Hot/Current Topics

Developed by Connie Fly, Librarian

This page can be useful in helping you pick a topic to research as well as finding current information on subjects that are in the news or considered controversial.

California Issues

• California Election 2006 | Blog & Hot Topics
• California Infrastructure
• Electronic Voting
• High Speed Rail in California
• Same Sex Marriage in California

Avian Flu

• Avian Influenza and Pandemic Flu - The official U.S. Government Web site for information on pandemic flu and avian influenza
• CDC Avian Influenza - This webpage provides background information about avian influenza, including recent outbreaks, the viruses, and the risk to human health
• MEDLINEPlus:  Bird Flu - Links to the latest information on Avian Flu.  Includes news, general overviews, graphics, and statistics on Avian Flu cases. Also provides contacts for organizations, adoption information, and links to MEDLINE searches for research articles on Avian Flu or related issues. From the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

West Nile Virus

• CDC West Nile Virus - This fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention includes basic information on the West Nile virus, including prevention (specifically, avoiding mosquito bites), current statistics, incidence of disease in and transmission by animals, how to report dead birds, and how to contact state and local health agencies. Includes links to related sites, such as one on the West Nile virus transmission cycle.
• MEDLINEPlus:  West Nile Virus - Links to the latest information on West Nile Virus.  Includes news, general overviews, graphics, and statistics on West Nile Virus cases. Also provides contacts for organizations, adoption information, and links to MEDLINE searches for research articles on West Nile Virus or related issues. From the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

SARS - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

•  MEDLINEplus: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - Links to the latest information on SARS. Includes news, general overviews, graphics, and statistics on SARS cases. Also provides contacts for organizations, adoption information, and links to MEDLINE searches for research articles on SARS or related issues. From the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.
• CDC: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome  - This site provides information on SARS, an atypical form of pneumonia which apparently originated in Asia and has spread rapidly. The site covers guidance for clinicians, health departments, and airline and airport workers as well as a FAQ, travel advisories, and information on infection control, specimen collection and shipping, respiratory protections, exposure management, and quarantine. Includes links to related resources. From the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
• Government Views of SARS - This site concentrates on Government documents and [links to] information about SARS both from the United States and from international resources. Topics covered include Blood Supply, Case Definitions, Cases Reported, Countries & Governments, General Background, Healthcare Facilities, Healthcare Personnel, Laboratories, Legal Resources, Presidential Communications, Prevention & Precautions, Public Health Campaigns, Quarantine, Travel Advisories, Travel & Transport, the Virus and the World Health Organization.
• SARS (from Nature Magazine) - A collection of articles and information from Nature magazine about severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). "Nature's reporters pose key questions about the outbreak, and assess our preparedness to deal with future viral threats." Also features a chronology of the SARS epidemic.

• Abuse of Iraqi Prisoners By American  GI's Probed - This site is a companion to an April 2004 CBS 60 Minutes II report about allegations of U.S. soldiers torturing prisoners of war in Iraq. The site includes video clips and links to related stories.
• Frontline:  the Invasion of Iraq - Companion site to a February 2004 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Frontline documentary "examining the key strategies, battles, and turning points of the [Iraq] war as seen from both sides of the battlefield." Features interviews, a chronology of the invasion of Iraq, analysis, video clips, a FAQ, related reading and links, show transcript, and a teacher's guide.
• Government Views of Iraq - A list of links arranged by subject of government documents and other primary resources, most of which are from the United States. "Resources include ... Congressional Hearings and Resolutions, Federal Agency reports, transcripts of press conferences and briefings, USAID Fact Sheets, legislation, news releases and Presidential Communications ... United Nations Security Council Resolutions, the Geneva Conventions and Protocols, [and] selected international treaties." From Grace-Ellen McCrann of the Cohen Library, the City College of New York.
• Iraq Civilian Body Count - A site that aims to provide a "worldwide update of reported civilian deaths in the Iraq war and occupation. ... figures are derived from a comprehensive survey of online media reports. Where these sources report differing figures, the range ... is given." Includes a discussion of the site's methodology, and cites the sources used to compile the figures.
• War and Peace:  Resources on Iraq - Extensive links chosen by the "Librarians' Index to the Internet"
• IRAQ Ware Debate 2002/2003 - An extensive, browse able directory of lightly annotated links to resources related to the question of war with Iraq, including suggested Boolean searches for research enquiries. Some resources are fee-based. From the University of Michigan Documents Center.
• Iraq Special Weapons - Nuclear, Biological Chemical and Missile Proliferation News - A comprehensive compilation of news sources, news reports, analysis and official documents on nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and delivery systems." Iraq and the United Nations provides in-depth information, resolutions, documents, and related resources on the world's core conflicts. From The Federation of American Scientists.
• Last Letters Home:  Voices of American Troops From the Battlefields of Iraq - Companion site to a Home Box Office (HBO) program that features the letters of soldiers killed in action in Iraq. Features profiles of the families of the soldiers, a selection of letters, a discussion board, and a place to submit stories.
• The Saddam Hussein Sourcebook - This site provides information based on declassified documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) about the U.S.-Iraq relationship. It provides annotated images of documents relating to the U.S. relationship with Iraq in the early 1980s, weapons of mass destruction, Desert Storm, and 1992 Iraqi war criminals. Also includes aerial photos. From the National Security Archive at the George Washington University Library.
• Security Council Resolution 1441, 8 November 2002 - This site presents the full text of the Resolution on the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq, adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 8 November 2002" (S/RES/1441 (2002)). Below this document is the "Joint statement issued by Russia, China and France outlining their interpretation of UN of the resolution." From Arab Gateway, which "aims to introduce non-Arabs to the Arabs and their culture."

• The War on Terrorism: Saddam Hussein and Iraq - A select list of links to Web resources on the United States-Iraq confrontation. Includes links to News and Commentary, Government Information, Saddam's Iraq: background and analysis, Debating War: strategic and policy analysis, The Impact of Sanctions, Key Documents, Post-War Iraq, Striking Iraq: military news and analysis, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Sources for Additional Research.  From  the Joyner Library, East Carolina Univ., South Carolina.

• Alternative Resources on the U.S. War on Iraq - A collection of links to alternative news, analysis, and commentary; organizations concerned with Iraq and the Middle East; reports about Iraq; destruction of Iraqi cultural resources; antiwar organizations; and demonstrations, petitions, letter-writing campaigns, and resolutions. From the International Responsibilities Task Force of the American Library Association's Social Responsibilities Round Table.
• Iraq Aftermath:  The Human Face of War  - A collection of anti-war articles, commentary, and links from the Iraq Peace Building Program of the American Friends Service Committee (a Quaker organization).
• No War with Iraq - This site presents an anti-war posture on the United States-Iraqi question. There are citations and links to other articles and alternative news resources that support this position. From The Nation, October 21, 2002.
• Not In Our Name - The site for an organization of "people of conscience who cannot stand silent as our government wages war without limits of time and space." Founded in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by people concerned by curtailments of civil liberties and U.S. military actions, the current focus of Not In Our Name is the conflict with Iraq. Includes an events calendar, history of recent protests, a Statement of Conscience, a Pledge of Resistance, protest music, and other resources.
• ZNet Iraq Watch - Iraq Watch is a ZNet subsite providing alternative news and analysis of past, present and ongoing events, conflicts and crises in Iraq.

• Suggested Research Topics from SIRS  (New)
• Agriculture, USDA Dept. Economic Research Service Briefing Room  - Covers a wide variety of topics about all aspects of agriculture such as crops, farm labor, food safety and security, diet and health, trade, etc. 
• Best Information on the Net: Hot Paper Topics - chosen by librarians at O'Keefe Library, St. Ambrose University. This web site attempts to present accurate, objective information on controversial issues--statistics, full texts of laws and court decisions, articles, scholarly research, and equally reputable information.
• Cell Phone Facts:  Consumer Information on Wireless Phones  - A joint operation between the Federal Communications Commission and the Food and Drug Administration, Cell Phone Facts is a thorough overview of wireless telephone technology and the associated health effects related to its use. There is a long list of common questions and answers sorted into various topics, such as safety standards, research results of radiofrequency energy, and interference with medical equipment. (New)
• CRS Reports from CNIE - The Congressional Research Service (CRS), part of the Library of Congress, prepares its reports for the U.S. Congress. CRS products undergo review for accuracy and objectivity and contain nontechnical information that can be very useful to people interested in environmental policy.
• Conservation Issues - Links to current conservation issues from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
• Government Documents in the News - Documents in the News identifies issues about government making news headlines and web sources with additional information
• Farm Labor Issues - (NEW) UC Davis Rural Migration News - Covers such topics as farm worker housing, wages, unions, guest workers (braceros) programs and agribusiness
• Hot Topics in Food Safety - Covers a multitude of subjects such as irradiation, food borne illness, pesticides, chemicals and food additives.
• Justice Learning - Justice Learning is an innovative, issue-based approach for engaging students in informed political discourse. The web site uses audio from the Justice Talking radio show and articles from The New York Times to teach students about reasoned debate and the often-conflicting values inherent in our democracy. The web site includes articles, editorials and oral debate from the nation's finest journalists and advocates.  Some of the topics covered are:  affirmative action, civil liberties in war, death penalty, the drug war, energy & environment, gun control, juvenile justice, and religion in schools.
• Popular Topics on the Environment and the natural world from Naerctica
• Public Agenda Issues Online - These guides offer a nonpartisan briefing on policy and polling --including "red flags" where poll results may be misleading; a digest of news, legislation, and studies; research sources -- and much more.
• Sweatshop Watch - Sweatshop Watch is a coalition of labor, community, civil rights, immigrant rights, women's, religious & student organizations, and individuals committed to eliminating sweatshop conditions in the global garment industry.
• US State Department - Gives summaries of and links to hot issues and topics concerning U.S. foreign policy and the U.S. foreign affairs agencies.
• Yahoo! Society and Culture: Issues and Causes

For Questions and Comments, please mail to: connief@cos.edu