Business & management:
• In the recession in Britain, a trend is appearing of older workers above 50 being made redundant first, ahead of younger workers. A documentary due for broadcast next week, shows the higher impact that ageism is having on older employees during tough times.
• The European Union (EU) is calling for both airlines and shipping to be included in a global emissions trading plan intended as a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
• The US Center for Sustainable Innovation has produced a resource that enables companies to measure their water footprint.
• The 2009 Global 100 list of the most sustainable corporations was released at the Davos World Economic Forum.
Education
• Academic Earth is “an organization founded with the goal of giving everyone on earth access to a world class education”. Videos of lectures on every subject from universities around the world are posted on the site for anyone to view.
• An article from the Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, discusses the design of effective e-learning.
• Universities in Europe are also moving in the direction of open content for learning, “which could blow away the division between university students and the rest of the population”.
Environment & sustainability:
• An FAO expert says farmers will have to move away from conventional intensive farming methods over the next 40 years to grow enough food to meet the demands of a growing population and respond to climate change.
• The decision to suspend the implementation of London’s low emission zone is causing concern about air quality in the city. In addition, the European Commission has just started infringement proceedings against the UK for failing to comply with levels (in the air) of particulate matter.
• Conserving areas of bush and forest in cities is essential to the conservation of New Zealand's wasp species, according to research from Victoria University.
• A new study suggests that increasing greenhouse gases could delay, or even postpone indefinitely, the recovery of stratospheric ozone in some regions of the Earth.
• Scientists grading the 53 major fishing nations on how their intentions matched actions in complying with the UN international code of conduct, have discovered that more than 40% of the world's fishing is carried out unsustainably and largely in defiance of such codes.
Health & wellbeing:
• “Feeling Good About Where We Live” is an initiative by the London Borough of Greenwich. It focuses on improving local people's environment and living space with the hope that it will lead to improved mental health.
• A UK think tank has warned that millions of people in the UK who rely on social care risk becoming “second class citizens” unless their rights are protected by an NHS-style Constitution.
• Teenagers who smoke could be setting themselves up for depression later in life, according to a groundbreaking new Florida State University study.
• Australians may risk expanding the range of the mosquito that carries dengue fever, with changed water storage behaviour. "Water tanks and other water storage vessels such as modified wheelie bins are potential breeding sites for this disease-bearing mosquito.”
• Some biofuels cause more health problems than petrol and diesel, according to scientists who have calculated the health costs associated with different types of fuel.
• US scientists say that chemicals commonly found in food packaging, upholstery and carpets may be damaging women's fertility.
• A senior family planning official in China has noted an alarming rise in the number of babies with birth defects, saying environmental pollution was a cause of the increase.
Law & Government:
• A major report has been released in the UK on the impact of the credit crunch on regeneration that has been ongoing over the last decade.
• A UK study on community ownership and management of assets, reviewed existing evidence to explore the scale of community ownership in the UK, the benefits and outcomes that arise from it, and differing international approaches.
• ERMA New Zealand is calling for public submissions on a proposal to bring the requirements for possessing explosives into line with the requirements for possession of firearms, cyanide, and certain other high risk substances.
• US cities are increasingly trying to improve public awareness of environmental issues by providing electronic tools. Denver, Colorado has used a pilot test program that uses telemetry technology to send information about CO2 emissions and the cost of excess fuel consumed to drivers over the Internet.
People, culture & diversity:
• 'Change from Experience' is a report on a partnership set up in the UK to test how migrant and refugee community organisations could change policies and practices that are crucial to the lives of their communities.
• A charity allied to the Church of England in the UK, has released a report that suggests that the wellbeing of millions of children across Britain is being damaged by adults' aggressive pursuit of personal success.
Science, technology & transport:
• An Australian CSIRO report “Fuel for thought – The future of transport fuels: challenges and opportunities” discusses a range of plausible scenarios for the future of transport fuels in Australia.
• Late last year, the Ireland government set a target of 10% of all vehicles in the transport fleet to be powered by electricity by 2020, i.e. about 250,000 vehicles over the next 12 years.
• The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to require businesses owning 200 or more vehicles to have at least 5% of their fleets as fuel efficient vehicles from 2011.
• Hybrid vehicles combine the danger of 300 to 500 volts with a gas tank of fuel, meaning that emergency staff (police, fire, ambulance, etc) have an added complication to their work when such a vehicle crashes.
• An Arizona company is going into production this year with a velomobile – a vehicle that solves the cyclist’s wet weather dilemma while travelling faster than a bicycle can, but still using pedal power.
• In two Tokyo train stations, steps are under way to generate electricity from the floors of the ticket gates and staircases. If successful, passengers could help provide the train stations with 1,400 kilowatts per second each day.
• Oslo City Council has decided that biomethane, a by-product of treated sewage, will run 200 of the city’s public buses.
Thursday, 5 February 2009
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