This Brilliant Teen Has A 10-Year Plan To Clean Up The Pacific Ocean When diving in Greece, Boyan Slat discovered that there was more plastic than fish in the water. The 19-year-old was not only inspired to take action, but he has come up with plan to clean up half the garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean -- in just 10 years. With millions of tons of plastic making its way into the oceans, the environmental activist devised a feasible and efficient way to extract it from the water using "the currents to [his] advantage" by attaching a floating structure to the sea bed to capture the waste. Watch Slat explain his idea in the video above. "I don't really view my age as a disadvantage to get these things done. Simply I've thought about how to tackle the problem and I've worked for a number of years to bring it closer to reality," says Slat, who is founder and president of the Ocean Cleanup Foundation. For more information, check out Slat's website and visit theoceancleanup.com. [h/t Elite Daily] Follow HuffPost Teen on Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Pheed | video
Scientists unravel genetic causes of prostate, breast and ovarian cancer | Science A national screening programme for prostate cancer could be introduced by the NHS following an international effort by more than 1,000 scientists to unravel the genetic causes of prostate, breast and ovarian cancer. The study, the largest to look for the faulty DNA that drives the cancers, revealed scores of genetic markers that can identify people most likely to develop the diseases. Doctors said a simple £5 saliva test based on the markers could give patients a personalised "risk profile" for the diseases and pave the way for individually tailored screening, with those most at risk having more regular health checks. The findings have major implications for the treatment of prostate cancer. A test based on markers for the disease could identify men whose lifetime risk was 50%, nearly five times the national average. A screening service could be offered within five years, and would transform treatment for the most common cancer among British men.
19-Year-Old Aerospace Student Boyan Slat Invents Cleanup System For Plastic Choking Our Oceans Research Published on April 2nd, 2013 | by Cynthia Shahan 19-year-old Boyan Slat’s impassioned and educated opinion reminds us that youth, with its promising vital force, often taps into genius. If he is correct, Slat has designated some flair for environmental cleanup. Plastic once seemed as a piece of the revolution for a positive future. It reminds me of the War with the Newts, a 1936 satirical science fiction novel by Czech author Karel Čapek, but with plastic replacing the Newts in this novel. Some of the most notable places studied where plastic pollution is evident is in the giant trash gyres (trash vortexes) floating in the oceans. 79,000 Years of Cleanup to an Efficient 5 Years Check out Slat’s The Ocean Cleanup for more details on his plans to clean up the ocean at an incredible speed. And definitely watch this Ted talk below and learn about a future that he considers viable. About the Author
Apply to be an Ambassador! | Akshaya Pātra USA About Youth Ambassadors Akshaya Patra is looking for driven, motivated youth activists, like you, who are passionate about creating a more just world for themselves and others. This is a voluntary role which is open to junior or high school students living anywhere in the United States. As a Youth Ambassador you will develop new skills while working to expand the reach of Akshaya Patra. The program offers the unique opportunity for youth leaders to build leadership, networking, and public presentation skills while improving the lives of over 1.4 million children in India. As a Youth Ambassador, you will: Use Virtual classrooms to learn skills in public speaking, networking, donor cultivation, and fundraising;Make presentations and enroll new donors;Help Akshaya Patra build a grassroots movement in the US. Qualifying Graduates will receive: Program Expectations: Program Commitment: Time Commitments: Applying: Applications for Admission to the Youth Ambassadors Program are on a rolling basis.
Global warming predictions prove accurate | Environment Forecasts of global temperature rises over the past 15 years have proved remarkably accurate, new analysis of scientists' modelling of climate change shows. The debate around the accuracy of climate modelling and forecasting has been especially intense recently, due to suggestions that forecasts have exaggerated the warming observed so far – and therefore also the level warming that can be expected in the future. But the new research casts serious doubts on these claims, and should give a boost to confidence in scientific predictions of climate change. The paper, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature Geoscience, explores the performance of a climate forecast based on data up to 1996 by comparing it with the actual temperatures observed since. The study is the first of its kind because reviewing a climate forecast meaningfully requires at least 15 years of observations to compare against.
The carbon foodprint of 5 diets compared It is well understood that meat production has a big carbon footprint. Numerous studies detail the climate impact of livestock, but just how big is it’s impact on a person’s foodprint? This post compares the carbon footprints of five different American diets and finds that when it comes to foodprints vegan’s lead the way. The carbon footprint of different diets Even since the FAO announced that 18% of global emission result from livestock people have talked about the climate benefits of reducing meat consumption. More recent studies show that food system emissions could account for as much as quarter of all human emissions. Such studies beg the question, what is the impact of meat on an individual’s foodprint? This analysis tries to answer that question using data from the US. Meat Lover, Average, No Beef, Vegetarian and Vegan For each diet we look solely at the emissions associated with food supply, so we do not include those from consumer’s transportation, storage or the cooking of food.
Zika Virus Rumors and Theories That You Should Doubt Mounting evidence points to Zika. The outbreak of microcephaly began in northeastern Brazilian cities where doctors had already seen thousands of people with “doença misteriosa” — the mystery disease — which was later proved to be caused by the Zika virus. Although there is no rapid test for Zika, the symptoms are easily recognized — a rash, bloodshot eyes, fever and joint pain, in large numbers of patients who are almost never dangerously ill. Although they initially misdiagnosed it, Brazilian doctors knew for months that they had a large outbreak of an unusual disease on their hands. Within weeks after the “mystery disease” appeared, doctors began noticing an uptick in adult paralysis — Guillain-Barré syndrome, an auto-immune disease that can be triggered by viral infections. About a year after the outbreak began in northeast Brazil, cases of microcephaly began appearing among newborns there.
VIDEO: Union of Concerned Scientists Calls Out News Corporation for Overwhelmingly Misleading Coverage of Climate Science Union of Concerned Scientists calls out News Corporation for overwhelmingly misleading coverage of climate science On September 21, 2012, the Union of Concerned Scientists hand-delivered nearly 20,000 postcards to News Corporation's New York headquarters calling on News Corp. to stop misleading its audience about climate science. The delivery culminated a UCS-sponsored event that highlighted the current state of climate science and its coverage in the media. The video above captures the highlights from the day's activities in Bryant Park and outside News Corp. headquarters. News Corporation misleads nearly 4 million viewers and readers on climate science Our recent snapshot analysis, Is News Corp. Don't stand for it! Misinformation like this confuses the public about the facts of global warming and delays essential action to reduce the man-made emissions that cause global warming. Here's how you can help set the record straight: Tell Rupert Murdoch to get the facts straight!
The Venus Project Coordinates: The Venus Project organization advocates what founder Jacque Fresco calls a resource-based economy. The projected plan is to combine Fresco's versions of sustainable development, energy efficiency, natural resource management, and advanced automation in a global socioeconomic system based on social cooperation and scientific methodology. Located in Venus, Florida, the Venus Project is in a 21.5-acre (8.7-hectare) facility.[1] History[edit] The Venus Project was founded in 1995 as a for-profit corporation by Jacque Fresco and Roxanne Meadows in Venus, Florida.[2] A separate, nonprofit organization started by Fresco and his business partner Roxanne Meadows is Future By Design, founded in 2003.[3] Fresco lectures his ideas and gives tours of the Venus Project location.[4] Resource-based economy[edit] The term "resource based economy" is used by the Venus Project to describe a hypothetical economic system in which goods, services, and information are free. The Zeitgeist Movement[edit]
How Compassion Leads to Success There’s a common misconception that you have to be a jerk in order to succeed. In fact, science shows that compassionate people are healthier, happier, more popular and more successful. But… ew, what is “lovingkindness?” Sounds supremely syrupy and annoying. That’s where bestselling author, anchorman, and skeptic Dan Harris comes in. What turned it around for him was the science. The research on lovingkindness meditation shows that qualities like lovingkindness and compassion actually make us happier, which means we’re more resilient and capable. To explore this further, he created a new course on the 10% Happier app where he sits down with Sharon Salzberg, who is perhaps the most prominent proponent of lovingkindness meditation in the West, to explore why lovingkindness is actually a “no strings attached” gift to yourself and others. Qualities like lovingkindness and compassion actually make us happier, which means we’re more resilient and capable.
Anime for beginners: five TV series to get you started | Television & radio In Japan, manga and anime represent a huge chunk of overall sales in popular culture. Anime alone accounts for billions of pounds a year and on its release in 2001, Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away broke all records to become Japan's highest-grossing film ever. The origins of Japanese cartoons can be traced back to woodprints of the Edo era and "Great Wave" Hokusai's notebooks full of drawings. When cinema became the artform of the 20th century, cartoons made an effortless leap to movie theatres, and later started to appear on TV. The first popular anime TV series was Astro Boy, adapted from a 1950s manga book to appear on screens in 1963. Although popular in the west since the 1980s, anime cartoons still represent a fairly minority interest on these shores, and the sheer variety and quantity of styles can appear overwhelming to newcomers. So if you want to try this vibrant, dynamic artform, here are five offbeat, beautiful amine TV series to get you started. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Ghost Hound
Analysis: Is the Miracle of Microfinance Illusory? by S Kulkami (philadelphia and boston)Wednesday, October 07, 2015Inter Press Service PHILADELPHIA AND BOSTON, Oct 07 (IPS) - Mohammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, transformed the lives of millions of poor women through unsecured micro loans or micro credit to self-help groups. Microcredit evolved into microfinance that also includes savings and basic forms of insurance and transfer mechanisms. Within a few years, microfinance became a global phenomenon. Although microfinance continues to grow, the enthusiasm for it shows signs of waning. In recent years, there has been a great deal of scepticism regarding the "miracle" of microfinance. According to data from MIX, which tracks microfinance institutions (MFIs), there is a solid and growing base of microfinance providers, with a global loan portfolio amounting to US$ 81.5 billion in 2012 with an outreach of 91.4 million low income clients. Research has documented that social networks help the diffusion of microfinance.
US Drought Monitor This is how New Yorkers react to the sight of a child bride It’s not every day you see a 12-year-old posing for wedding photos with a 65-year-old man in the middle of a city. New Yorkers walking through Times Square were in for a shock when they spotted a young girl in a wedding dress beside a man more than five times her age. Their disgust is palpable. “How old are you sweetheart?” “How is this happening?” “Are you f**king kidding me?” The groom insists “I have the permission of the parents,” but the people walking by are not prepared to settle for this. The video stunt was orchestrated by YouTuber Coby Persin to shed light on the prevalence of child marriage across the world. Every year, 15 million girls are married as children. And in Lebanon, 1 in 100 people are married before their 15th birthday. Denied agency over their own futures and the chance to create a life for themselves, child brides often lose their right to education. Ending child marriage is crucial to empowering women and girls around the world.