Sunday, November 28, 2010

Child-Driven Education

Sugata Mitra is an educational scientist who has done a great deal of research on the social context of learning and technology. He makes clear that the social context where children are working together yields great benefits. One of his simple, optimistic messages is that, "If children have interest, then education happens." Mitra's research is powerful, as you'll hear in this video.


Thursday, November 25, 2010

Cures from the Ocean

"Jewels in the Mud" is an encouraging story about how marine biomedicine can fight drug resistance and disease. A microbe found on seaweed by William Fenical and his team at the University of California San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography has led to the drug Plinabulin, which blocks blood vessels in tumors from getting the nourishment they need, leading to their death, while leaving the healthy cells alone.

Professor Fenical is Director of the Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine (CMBB) at Scripps. His group "conducts research relevant to defining the roles and biomedical applications of the unique organic molecules produced by marine life. Programs are integrated to isolate and define chemical compounds which function as chemical defenses and molecules used for communication, and to assess the potential of these same compounds in the treatment of human and animal diseases. In drug discovery, a major focus is upon cancer, inflammatory diseases and in the discovery of new anti-infectives." Dr Fenical receives financial support for his research from the National Cancer Institute, the National Science Foundation, the National Sea Grant Program, the California BioStar Program and from a number of pharmaceutical companies.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

The Bridgebuilder

He is indeed an inspiring hero. Toni Ruttimann, who is in Burma right now, is as usual helping the needy build a bridge from materials he secures free of charge from companies. He's been doing this since 1987 when he left his native Switzerland for Ecuador upon hearing about the earthquake that had just struck there. On the spot one of the most immediate needs in the disaster area was building a bridge. So he began what would become his mission, helping local people build or rebuild suspension bridges after natural disasters, war or simply to avoid lengthy or tortuous crossings.

Toni does this without payment. He obtains steel rope, pipes, cement and the needed building materials and freight transport from Swiss cablecar builders and other companies, all free of charge. So far he has helped build almost 500 bridges in Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Burma.

Actively engaged in promoting human welfare and social reform, "Toni the Swiss" is truly an unsung hero and humanitarian.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Enabling a Low-carbon Expo 2010 in Shanghai

Large-scale events are often a catalyst for sustainable urban development, improved infrastructure and increased investment. There is no better example than Expo 2010 in Shanghai. For the first time in the Expo’s history, the Shanghai edition was low-carbon, applying successful experiences in city development by using innovative "green" technologies in areas including building, transportation, energy supply and waste treatment. Sustainable companies like Siemens are a major driver behind this improvement.

Siemens is supplying more than 1 billion Euros worth of infrastructure for both the Expo and Shanghai. More than 40 Expo projects were built using Siemens technologies that improve energy efficiency without reducing quality or comfort. For example, Siemens technologies powered the "China Red" of the China Pavilion, not only creating a marvelous impression, but also reducing energy consumption by 50%. The Expo’s five permanent constructions featured the latest in Siemens building technology, thereby reducing energy consumption by 25% compared with conventional buildings. To ensure continuous and efficient power supply, especially during the peak summer season, Siemens installed energy-saving power distribution equipment.

In the "We Are the World" Pavilion, Siemens partnered with the Expo Bureau to bring visitors a vision of life in a low-carbon future. Visitors experienced innovative technologies, such as a facial recognition system used for easy home access, e-cars enabled by smart grids, a virtual workshop that helps achieve work-life balance, a tailored menu proposed by an intelligent home refrigerator, and remote diagnostic technologies showing easy healthcare solutions, just to name a few. Most of the technologies displayed are in the company’s R&D pipeline or are prototype applications.

About 90% of the total Expo-relevant business related to environmentally friendly products and solutions that aim to upgrade city infrastructure while bringing down carbon emissions. A highly efficient power plant using Siemens technology covers 30% of Shanghai’s energy demand, but uses more than 1 million tons less coal per year. One hundred environmentally friendly highspeed trains that use key Siemens components will ultimately transport passengers from Beijing to Shanghai in less than five hours. The terminal of the high-speed line in Shanghai serves as part of the Hongqiao Transportation Hub, where Siemens installed China’s largest parking management system.

By 2018, Siemens will supply infrastructure to more than 20 other major event host cities worldwide, including infrastructure for stable power grids, public mass transit and healthcare. Along with creating and preserving jobs, those projects will also improve visitors’ experiences and the quality of life in the cities in which they take place.

Article originally published in the November 2010 edition of Sustain, the magazine of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Monday, November 15, 2010

End Corruption Now

Support the United Nations Global Compact, Transparency International and the World Economic Forum Partnering Against Corruption Initiative in sending the message to end corruption, by joining the End Corruption Now! Facebook Community page. It aims to promote greater global participation to fight corruption. The launch of this page sends "a strong message to the world at large that corruption is not just a matter for a few business people and public officials to be concerned about but rather an issue that affects people at all levels of society like you and me -- and that it is an issue that the wider general public cares about." To send a powerful message on December 9, 2010, International Anti-Corruption Day, to leaders of business, government and civil society, the goal of 5,000 fans joining the page is needed. So sign up and learn more about the fight against corruption in Thailand, the UK, India, Malawi and elsewhere.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Good News from Burma

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been released. Finally some good news from Myanmar. It's being reported worldwide so read all about it.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Biofuels Power China

In a major step forward for its carbon dioxide-cutting program, Unilever has launched a manufacturing process at its Hefei factory in China based on second-generation biofuels. Unlike the first-generation biofuels, the second generation uses non-edible plant residues and therefore does not compete with crops for food supply.

First active in China some 80 years ago, Unilever set up its manufacturing base for home and personal care products in Hefei in 2003, making it one of the biggest manufacturing sites for Unilever globally.

The business is now using straw as a source of fuel to produce laundry powder, reducing CO2 emissions by 15,000 tons annually (32% of total site emissions) at a considerably reduced cost to the business. The move further benefits the environment because it is no longer necessary to burn straw to produce a source of mineral replenishment for soil, which caused severe air pollution. Fortunately, the ash produced in the Hefei plant can also be used to replenish the soil – without the damage to air quality caused by burning.

"China clearly faces serious environmental challenges, making our new biofuel-based process even more meaningful, in addition to helping our local farming community to find a new commercial outlet for their waste. A win-win for all,” says David Ingram, VP, Supply Chain, Greater China Group. China is not alone in implementing biofuels programs. In Sri Lanka, the business has unveiled a new biofuel-powered boiler that uses agricultural residues such as coconut shells and sawdust to generate steam for manufacturing processes.

In India, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has been using biofuels in its Chiplun plant, in the Ratnagiri district, since 2006. Factories in Maharashtra and Pondicherry followed suit in 2007 and 2008 respectively – using biomass as fuel to generate steam. Plants in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and South Africa are also now using biofuels in their manufacturing processes.

As they do not compromise food supplies, second-generation biofuels are a prime example of Unilever’s commitment to renewable energies that deliver social and environmental benefits in the way they are sourced as well as in their eventual use. They will help Unilever boost its use of renewable energy, which currently stands at 17% of overall energy consumption.

Article originally published in the November 2010 edition of Sustain, the magazine of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Good News from Bond Markets: Is QE Already Working?

The Fed's decision to start printing money has generated no shortage of debate. On one hand, devaluing the US dollar to try to inflate asset prices in hopes of kick-starting spending, investment and job creation seems like a cheap trick that's bound to go badly -- after all, as critics point out, it seems to encourage the US to just keep on racking up larger and larger debts. On the other hand, the Federal Government seems unable or unwilling to produce stimulus packages large enough to do the job, leaving it to the Fed to figure out how to lower unemployment. Many argued that QE2 might not work, since handing cash to banks might not result in expanded credit. Banks aren't stupid: if economic conditions mean that lending out more will only result in more bad debts, they'll sit on their cash or use it to buy more bonds and sell those to the Fed for a profit. Or they'll lend it to their own traders and other hedge funds so it can be invested in higher-yielding bonds or stocks or other securities at home or overseas.

Some have argued that the goal of QE2 is to lower interest rates and therefore borrowing costs. This is only partially true. While the goal of quantitative easing is to pump cheap cash into the economy, the goal is not to push down long-term interest rates for homeowners to refinance. That might make sense: the promise that the Fed will buy $600 billion in Treasury bonds would drive up the price and drive the corresponding yields lower. In fact, the opposite is happening. Remember that inflation is the enemy of bonds, since it reduces the real value of repayments in the future. More importantly, inflation generally coincides with higher interest rates, which make existing bonds with lower rates less attractive as assets, particularly since they can end up yielding negative real returns. So the prospect of the Fed pumping cash into the economy and creating inflation should tend to push prices for longer-term bonds lower and yields higher.

In fact, this is what has been happening since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke first suggested that he might launch a new program of bond purchases back in late August at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Since then, yields on short-term Treasuries have dropped, while yields on longer-term Treasuries have climbed. The result is what is known as a steepening yield curve, which because it suggests rising inflation in the future, also implies accelerating economic growth. Here is the result in charts (with thanks to Stockcharts.com:

Here's the yield curve the day before Beranke's Jackson Hole speech:


And here it is today:


The difference in yields is small, but the overall effect is a steeper curve.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Pink Stinks

The Pink Stinks website endorses a campaign "that challenges the culture of pink which invades every aspect of girls' lives." Their message is that "body image obsession is starting younger and younger, and that the seeds are sown during the pink stage, as young girls are taught the boundaries within which they will grow up, as well as narrow and damaging messages about what it is to be a girl." Pink Stinks and cooltobe.me, a non-profit organization that highlights female role models, have collaborated on a film featuring Isa Guha of the England women's cricket team. They seek to celebrate women who are "inspirational, important, ground-breaking and motivating" because "by presenting children with images of women... all shapes, sizes, colours and kinds, doing all sorts of amazing things... we can go some way to improving their self-esteem and self worth." Help promote positive gender roles: support Pink Stinks.

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