situations. And when you stand tall, are well maintained and wear good clothes, the world will respect you more.

If you love having activity all around you, then you might want to consider living in one of the many Baltimore condominiums. The city of Baltimore is the largest cultural center and city in Maryland. It’s located along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, which is an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. You might be able to look right outside your window and watch the action of ships loading and unloading, since it’s a major seaport.

Aside from the water action, Baltimore offers many activities for residents. The harbor is a great place to go for entertainment and shopping. Spend a day or even more visiting the national aquarium in Baltimore. If you’re into the music scene, you’ll be pleased to note that the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is internationally known. You can also listen to concerts from the Baltimore Consort, a music ensemble, or listen to the Pride of Baltimore Chorus, which is an award-winning women’s chorus that is affiliated with Sweet Adelines International. If you like theater, you can take in a Center Stage performance at the Everyman Theatre or the Baltimore Theatre Festival. The city also offers numerous community theaters. Another local activity you can take part in is baseball. Gather some friends and cheer for the Baltimore Orioles at a major league baseball game.

When you live in Baltimore condominiums, you not only have activity all around you, but you also have easy access to various types of transportation. There are many highways for traveling by car, subways, an airport, and an Amtrak hub. These methods of transportation are particularly useful since Baltimore is the home of many public and private colleges. Students who live in condominiums during the school year can easily travel back and forth to visit family and friends.

It’s no secret that the Internet can help you in more ways than you can imagine. It can streamline your finances, help you find discounts on everyday items for your house and even help you find a job and affordable health insurance. But what you might not know is that the Internet can be a great way to help you with your love life. The Internet is growing into one of the best places to find a special someone and if you are willing to do a little searching you can find yourself taking advantage of love online.

Its easy to find a dating service online. There are the match maker sites. These are where you fill out an extensive online profile about your likes and dislikes and what you are looking for in the ideal partner. This information is cross checked with others who filled out similar profiles and then you are introduced to each other. The popularity of these sites are growing by the day but be careful when entering these sites. Most sites worth your time will charge you for their services. Those sites that do not charge may not be the kind of sites you want to trust or go with.

The other nice part about dating services online is that you can do a simple search of singles events in your area and you will see sites dedicated to finding you that special someone. You may find out about a mixer in your area or lunch dating services where you can meet people for a low pressure lunch date and see if there is a spark. There is also the speed dating where you spend short spurts of time talking to different people to see if you are compatible. If you are looking for someone special. The Internet is a great place to start.