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Global Warming - Salon.com
"So what's next? A series of essays by Sarah Palin about the Large Hadron Collider and the mysteries of dark matter? An MIT lecture series by Rush Limbaugh regarding the thermodynamics of black holes? A Festschrift of Sean Hannity's scholarly articles on plate tectonics and volcano formation? Glenn Beck performing live heart-lung transplants on Fox News?
Everybody understands that these things couldn't happen. That when it comes to serious scientific endeavor, years of study and professional apprenticeship are required. In a word, expertise.
Ex-beauty contestants, drive-time DJs, TV sports announcers, hairstylists, newspaper columnists -- basically anybody whose math skills topped out in the 10th grade -- rarely have anything substantive to add to the sum of technical and scientific knowledge. That's what they most resent about it.
It's not impossible that such persons could educate themselves sufficiently to have an informed opinion, but it's rare. Most of us, most of the time, are like historian and blogger Josh Marshall: "The fact that the vast majority of people with specialized knowledge in the field think there's a problem is good enough for me," he wrote. "I can't be knowledgeable about everything. And I'm comfortable with the modern system in which the opinions of really knowledgeable people with expertise counts more in cases like this than people who know nothing at all.""
socialglobalgreen - home
"A new sort of tools - and a new sort of ethics - are required for the next generation of students to succeed in the face of global challenges. Come explore how social media can be used by educators to effect positive social change. See examples of how teachers have collaborated with colleagues, connected their classrooms to others around the globe, and helped to bring green initiatives to their schools and communities. Discover how students too can use powerful (and often free) tools to tap into their own passions, bring new relevance to their learning, and make a real difference in their world."
Networking for Social Responsibility - WSJ.com
"Like eBay, a growing number of companies are turning to business schools these days for help in redefining what it means to be socially responsible. School administrators say firms in industries across the board are looking to incorporate initiatives in this area into their business plans and everyday leadership decisions."
YesICan Polar Science 2009
"In 2005 and 2006 we followed the Antarctic field seasons of a team of scientists from the United States and Canada. Led by Dr. Shane Kanatous, the team is trying to answer the question - how do the skeletal muscles of seals develop to work during deep dives, even when the animal is not breathing for long periods of time. The researchers believe the answers to this question may have tremendous implications for human medicine. By understanding how another mammal has successfully overcome the debilitating effects of working under low oxygen conditions, we may be able to learn new therapeutic approaches to assist humans with heart or lung disease.
While 2009 is not a field season for Dr. Kanatous and his research team, we will be working with both Dr. Kanatous and Dr. Hawke from their labs in Colorado and Ontario. They are very generously giving their time to help us investigate the physiology of the Weddell seal, and its amazing ability to exercise deep under water without the need to take a breath. Along the way, you'll gain a better understanding of the workings of your own cardiovascular system. "
Connected Classrooms - Home
"hree classrooms in Ontario will raise awareness to important issues around the world using a variety of resources and technologies. They will also seek opportunities to connect their classrooms to each other using tools available online. "
Facebook used to target Colombia's FARC with global rally
"Bogotá, Colombia - Hundreds of thousands of Colombians are expected to march throughout the country and in major cities around the world Monday to protest against this nation's oldest and most powerful rebel group.
What began as a group of young people venting their rage at the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Facebook, an Internet social-networking site, has ballooned into an international event called "One Million Voices Against FARC."
"We expected the idea to resound with a lot of people but not so much and not so quickly," says Oscar Morales, who started the Facebook group against the FARC, which now has 230,000 members. Organizers are expecting marches in 185 cities around the world. "
Adam Pasick | Journalist Profiles |
"They found that the difference between an heavy meat-eating diet and a vegan diet was about 2 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per person per year. The difference between a Prius and an SUV (they used a Suburban, which gets about the same mileage as a Hummer) was 4.76 tons per year."
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They found that the difference between an heavy meat-eating diet and a vegan diet was about 2 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per person per year. The difference between a Prius and an SUV (they used a Suburban, which gets about the same mileage as a Hummer) was 4.76 tons per year.
Tanzanian Schoolkids Tweet Their Thanks For Global Donations
"Epic Change launched the original TweetsGiving celebration in November 2008 as a 48-hour celebration of gratitude and giving that successfully raised over $10,000 to build a classroom in Arusha, Tanzania. Imagined and built entirely by volunteers in six days, TweetsGiving was launched 2 days before the US Thanksgiving holiday, and quickly became the #1 trending topic on Twitter as thousands of grateful tweets from across the globe filled the stream, and hundreds of blogs...Epic Change invested the funds to build a classroom at a school founded by Tanzanian Epic Change fellow "Mama Lucy" Kamptoni, a woman who used to sell chickens and used her income to build a school that now serves over 300 children near her home in Arusha. In this classroom built from gratitude, the Twitter handles of donors are now painted on the walls."
TweetsGiving 2009 — About TweetsGiving
"Epic Change launched the original TweetsGiving celebration in November 2008 as a 48-hour celebration of gratitude and giving that successfully raised over $10,000 to build a classroom in Arusha, Tanzania. Imagined and built entirely by volunteers in six days, TweetsGiving was launched 2 days before the US Thanksgiving holiday, and quickly became the #1 trending topic on Twitter as thousands of grateful tweets from across the globe filled the stream, and hundreds of blogs, from Mashable to VentureBeat, spread the story."
SeeClickFix: Report non-emergency issues, receive alerts in your neighborhood
Tools to help Communities help Themselves.
Governor Rendell Announces Grants for Alternative, Renewable Energy Sources
"The Energy Harvest Program will create opportunities to better manage our energy resources in a way that also improves our environment, supports economic development and enhances our quality of life," said Governor Rendell. "The number of worthy projects seeking financial assistance greatly outpaces available state funding. The federal Recovery Act funding provides additional opportunities to invest in our future. These projects will produce short- and long-term benefits by putting people to work and creating immediate energy savings, and by producing clean, renewable energy that will help power homes for years to come."
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Add Sticky Note"The Energy Harvest Program will create opportunities to better manage our energy resources in a way that also improves our environment, supports economic development and enhances our quality of life," said Governor Rendell. "The number of worthy projects seeking financial assistance greatly outpaces available state funding. The federal Recovery Act funding provides additional opportunities to invest in our future. These projects will produce short- and long-term benefits by putting people to work and creating immediate energy savings, and by producing clean, renewable energy that will help power homes for years to come."
- Hope the governor finds some money for education. - on 2009-08-26
Paul Hawken Commencement Address
"Basically, the earth needs a new operating system, you are the programmers, and we need it within a few decades.
This planet came with a set of operating instructions, but we seem to have misplaced them. Important rules like don’t poison the water, soil, or air, and don’t let the earth get overcrowded, and don’t touch the thermostat have been broken. Buckminster Fuller said that spaceship earth was so ingeniously designed that no one has a clue that we are on one, flying through the universe at a million miles per hour, with no need for seatbelts, lots of room in coach, and really good food – but all that is changing."
Children & Nature Network (C&NN)
"The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) was created to encourage and support the people and organizations working to reconnect children with nature. C&NN provides access to the latest news and research in the field and a peer-to-peer network of researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children's health and well-being."
Educational Leadership:Teaching Social Responsibility:The Window into Green
But wait, it gets worse. If you place your finger on the pulse of the planet, this is what you'll discover: global surface temperatures rising, glaciers melting, oceans warming, sea levels rising, rain forests burning, coral reefs dying, old-growth forests disappearing, deserts spreading, the world's population increasing, and species vanishing at the highest rates since the extinction of the dinosaurs.
In short, the ecology that underpins our economy is also collapsing. And the solutions to this challenge elude not only most of our graduates, but also us—their teachers, administrators, and parents.
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But wait, it gets worse. If you place your finger on the pulse of the planet, this is what you'll discover: global surface temperatures rising, glaciers melting, oceans warming, sea levels rising, rain forests burning, coral reefs dying, old-growth forests disappearing, deserts spreading, the world's population increasing, and species vanishing at the highest rates since the extinction of the dinosaurs.
In short, the ecology that underpins our economy is also collapsing. And the solutions to this challenge elude not only most of our graduates, but also us—their teachers, administrators, and parents.
- Every teacher should be an environmentalist. - on 2009-06-18
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A typical high school student is aware of environmental issues, has discussed and debated climate change or rain forest loss in some class sometime, and might have bumper-sticker answers to lapel-pin questions. But do our students know where the trash goes when it leaves their house? The leading source of greenhouse gas emissions? Why we recycle? (Glass and aluminum, after all, are not rare resources.) If you ask a group of students what we can do to combat the warming trend, several will chime in that we need to remove chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from hair spray. (Many high schoolers conflate global warming with ozone depletion and haven't been told that CFCs were removed from the market 20 years ago.)
My organization surveyed high school students on these questions and more and discovered that although students are overwhelmingly "pro-environment," they possess remarkably little information about breaking environmental issues. One small example: We asked them to name one bird they can identify by song. The leading answer? None. If local birds disappear from the landscape because of extinction, or arrive three weeks late because of warming climates, it's possible that no one will notice.
- They know nothing about life cycle analysis - on 2009-06-18
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Daniel Goleman (Ecological Intelligence) Interview with Bill Moyer
BILL MOYERS: When I finished your book, I wrote down what I took to be your message. Here it is. The things we buy and use come usually with a hidden price tag. And if we don't read that hidden price tag our children and grandchildren face a disaster. Fair enough?
DANIEL GOLEMAN: I think that's well put. The sad fact is that what we see in the store, what we put in our homes, what we use every day, all those objects, all those friendly products that we're so used to, has a hidden legacy which has to do with their impacts on the environment, on our health, on ecosystems, on the people that made them, that starts from the moment that they start to extract the ingredients. Manufacture through transport, through use, disposal. At every stage in that progression, over the life cycle of a product, there's a new methodology. It's called life cycle assessment.
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BILL MOYERS: When I finished your book, I wrote down what I took to be your message. Here it is. The things we buy and use come usually with a hidden price tag. And if we don't read that hidden price tag our children and grandchildren face a disaster. Fair enough?
DANIEL GOLEMAN: I think that's well put. The sad fact is that what we see in the store, what we put in our homes, what we use every day, all those objects, all those friendly products that we're so used to, has a hidden legacy which has to do with their impacts on the environment, on our health, on ecosystems, on the people that made them, that starts from the moment that they start to extract the ingredients. Manufacture through transport, through use, disposal. At every stage in that progression, over the life cycle of a product, there's a new methodology. It's called life cycle assessment.
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that information is now available to you and me while we're shopping.
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