July 18, 2003 News Releases
Released 7/16/03 and 7/17/03
UTAH STATE NEWS RELEASES FOR 07-17-03
YOUR NEIGHBOR'S
DIVORCE IS COSTING YOU MONEY
LOGAN — Utahns are $312 poorer each year because of
divorce. A Utah State University study led by researcher David
Schramm examines the economic impact divorce has on Utah and
the federal government.
The study, "The Costly Consequences of Divorce in Utah:
The Impact on Couples, communities, and Government," shows
the average divorce costs the state and federal governments
$30,000 in direct and indirect costs.
The results of the research demonstrate the high cost of divorce
on society and are intended to motivate the government to be
involved and encourage marriage education, Schramm said.
"Government involvement in marriage is a controversial
topic, but by instilling preventative measures, such as pre-marital
education, the government will save money," said Schramm.
The research shows that the 9,735 divorces that occurred in
Utah in 2001 cost $300 million.
This cost does not include the $178 million spent on personal
expenditures such as legal fees, lost work productivity and
relocation. Break-ups between cohabiting couples and the rise
in teen and unwed childbearing are not included in the figures.
"One of the most disturbing realizations from this report
is that divorce prompts divorce," said Schramm. "This
means that each future generation may see these economic figures
double."
July 17, 2003
Contact: David G. Schramm (435) 797-1542, (801) 787- 4161, schramm@cc.usu.edu
Writer: Whitney Wilkinson (435) 797-8286, whitney.wilkinson@usu.edu
ASK A SPECIALIST:
HOW CAN WE KEEP DEBT FROM HURTING OUR MARRIAGE?
Money is one of the topics couples fight about most. It is also
a contributing factor in divorce. Debt brought into marriage
is an especially troublesome part of many couples' money problems.
According to the Center for Marriage and Family's 2000 research,
debt brought into marriage is the number one problem for newlyweds.
This makes sense since 67 percent of women and 74 percent of
men enter marriage with at least some debt. With the exception
of home loans, the debt comes primarily from auto loans, credit
cards, student loans and medical bills. Consider this information
on how debt affects the marriage relationship.
• It is estimated that many American adults spend up to
80 percent of their waking hours either earning, spending or
thinking about money.
• Debt brought into marriage causes strain on the relationship
because it forces couples to spend most of their time and energy
focused on money.
• A couple's financial problems are linked to increased
levels of stress, conflict and marital duress, as well as decreased
levels of marital satisfaction. In contrast, one of the unique
strengths of the majority of happy couples was that they did
not have major debt problems.
• Indebtedness is a factor in many college graduates'
decisions to delay marriage and/or childbearing since starting
a marriage with large amounts of debt may put the marriage in
jeopardy from the beginning.
Debt can be addressed prior to or after getting married. Either
way, it must be addressed.
Develop a plan to begin reducing debt now so you don’t
put your marriage on the line.
1. Communicate - This is the most important thing you can
do to minimize financial fights. Share your financial information,
including what you make, what you've saved, what you own and
what you owe.
2. Don't keep secrets - It’s a bad idea to hide your
debts. Share your debts, family financial upbringing and current
views on money with your fiance or spouse.
3. Establish common goals - If you are in agreement, you will
be more willing to work together to meet those goals. What do
both of you want to do with your money? How will you get out
of debt?
4. Quantify your goals - Write and formalize your goals. Plot
out exactly how and when you will pay off your debt.
5. Develop a budget - Keep a money diary to get you started.
Keep track of everything you spend. You won’t be able
to stay within a budget if you don't know where the money goes.
6. Use savings to pay off high interest loans - Having emergency
savings is wise, but if you’re paying more interest than
you are earning, consider paying off your loans with savings.
7. Switch to a credit card with a lower interest rate - Many
low interest credit cards exist. Shop around and choose one
that gives you a consistently low rate. Don’t pay more
than you have to.
8. Consolidate your debt - Find a low interest loan where
you can combine all your debt and have only one payment. This
will reduce your monthly payment and help you pay the debt off
more quickly.
9. Pay more than the minimum due - Do this on credit cards,
mortgages and wherever you can. You will pay much less for things
in the long run and you will own them more quickly.
10. Cut spending - Spend less and put the money you save toward
paying off debt. Do this by budgeting, kicking an expensive
habit, leaving credit cards at home or getting rid of them.
11. Be a financial housekeeper - One of you should take the
lead in managing finances to be sure bills get paid on time
and checkbooks get balanced. However, both partners should be
aware of and take responsibility for your overall financial
situation.
Visit http//extension.usu.edu/publica/news/aska/ to see other
“Ask A Specialist” columns.
________
Direct column topics to Julene Reese, Utah State University
Extension, Logan, UT 84322-0500; 435-797-1363; julener@ext.usu.edu
July 17, 2003
Answer by James P. Marshall and Linda Skogrand, Utah State
University Extension Family and Human Development Specialists
UTAH STATE NEWS RELEASES FOR 07-16-03
MEDIA ADVISORY:
SIZZLING FUTURE PREDICTED FOR INTERMOUNTAIN WEST
WHAT:
Hike up the AC. It’s going to be a long, hot century.
Fred Wagner, of Utah State University, reports that temperatures
are slated to rise. Wagner will present the findings of a congressionally
mandated study in a panel discussion on Thursday.
According to the report, the Colorado River could see distinctly
reduced flows in coming decades. By 2070, glacial snowpacks
in the West may be gone. Insect outbreaks similar to those seen
in the last several years may become more problematic. Continued
drought would hasten the decline of communities based on livestock
ranching. Some climatologists predict the disappearance of the
ski industry and associated tourism. Dams in the nine-state
region could fail under the onslaught of heavy spring runoff
or high flows. Continued drought would invite further invasion
of cheatgrass and other non-native species on public lands,
fueling hotter, more frequent fires.
Wagner, principal investigator for the study’s nine-state
Rocky Mountain/Great Basin region, will discuss its economic,
social and ecological implications as part of a five-member
panel on global warming. The event is sponsored by the Salt
Lake City Main Library and the public is invited.
WHEN: Thursday, July 17, 2003
WHERE: Salt Lake City Main Library, 210 East
400 South, Salt Lake City, Utah
TIME: 7 p.m.
CONTACT: Fred Wagner, fwagner@cc.usu.edu,
(435) 797-2852
Nadene Steinhoff, nadene.Steinhoff@usu.edu, (435) 797-1429
NOTE: The climate change report can be accessed
in Adobe PDF format at: http://www.cnr.usu.edu/
The library's underground parking facility can be accessed by
turning mid-block from eastbound 400 South. Parking in this
facility is free for the first half-hour, and $1.50 for each
additional hour.
SIZZLING FUTURE
PREDICTED FOR INTERMOUNTAIN WEST
LOGAN, UT — More than 125 regional scientists and stakeholders
analyzed ice-core and tree-ring data, historical weather records,
climate patterns and levels of carbon dioxide to conclude what
many have already decided: the West is getting hotter.
"Recorded temperatures since the middle of the nineteenth
century show an abrupt rise, exceeding levels seen in the preceding
thousand years," said Fred Wagner, Utah State University
researcher and principal investigator for the nine-state Rocky
Mountain/Great Basin region, part of a Congressionally mandated
assessment of climate change on the United States.
"The data seems to indicate that gradually rising temperatures
during the previous century will accelerate in this century
due to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,"
Wagner said.
Whether the West will become dryer—or wetter—is
still up for debate, and will require continued tracking. The
region could see more precipitation, or more severe drought.
"We don’t have enough data to predict with certainty,"
Wagner said.
According to the study, Great Basin and Rocky Mountain snow
packs provide 85 percent of the surface water used by cities,
industry, agriculture, recreation and hydropower. If drought
patterns persist and spring runoff continues to decline, the
Colorado, Rio Grande, Columbia, Missouri, Platte and Arkansas
rivers could have distinctly reduced flows, leaving the region
vulnerable to extreme water shortages. By 2070, according to
the study, glacial snow packs in the West may disappear. Glaciers
are already shrinking in Glacier National Park.
Water in the West is allocated on a first come first serve basis,
with senior rights holders holding the trump cards. Junior holders
could come up empty in coming years. The shortage is exacerbated
by ground water that’s being polluted and mined faster
than it’s being recharged, higher temperatures leading
to massive evaporation in existing dams, and increasing demands
by urban users, the report states.
Society may see the return of water disputes like those of the
historical West, Wagner said.
"If the massive natural and human-made hydrology systems
that sustain municipalities, farms and ecosystems were to see
significant changes, there would be serious social, economic
and ecological impacts," he said.
Northern and western areas in the nine-state region saw annual
precipitation and river flows increase during the last century,
with increases occurring mostly in early summer, the report
stated. If this trend continues those areas could see severe
flooding. A particularly vulnerable area is the heavily populated
Wasatch Front in Utah. The nearby Great Salt Lake may rise to
historic levels, causing extensive flooding. Arid southern states
are seeing changes, too, with hotter, dryer conditions.
A burgeoning population, according to Wagner, compounds the
problem. In recent decades the West has been the fastest growing
region in the United States, filling up with new homes, heat-retaining
blacktop and water guzzling lawns.
Whatever the future holds, scientists say, it will feature more
extreme weather. That could wreck havoc for economies, natural
ecosystems, agriculture and water management systems.
According to the study, insect outbreaks similar to those seen
in the last several years may become more problematic. Continued
drought would hasten the decline of communities based on livestock
ranching. Some climatologists predict the disappearance of the
ski industry and associated tourism. Dams could fail under the
onslaught of heavy spring runoff or high flows.
Drought also leads to the invasion of cheatgrass and other non-native
species on public lands, which fuels hotter, more frequent fires,
said Wagner. Nevada has lost a fifth of its sagebrush to cheatgrass,
and highly combustible fires may prevent its return.
"The north may see reduced snowpack, higher stream flows,
increased flood potential and hotter fall, winter and spring
temperatures," Wagner said. "In the south we could
see snowpack elimination, reduced spring runoff and annual stream
flows, increased evapotranspiration, and warmer winter and late
summer temperatures."
More than 125 scientists and stakeholders participated in the
regional fact-finding process, including researchers from the
National Center for Atmospheric Research, the U.S. Bureau of
Land Management, the Ecology Center and the Utah Water Research
Laboratory at Utah State University, and the Midcontinent Ecological
Science Center at Colorado State University. Members of water
districts, farm bureaus, the ranching community, environmental
groups, and tourism and outdoor recreation groups participated.
The nine-state study region includes Colorado, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
July 16, 2003
Writer: Nadene Steinhoff, nadene.steinhoff@usu.edu, (435) 797-1429
Contact: Fred Wagner, fwagner@cc.usu.edu, 435-797-2852
VERNAL NATIVE
RETIRES FROM UTAH STATE AFTER PRESTIGIOUS CAREER IN ENGINEERING
AND SPACE
LOGAN — Utah State University mechanical and aerospace
engineering professor J. Clair Batty retires in July after 35
years of service.
Batty began teaching at Utah State in 1963 and, except for two
years as a NSF Faculty Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, has been with the Utah State engineering faculty
his entire career. He became recognized for research in cryogenic
optical systems and for his ability to capture the attention
and motivate students during lectures. He has also made considerable
contributions to Utah State through his teaching and research
on satellite-cooling systems.
Originally from Vernal, Batty is a graduate of Uintah High School
and was inducted into the Uintah High School Hall of Fame in
1992.
Batty has received many awards and honors in his career and
most recently and most notably received the 2003 Governor's
Medal in Science and Technology, Utah's highest honor in those
areas. He received the medal May 20 at a luncheon at the governor's
mansion.
In February 2003, Batty was presented the 2003 "Engineer
Educator of the Year" award for outstanding teaching and
engineering from the Utah Engineers Council.
"I wish we had many more professors like Dr. Batty at Utah
State and in all the institutions of higher learning,"
said Kevin Nielsen, Utah State engineering student. "His
character is impeccable, his ethics are unmatched, his love
for his students is profound, and his ability to teach is remarkable."
"There is no one else like him," said colleague Joan
Smith. "He is known internationally for his research, and
students eat out of his hands in the classroom. He's magic."
In the past three years Batty spent a semester reviewing engineering
programs in Thailand as a Fulbright senior scholar, was selected
by students as Teacher of the Year in the mechanical and aerospace
engineering department at Utah State and was named in Strathmore's
2002 Who's Who list.
Batty is one of only six professors to be named a Trustee Professor
by the Utah State Board of Trustees.
In addition to teaching, Batty is retiring as Utah State’s
department head of mechanical and aerospace engineering and
one of the Space Dynamics Laboratory’s senior thermal
engineers. His research interests focused on improving space
technology. To date, his research has brought in more than $100
million in research grants to Utah State and the Space Dynamics
Laboratory.
"In the time that I have known Dr. Batty, he has affected
my future career in engineering probably more than any other
professor I have known," said Marriner Merrill, a senior
engineering student.
Batty received his bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical
engineering from Utah State. He received his doctorate from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
July 16, 2003
Contact: Christine Hailey, (435) 797-3332
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