Apple is all about developing and releasing new ideas that could become very popular and subsequently be very profitable and this week they announced another idea that may just be the next big thing. On Thursday Apple announced a new system called iTunes U which is essentially a full education system that works on any and all iOS devices including the iPhone, iPod, and iPad.

The new system, according to Apple, is going to become a mainstream method of distributing textbooks, worksheets, handouts, and other assignments electronically so that there will be less paper waste. The project works entirely through iOS and as long as all students and teachers have a compatible device it will likely revolutionize education in the future. The biggest benefit to this new system is the new textbook system being implemented by Apple.

Even if the rest of the service does not catch on, Apple’s updated textbook service will definitely be good news for millions of students. The days of buying expensive textbooks, highlighting and taking notes by hand, and then throwing away old books are gone. Apple is hoping that the new service will become popular enough that a significant amount of books are transitioned primarily to digital copies which will help the environment as well as raise more funds for the publishers themselves. Perhaps the best news of all is that these new electronic textbooks are going to be less expensive than their real counterparts currently available.

The tobacco industry and anti smoking movements have been fighting for decades in the United States about what should and shouldn’t be allowed and today it seems a new group has gotten involved. Unlike many other anti tobacco and anti smoking groups this one is not made up of wealthy lawyers or high dollar companies but rather a group of kids in high school.

A small high school in Montana is home to the group leading the fight against smoking and while they’re small, they are hopeful that they will be able to do something. The group is setting out to inform classmates and their peers about the dangers and health risks of smoking and hopefully help reduce the number of kids their age that start smoking.

This group is beginning to get national attention as they begin to spread to other schools and other districts by spreading their anti smoking awareness days. The so called “Great American Smokeout” is the project they’re spearheading right now and the overall purpose is simply to educate but at the same time students say that they’re trying to help students stop smoking as well.

Smoking among high school students is becoming a bigger problem now than it was in the past so these sort of movements are becoming more and more common. It is not entirely known at this point whether or not these small groups will begin to make a difference but analysts say it will likely have a significant impact.

A report released this week is showing some improving signs in terms of power usage around the United States. Homes have generally been using about the same amount of power for quite some time but thanks to recent surges in green technology and more efficient heating and cooling it seems the average power consumption is in fact decreasing.

Amazingly the same report indicates that while power usage is generally down, the number of electronics and technological items is actually up. Most homes have significant more technology than ever before but because everything is getting more and more efficient the amount of power being used is decreasing. This is good news for millions of Americans because it will obviously mean a reduction in monthly power costs but at the same time it is very good news for the environment.

Even more amazing is the future predictions available for power usage; nearly all analysts and experts agree that power consumption will continue to fall and throughout the next decade it will begin to fall even more rapidly. Technology really is becoming significantly more efficient which is very good news environmentally; consumers are essentially helping reduce power waste by simply buying new devices and new technologies rather than using old outdated technology. At this point there is not a solid prediction of how much power consumption will decrease in the coming years but nearly everyone agrees that it will in fact be significant enough to make a major difference.

A government research report released today indicates that many anti smoking campaigns being put out around the country are successfully reducing the amount of smokers all across the United States. According to the report only 19% of all adults smoke nationwide which while it is still a substantial percentage it is nowhere near as high as it has been historically. Even in 2009 the percentage was slightly over 21% so there has been a reduction of at least 2% in just the past year and a half.

According to the CDC however this decline was still not enough. The number of smokers has been steadily declining for quite some time and the 2% decline simply wasn’t enough. Of course the CDC is also still happy to report the decline as it means more and more Americans are on the track to healthier living by eliminating tobacco and smoking from their lives.

For now health experts are happy to see the continuing decline of smoking all across the country; more and more anti smoking campaigns are being produced all the time now so these groups are definitely happy to see some success. Of course the health benefit is the biggest gain from the reduction in smoking rates as it means there will likely be fewer medical complications associated with smoking in the next few decades; no word on what is projected to happy with smoking rates in the coming years though continued decline is definitely expected.

Saving power is a major focus for a variety of research and development teams all around the world for multiple reasons. Cutting power usage is important because it not only will save people money but a significant reduction in power needs will also help the environment in the long run. Fortunately this week a research team at the University of Washington showcased a new project that will supposedly reduce power consumption drastically on all computerized devices in the future.

The system is called EnerJ and unlike current computerization projects EnerJ will be reducing power consumption by not always supplying a constant stream of power to non crucial computation sectors of a computer. In short the system will save power simply by reducing the amount of power being used whenever possible.

This is great news for environmental agencies as power consumption is currently increasing rapidly as computers expand and are used more and more frequently. Computers make up for a large percentage of power usage and this system will theoretically be able to reduce their power usage by as much as 90% once the development as done.

For now the system is only in initial testing and development stages but analysts are happy to report that it has already been proven that the EnerJ system does in fact reduce power consumption. Sometime in the next decade it is entirely possible that all computers will use the EnerJ system to reduce power consumption and help the environment.

Gas Prices Expected to Drop

Gas prices have been a big deal in the news recently and until today there was no good news; today however analysts have said that gas prices may be on the decline. For the past few years gasoline prices have consistently risen but according to many analysts that may be finally coming to an end.

According to many analysts gas prices have begun to decline already; on average most cities and states have seen approximately a 4 cent decline and they are hopeful that this decline will continue for the coming month.

Of course there are plenty of things fighting against the impending gas decline. Many gas station owners are hesitant to reduce prices until their competition does the same and this will obviously make it more difficult for prices to consistently decline.

Regardless nearly all gas and energy analysts are hopeful that gas prices will be on the decline for quite some time. The exact amount gas will go down is difficult to predict though many analysts are hoping to see as much as a 50 cent gas price reduction. The exact reasons behind the predicted gas decline are not entirely known though analysts say much of it is linked to current events in the Middle East and other parts of the world. The good news is that gas prices are likely going to be on the decline all around the world in the next few weeks so millions of people will feel a little less pain at the pump