One of my students flagged a recent Dot Earth post to me about an artist and physicist who creates graphics that depict our carbon output. Adam Nieman is the creative director of Carbon Visuals Ltd which “…exists to provide a range of carbon visualisation services to government, companies, NGOs and any organisation that has a ‘carbon […]
The U.N. appealed for $133 million dollars in aid on Wednesday for the food crisis for the food crisis in Niger. Erratic rainfall cost the country its crops last year, and now 60% (7.8 million) of the population faces a food shortage. The statistics don’t get better from there. The UN claims 1.5 million cases […]
What is more harmful to a child, verbal or physical abuse? First let me start with saying that both are harmful and I personally find it reprehensible to abuse a child in any form. However I pose the question as I all too often hear people in an unwitting debate as to which is more […]
Looks like Bakiev’s government is out in Kyrgyzstan. Opposition Claims Control in Kyrgyzstan – NYTimes.com. This is wild and unexpected – your humble blogger spent a summer over there working with Internews, an independent free media advocate. It’s 5 years since they overthrew their last autocrat, but turned out to be a bummer of a […]
Today, as health crises are played out in an ever-increasingly inter-connected world, I believe that leaders (or at least the enlightened ones) are seeking methods to stabilize systems as a long-term risk mitigation strategy. Since health is one of the foundations upon which stable societies are created, it is increasingly important to analyze and incorporate all of the determinants that factor into the functioning of a healthy community and society.
The World Bank, quite rightly, has devoted a tremendous amount of time and money on water projects in recent years, according to the “NY Times” here. I highlighted World Water Day at the blog a few weeks ago and noted then some of the many critical shortfalls in clean water and proper sanitation that beset […]
In a dramatic departure from the strategic ambiguity that marked past nuclear doctrine, the Obama Administration has announced a new update of U.S. nuclear strategy. In this revision, the U.S. actually publicizes the kinds of attacks that would warrant an American nuclear response and those that would trigger only a conventional military counterattack. As this […]
We have made still another breakthrough on greenhouse gases. The EPA and the US Department of Transportation have established new standards for fuel economy and GHG emissions from cars and light trucks. The EPA release includes soundbites that have Lisa Jackson saying “We expect to reduce greenhouse emissions by the equivalent of 42,000,000 cars over […]
The worst drought to hit southwest China in nearly a century is forcing farmers to take drastic measures to cope reports Michael Wines in The New York Times. Wines reports that as, “…serious as the dry spell is, it affects only about 6 percent of China’s farmland and a tiny portion of its 1.3 billion […]
A bill by Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and co-sponsored by Olympia Snowe (R-ME) called the Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (yes, I know, but remember the Senate is, well, a bit slow) just dropped out of committee and may see floor action soon.* It’s an interesting piece of work, and only 50 pages, so I’m actually going […]
The Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation is holding a conference in Buenos Aires next week from April 12-14. The conference, titled ‘Memory, Justice, Truth and Reparations as Tools for Genocide Prevention’, has been co-organized by the government of Argentina. It will host government officials and policymakers from 40 nations. I spoke today with AIPR’s […]
Treat yourself right and watch this remarkable TED video, featuring the charming and enlightening Dan Barber. Owner of the famous Pocantico Hills farm, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Dan is an expert in sustainable farming and an accomplished chef. In this 20 minute video, he talks about the grim realities of “sustainable fishing.” Another shout […]
The US isn’t the only target of Chinese hackers that-of-course-aren’t-government-sponsored-though-the-PLA-does-fund-hacking-research-in-their-school groups. That other rising Asian great power – the one that fought a couple of wars with China and is harboring their archnemisis – got pwned in a bad way. The NY Times has a story on it that makes for interesting reading. At the […]
Victor Davis Hanson last week repeated a now familiar mantra: Obama = Bush. I wrote about this viewpoint before. As far as I can see, regarding national security, there’s nothing controversial about this conclusion. However, Hanson focuses on the liberal hypocrisy aspect of the issue and overstates his case. Obama campaigned on leaving a residual […]
The agricultural ministers of the BRIC countries outlined a new food security strategy after meeting last Friday. According to the meeting’s declaration, the plan is meant “…to promote food security, [by supporting]…a well-functioning, worldwide food market and a trade system based on the principles of justice and freedom from discrimination.” The declaration by the BRIC […]