An Eco-friendly Family Adventure across the World

One CNN website editor's choice is "An eco-friendly family adventure across the world", the story of Dario Schworer, a 42-year-old climatologist and mountain guide, and his family. Their aim: to promote eco-friendly ways of life. He, his 33-year-old wife Sabine Schworer-Ammaun, and their three children started out seven years ago with the goal of climbing the highest peaks on all continents and crossing the oceans using only non-motorized transport. They have a sailboat and otherwise walk or cycle to their next destination.

"We are collecting good examples of dealing with climate change and living in harmony with nature and spreading such ideas," Schworer told CNN. "We want to help people cope [who are] affected by global warming and inspiring children for the future."

"Great achievements can be done in harmony with nature," Schworer said. "But we must respect nature."

Among other things, they have collected 22 tonnes of trash, taught people in Ecuador to use the sun's rays to purify water and collected trash in the mountains of Nepal with school children, and visited 47 countries. They have also interacted with 45,000 children in South America, Australia and Asia, giving presentations about the importance of recycling and using alternative energy like solar and wind power.

"Since our belief is the need to respect nature, we travel only when conditions are good," Schworer said.

Read the full article on CNN's website at http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/06/09/family.travel.adventure/index.html?hpt=Mid

Progress Undented by Financial Crises

With the US-led crisis just behind us and another unfolding in Europe, one could be forgiven for becoming pessimistic about our prospects. But at the World Economic Forum’s Global Redesign Summit in Doha last week participants were asked to cast their gaze back over the last 60 years and ask, “How are we doing?” The answer: fantastically well. Sixty years ago, after all, Europe and much of Asia were still struggling to emerge from the ashes of the second world war. China has in the past 20 years achieved what the leaders of the Long March never could have imagined. And in just the past decade, Africa has emerged from decades of turmoil, famine and epidemics to become a promising new centre of growth. Incomes are more evenly distributed than ever. Fewer people proportionately live in poverty, hunger or the darkness of illiteracy than ever before. They have more choices than ever before. And now we stand on the threshold of a revolution in health brought about by bioengineering and nanotechnology. Times may be tough, but we have undoubtedly come a long, long way.