mancunian green: Boon - or Bobbins? As the banking crisis continues, alternative or complementary currencies are back on the agenda, as evidenced by George Monbiot's last piece in the Guardian , and a feature on Lewes Pounds on BBC's radio 4 in the last couple of days. The idea of an alternative currency is not new, and back around 15-20 years ago, LETS schems (Local Exchange Trading Systems)were seen as a key part of the move to a sustainable society and there were close links between Green party activists and LETS schemes in various places around the country. The scheme in Manchester used a currency called 'bobbins' after the cotton industry and for a while local Green Party membership could be paid for in bobbins, though hardly anybody ever did. Unfortunately in recent years I have heard much less about them, and even their co-ordinating body, Letslink, reports a likely drop in membership since the early days.
See the Impacts | A Student's Guide to Global Climate Change | US EPA Source: NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org. The Earth's climate is getting warmer, and the signs are everywhere. Rain patterns are changing, sea level is rising, and snow and ice are melting sooner in the spring. As global temperatures continue to rise, we'll see more changes in our climate and our environment. Less rain can mean less water for some places, while too much rain can cause terrible flooding. Observing Our World EPA uses indicators to track how the environment changes over time. (<a href="indicators/slideshow-alt.html">Alternative version</a>) to learn more. Alternative version for screen reader user Did You Know? The world's oceans are warmer now than at any point in the last 50 years.
[nytlabs] Road to Peace - Ancient Wisdom of the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet Expose the TPP It’s Not Your Imagination. Summers Are Getting Hotter. - The New York Times Summer temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere Extraordinarily hot summers — the kind that were virtually unheard-of in the 1950s — have become commonplace. This year’s scorching summer events, like heat waves rolling through southern Europe and temperatures nearing 130 degrees Fahrenheit in Pakistan, are part of this broader trend. The chart above, based on data from James Hansen, a retired NASA climate scientist and professor at Columbia University, shows how summer temperatures have shifted toward more extreme heat over the past several decades. To create the bell curves, Dr. Since then, summer temperatures have shifted drastically, the researchers found. Practically, that means most summers are now either hot or extremely hot compared with the mid-20th century. For each time period above, the distribution of summer temperatures forms what is known as a bell curve because most measurements fall near the average, forming the bump – or bell – in the middle. Dr. Dr.
My TEDx Talk, "How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Discussing Race." My TEDx Talk, "How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Discussing Race." This is the TEDx Talk I gave at Hampshire College last month, my first time doing this type of presentation but the school's all-star organizers and audience made it a great experience. Much thanks to everyone at Hampshire College for putting this event together, you should check out all the talks from that day, I felt like they each touched on related themes and complemented each other really well. Text adaptation of the speech below. I want to talk a little bit about race tonight. This is in part because growing up as a very light-skinned black man of mixed descent I often find myself in sort of peculiar race-based conversations. So I’ve always had a passion for studying and observing how we communicate about race and how we might get a little better at certain aspects of that communication. That’s a conversation we all find ourselves in from time to time.
Road to Peace: Ancient Wisdom of the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet "If we combine our knowledge, skills and expertise with our willpower and determination, then no matter what problems we face, we can solve these problems forever" ~ HH Dalai Lama Why a documentary about the Dalai Lama? I had a difficult and somewhat violent childhood. Without going into detail, this experience left me with deep issues surrounding self-worth, a huge lack of confidence and I struggled to understand my place in the world. Many people also spoke of an amazing presence he had and of course his own life’s struggles living in exile from his Tibetan homeland and winning the Nobel Peace Prize. A couple of years later a friend was speaking with the Office of Tibet in London to find people to interview for a film he was making. We immediately knew the film to make and instinctively wanted to create a fly-on-the-wall account of the Dalai Lama’s daily life, show the effect he had on the people he met and to share his message for humanity. ~ Director and Producer Leon Stuparich
An Unconventional Billionaire Is Revolutionizing Philanthropy By Closing His Foundation Some people are into extreme sports, others extreme eating. You could call self-made billionaire Chuck Feeney an extreme philanthropist. Feeney, the 83-year-old co-founder of the pioneering retail business Duty Free Shoppers (the company that sells the tax-free alcohol and perfume in airports), is practically unknown as a public figure. Though Forbes once ranked him the 23rd-richest person alive, you wouldn’t realize it if you met him on the street: In his prime, he famously wore a $15 watch and flew economy. Big bucks philanthropy was once defined by benevolent barons like Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Ford, men who plastered their names on brick walls and established foundations with large endowments meant to carry on their legacy forever. The current class of high-profile wealthy elite, people like Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Richard Branson, and Mark Zuckerberg, are giving away money earlier in their life than their predecessors. Giving While Living "More people are giving more.
Global warming could create 150 million 'climate refugees' by 2050 | Environment Global warming will force up to 150 million "climate refugees" to move to other countries in the next 40 years, a new report from the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) warns. In 2008 alone, more than 20 million people were displaced by climate-related natural disasters, including 800,000 people by cyclone Nargis in Asia, and almost 80,000 by heavy floods and rains in Brazil, the NGO said. President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, who presented testimony to the EJF, said people in his country did not want to "trade a paradise for a climate refugee camp". He warned rich countries taking part in UN climate talks this week in Barcelona "not to be stupid" in negotiating a climate treaty in Copenhagen this December. Nasheed urged governments to find ways to keep temperature rises caused by warming under 2C. Last month, the president held a cabinet meeting underwater to draw attention to the plight of his country.
How Has The Internet Changed Education? [Infographic] If you want evidence of the way the internet is pervading every aspect of our lives, you need look no further than its effect on education. The internet and social media have dramatically changed both teaching and learning. In fact, most students’ (an incredible 93 percent) first instinct when confronted with a research problem is to turn to Google or Bing to get information rather than going to the library, and despite the best efforts of faculty to discourage its use, Wikipedia is the research resource that is used most often. A whopping 90 percent of faculty uses social media in the courses they’re teaching, and 8 in 10 have used online video in class. The internet has also had a strong influence on the how, where, and what students are studying. Even with online learning being as widespread as it is, however, as many as one in three academic leaders consider it to be inferior to face-to-face instruction. Sources: