From the LOGIS news alert subscriptions (ending 13/03):

Business & management:
• Over half of professionals working in Australasia are looking for another job either actively or passively – although only 17% of those surveyed were NZers.

Environment & sustainability:
• The FAO is calling on countries to begin providing data for the 2010 Global Forest Resources Assessment, the data from which will help in measuring the impact of deforestation on climate change.
• The UN Environmental Programme has launched the Green Passport, intended to make travellers aware of some of the things they can do to make tourism a sustainable activity.
• The World Meteorological Organisation says that governments, businesses and the public need more sophisticated information on weather from their national meteorological agencies, so that they can cope with climate variability and change.
• In China, so-called green energy companies manufacturing solar power cells are polluting the local environment, because they haven’t implemented the expensive waste management systems needed for photovoltaic production, and are even dumping waste near residential areas.
• Milwaukee was host earlier this month to the first Urban Agriculture Conference to have an international audience. The conference attracted academic researchers, city planners, health officials and urban farmers. The US government takes the idea of urban agriculture seriously (e.g. with the 1996 Community Food Security Act), as concerns about food security grow.
• Those parts of the world where drought is common may need to think again about electric vehicles, which need 17 times more water per mile than a petrol-powered vehicle.

Health & wellbeing:
• The Chip Group began as an ad hoc way of swapping notes on the industry. It’s now evolved to become an industry group aiming to raise the nutritional standards of takeaway chips, with the Best Chip Shop Competition, and the launch of the world’s first chip standards: “New Zealand Standards for Deep Fried Chips in Independent Fast Food Outlets”.
• Associated Press has been investigating drinking water supplies in the US, and has discovered that traces of pharmaceuticals can be found in the water supply to 41 million Americans. The concentrations found are minimal, but there are concerns about long-term exposure to unregulated and unintended combinations of drugs.

Law & Government:
• The government’s Urban Design Protocol now has 150 signatories, with Hutt City Council joining the initiative.
• The government has made a formal submission to the UK government over proposed changes to short-term (including ancestry) visas for NZers travelling to the UK. The proposed changes would mean a maximum stay of 3 months, rather than the 6-12 months available with current visas.
• Calendars printed last year are confusing some people about the last day for daylight saving this year. Beginning on the last Sunday of September, and ending on the first Sunday of April, means that daylight saving for this year ends on 6th April.
• The government’s main web portal has been upgraded and was launched today, with much work being done to improve the search function.

People, culture & diversity:
• In a paper by Phoenix Research commissioned by Persil, “Children being children: a New Zealand mother's perspective” results show that 92% of NZ mothers believe that children are growing up too quickly compared to 76% globally. However, the report shows that more Kiwi kids spend more time outside playing than children from other countries.
• And in London, a new policy has been introduced that requires all new housing development applications to include play and recreation facilities.
• Forced marriages are widespread and occurring over a range of ethnic minorities in the UK, with 3000 women a year coerced into marriage, according to a recent report. Although the government has a forced marriage unit, it’s only handling 300 cases a year.
• Minorities and indigenous peoples are in more danger from climate change, and are often last on any lists for aid, according to "State of the World's Minorities 2008" report from Minority Rights Group International (MRG).

Science, technology & transport:
• A “geothermal renaissance” is taking place around NZ, with at least 6 new geothermal power stations planned, including one in Northland.
• A British company has developed a security camera that can see through clothing from up to 25m away.
• In the future, you may be able to power your lights by plugging into the paint on your building. Scientists in the UK are working on a way to paint solar cells onto the steel sheets used to clad large buildings.
• Digital information is starting to outstrip the ability to store it, as there is now more digital information being created, captured or replicated than there is available storage in the form of tapes, CDs DVDs and memory.