User talk:Erinfhymel

Welcome!

Hello, Erinfhymel, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful: I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your messages on discussion pages using four tildes ( ~ ); this will automatically insert your username and the date. If you need help, check out Questions, ask me on my talk page, or ask your question on this page and then place  before the question. Again, welcome! Ryan Vesey (talk) 04:43, 24 March 2011 (UTC)
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Three possible Wikipedia articles that I am interested in working on for my final project are:

The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force- A Wikipedia Page has not been created for this Task Force but there is a wealth of news articles out about it following the executive order that created it. For initial information on the Task Force this link is helpful - http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/10/05/executive-order-gulf-coast-ecosystem-restoration-task-force

Veteran's Benefits- The Wikipedia page on this subject is extremely vague and out-of-date. I would like to really expand on the benefits Veteran's receive. While this might be a daunting subject matter strictly based on size, I could tailor it down to focus on the State of Louisiana.

Medical Loss Ratio - The Medical Loss Ratio is a term used in the Affordable Care Act which deals with the Loss Ratio that Insurance Companies and Health Care providers; however, this specific form of the loss ratio does not have a Wikipedia page. Initial information about this can be found at this link - http://www.hhs.gov/ociio/regulations/medical_loss_ratio.html

Erin Hymel Erinfhymel (talk) 05:14, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Executive Order
Established by executive order under President Barack Obama on October 5, 2010, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force exists to "address the damage caused by the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, address the longstanding ecological decline, and begin moving toward a more resilient Gulf Coast Ecosystem." The Task Force will serve to coordinate intergovernmental responsibilities, planning and exchange of information so as to better implement Gulf Coast ecosystem restoration and to facilitate appropriate accountability and support throughout the restoration process. It will consist of senior representatives from the Departments of: Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce and Transportation, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Domestic Policy Council, Council on Environmental Quality, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of of Science and Technology Policy. Other agencies and five state representatives appointed by President Obama at the recommendation of the Governors of Gulf states will also guide the task force.

Functions
There are eight functions listed as the

Leadership
The Chair of the Task Force is designated by the President as the leadership of the organization to coordinate between the various government agencies, preside over the meetings of the organization, and facilitate the transition from response to restoration following the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. The Chair also is the leader of communications with the various States, tribes, local governments, and other affected parties from the aforementioned Oil Spill. The Chair selects the Executive DIrector of the Task Force.

Membership
Environmental Protection Agency - Lisa Jackson, Administrator

Department of the Interior - Will Shafroth, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Department of Commerce - Larry Robinson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Conservation and Management

Department of Defense - Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of Army (Civil Works)

Department of Agriculture - Harris Sherman, Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment

Department of Justice - Ignacia Moreno, Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resource Division

Department of Transportation - Byron Black, Senior Maritime Safety and Security Advisor

Office of Management and Budget - Sally Ericsson, Associate Director for Natural Resources Program

Council on Environmental Quality - Nancy Sutley, Chair

Office of Science and Technology Policy - Shere Abbott, Associate Director for Environment

Domestic Policy Council - Carlos Monje, Senior Advisor

State of Alabama - N. Gunter Guy, Jr., Commissioner, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

State of Florida - Mimi Drew, Florida Department of Environmental Protection

State of Louisiana - Garret Graves, Chair of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana

State of Mississippi - Alice Perry, Assistant Director for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality

State of Texas - Jerry Patterson, Commissioner, Texas General Land Office & Commissioner of Texas Veterans Land Board

Facts about Gulf Coast Coastal Erosion
According to the Center for American Progress - "The Gulf region suffers the most coastal land loss of any region in the United States." Louisiana alone, which holds 40 percent of wetlands in the continental United States, loses wetlands equivalent to the area of the size of a football field every half hour -about 80 percent of all wetland losses. By 2030 the Gulf States risk a total of $350 billion in environmental losses and risk from rising sea level, land subsidence, and hurricane damages if no action is take to restore the coast.

Recent Developments
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force is chaired by Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson and recently held a meeting on February 28, 2011, in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the meeting Jackson emphasized the need for restoration to be local stating, "We're counting on the people who know these areas, the people who work these areas, who work these issues, who know what it takes to build a coalition of support around something the Gulf Coast never had." Included in the meeting were Louisiana parish presidents and officials staffing the the Deepwater Horizon Response. Among the leadership from Louisiana was chairman of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, Harlon Pearce who, along with his colleagues called for no net loss of coastal land and a strategic rebuilding of areas already identified as culturally and economically important by Louisiana’s 2012 Master Plan.

Meetings
November 8, 2010 - Pensacola, Florida - agenda: https://edit.restorethegulf.gov/category/english-0

February 28, 2011 - New Orleans, Louisiana - agenda: https://edit.restorethegulf.gov/category/about-task-force-10

May 6, 2011 - Mobile, Alabama

June 27, 2011 - Southeast Texas

August 29, 2011 - Biloxi, Mississippi

Contact the Task Force
Website: http://www.restorethegulf.gov/ Phone:1-855-427-9263

Moved Your Article
Hello, I moved your article to User:Erinfhymel/Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. This way you can work on the article and when you finish you can move it to be a full page.Ryan Vesey (talk) 04:32, 24 March 2011 (UTC)