Business & management:
• The UK Green Building Council is making recommendations that will impact on developers, planners and policy-makers by increasing the level of biodiversity to be expected in building and urban environments.
• Sloan Management Review and the Boston Consulting Group are collaborating to work on finding the sustainability challenges that will have the greatest effect on managerial decision-making. An excerpt from the first of this series of interviews, includes a discussion about how to get out of the belief that success is only measured by growth.
• Scotland is intending to build the world’s largest tidal energy project, creating 700 jobs, to power a large computer data centre.
Education
• Male primary teachers may be unlikely to apply for jobs in schools where there are few other male teachers, contributing to the problem primary schools have in attracting them.
• British teachers are blaming an increase in bad behaviour in primary and secondary schools on the television programmes that children are watching.
• Also in the UK, researchers have confirmed that clever children may protect themselves from bullying or being shunned, by dumbing down and deliberately failing.
Environment & sustainability:
• A recent US online summit hosted by the Climate Savers Computing initiative and the EPA's Energy Star Program has been promoting the benefits of PC power management, emphasizing that some simple solutions can save a lot of power and money.
• Chicago is leading the US in green roofs in terms of total area, and has a goal of 6,000 rooftop gardens.
• Metro Vancouver Recycles is a reuse and recycling database set up in line with the region’s zero-waste policy. The database for customers, uses on-line maps to show the closest drop-off destinations, providing people with even more options than offered by municipal blue box collection programs.
• The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has published a guide, "Climate Literacy" to help people understand how climate influences them and how they influence climate.
Health & wellbeing:
• Initial results on a heart “polypill” seem encouraging, but experts still disagree whether it is ethical to prescribe a pill for “lifestyle issues”.
• British scientists are warning that the washing of disinfectants, shampoos and other household cleaners into sewers and rivers, is triggering the growth of drug-resistant bacteria.
• A US study has surprised South Florida public health officials by saying that commercial vessels - freighters, tankers and cruise ships - generate enough air pollution to pose "a significant health concern for coastal communities".
• A Canadian study has found that people who take public transport are more likely to meet a heart and stroke foundation’s suggested daily minimum of physical activity, with implications for urban planning and public transport development.
• “Broken heart syndrome” was recognised by doctors in the 1990s – most of the patients have recently suffered some sort of physical or emotional distress, just before their heart symptoms appear.
• A £140m scheme to offer free swimming pool use to people aged 16 and under or over 60 in England is under way (about 20 million people), but about 140 councils turned down funding, saying they could not afford to offer free swimming to children.
Law & Government:
• Identifying people through social networking took on a new focus, when a Facebook site went up in the UK attempting to catch a rapist, and there are concerns that social networking sites are being used to promote sectarian violence.
• An EU report supports security and fundamental freedoms on the Internet, in spite of moves by some countries (eg France) to implement restrictions similar to our S92A copyright amendment.
• From April 1st, 44 councils in the UK will combine to become just 9 councils, bringing two thirds of England under unitary governance, which already exists in Scotland and Wales. The challenge for these new councils is to overcome scepticism that they can deliver better, more efficient services.
• The UK Equality and Human Rights Commission is proposing that fathers get more paid time off when their child is born in recommendations to change maternity legislation, and redress the gender imbalance.
• In the latest annual survey of UK local e-government, a plea was included to authorities "to get a permissive copyright policy on your website, publish your data in a way that computers can read easily, don't charge for your data and respond positively to people who ask you for basic data sets".
• Local governments in the US expand at an astonishing rate, and one of the biggest challenges involves deciding what to do about local governments that have grown unsustainably numerous, large, intrusive, and irresponsible.
People, culture & diversity:
• An influential US science advisor says that the human population on Earth has exceeded it’s “limits of sustainability”.
• Research shows that greater use of social networking is making it more difficult for users to maintain their privacy.
• Newspapers in print may be waning, and some may simply shrug if news goes completely online, but there is a risk that the in-depth investigative journalism that newspapers produce, will not be duplicated in online media formats.
Science, technology & transport:
• An experiment has begun in Moscow involving 6 volunteers from Russia, France and Germany, to see whether humans could cope with the isolation of travelling to Mars and back.
• Mozilla, the developer of the Firefox internet browser has joined with a graphics company to work on “accelerated 3D graphics on the web”.
• Microsoft Windows 7 will have multi-touch controls built in, to help bring touch into the mainstream of computer technology.
• France’s Gendarmerie are saving millions of euros, thanks to their migration away from a Microsoft-based desktop to an open source desktop and web applications.
• US research has found that it may be necessary to have regulations in place around the number of rocket launches made globally. They have discovered that ozone losses in the atmosphere from launches will eventually exceed the damage done by CFCs if limits aren’t placed on the space industry.
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Thursday, 26 March 2009
From the LOGIS news alert subscriptions (ending 26/04):
Business & management:
• The UN is highlighting 5 key areas for investment that could help revive the global economy and boost employment while at the same time, accelerating the fight against climate change, environmental degradation and poverty.
• The status of the US dollar is under threat again, with a UN panel recommending this week, that the world abandon the dollar as its reserve currency, and instead adopt a collection of currencies, something like the old Ecu, or European currency unit, which was a hard-traded, weighted basket.
• The World Trade Organisation is expecting exports to drop by 9% in volume in 2009, the biggest drop since World War 2.
• An alternative approach to getting rid of the unwanted stuff that clutters peoples homes has appeared, one writer calling it “unconsumption”. Rather than dumping goods for disposal in landfills, people are now using websites that allow them to advertise used items they want to give away, with even Facebook taking part in the trend.
• 65% of US companies surveyed say that they value environmental and sustainability knowledge in job candidates and 78% of companies said that value will rise in the next 5 years. Companies are increasingly educating their employees about goals in these areas.
• US insurers with annual premiums above $500 million must disclose climate change risks to investors and regulators for the first time from 2010, with the introduction of the requirement to file Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Surveys.
• Research commissioned by the Holiday Accommodation Parks Association of New Zealand shows that while staying at holiday parks, travellers contribute at least $623 million in direct expenditure and support a wide range of businesses in the community.
Education
• A blog aimed specifically at baby boomers and seniors comes from a school that has been developing tools specific to helping seniors learn how to use the computer and the Internet.
• IBM staff have been converted to become fans of attending conferences in Second Life, after attending a Virtual World Conference and an Annual Meeting of IBM’s Academy of Technology.
Environment & sustainability:
• Water is critical to energy production, but the water / energy “nexus” can be overlooked. The World Economic Forum and Cambridge Energy Research Associates have just published “Energy Vision Update 2009. Thirsty energy: water and energy in the 21st Century”.
• NZs largest representative body in the water industry is changing its name. Water New Zealand is now the trading name of the New Zealand Water and Wastes Association. The change has been made to reflect the need for a more cohesive approach to the management, use and conservation of water.
• A UK conference on the emerging role of green infrastructure in creating sustainable towns and cities and successful places was held in London this week. The conference highlights official advice to the UK government to move spending out of “grey” projects, and into “green” schemes like parks.
• The Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center has concluded in a paper, that while the US government is likely to use market-led mechanisms (cap and trade, or carbon tax) to reduce CO2 emissions, it is not enough on its own to reduce emissions adequately by the middle of the century.
• The McKinsey Global Institute is predicting another oil-shock as soon as 2010 to 2013. As soon as economies are moving ahead again, the Institute expects that increased energy demand will inevitably force the price of oil up again.
• The Accenture Intelligent City Network with members from the U.S., China, Russia and the Netherlands, aims to bring utilities and city governments from around the world together to collaborate on putting smart grids in place.
Health & wellbeing:
• The NZ Institute of Safety Management is moving to join an internationally recognised occupational safety and health development program.
• Keeping an eye on elderly dementia sufferers can mean carers are forced to diminish the sufferers’ enjoyment of small freedoms. A care home in the UK is making use of satnav technology that allows dementia sufferers to take “walkabouts” without carers having to become restrictive.
Law & Government:
• Concerns are expressed in the UK, about public sector organisations needing to make sure that their communications network infrastructure offers appropriate built-in reliability and security and is protected with continuity schemes that guarantee accessibility when people need them during large-scale disasters.
People, culture & diversity:
• In the last 3 years, social networking has provided internet users with more opportunities for sharing short updates about themselves, their lives, and their whereabouts online. Use of Twitter and similar services is high amongst the young, but user figures drop rapidly by increasing age.
• A grandparent organisation in the UK has released a report that highlights the huge role grandparents play in caring for grandchildren whose parents work and in family life. There have been calls for tax breaks for grandparents who are carers, and “granny leave” for working grandparents when a grandchild is born.
Science, technology & transport:
• A UK transport select committee report is suggesting ways that councils could be involved in attempts to reduce traffic congestion caused by the school run, including providing free bikes, using American-style yellow buses and increasing free public transport.
• Abandoned fuel stations in London could get a new life, by being converted into fast charge stations for electric-powered vehicles.
• A US Dept of Energy laboratory has discovered that simply changing truck tires from dual tires to single wide tires increases fuel efficiency by 6-10%.
• Toronto is another North American city moving more quickly towards introducing electric vehicles to its roads.
• The UN is highlighting 5 key areas for investment that could help revive the global economy and boost employment while at the same time, accelerating the fight against climate change, environmental degradation and poverty.
• The status of the US dollar is under threat again, with a UN panel recommending this week, that the world abandon the dollar as its reserve currency, and instead adopt a collection of currencies, something like the old Ecu, or European currency unit, which was a hard-traded, weighted basket.
• The World Trade Organisation is expecting exports to drop by 9% in volume in 2009, the biggest drop since World War 2.
• An alternative approach to getting rid of the unwanted stuff that clutters peoples homes has appeared, one writer calling it “unconsumption”. Rather than dumping goods for disposal in landfills, people are now using websites that allow them to advertise used items they want to give away, with even Facebook taking part in the trend.
• 65% of US companies surveyed say that they value environmental and sustainability knowledge in job candidates and 78% of companies said that value will rise in the next 5 years. Companies are increasingly educating their employees about goals in these areas.
• US insurers with annual premiums above $500 million must disclose climate change risks to investors and regulators for the first time from 2010, with the introduction of the requirement to file Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Surveys.
• Research commissioned by the Holiday Accommodation Parks Association of New Zealand shows that while staying at holiday parks, travellers contribute at least $623 million in direct expenditure and support a wide range of businesses in the community.
Education
• A blog aimed specifically at baby boomers and seniors comes from a school that has been developing tools specific to helping seniors learn how to use the computer and the Internet.
• IBM staff have been converted to become fans of attending conferences in Second Life, after attending a Virtual World Conference and an Annual Meeting of IBM’s Academy of Technology.
Environment & sustainability:
• Water is critical to energy production, but the water / energy “nexus” can be overlooked. The World Economic Forum and Cambridge Energy Research Associates have just published “Energy Vision Update 2009. Thirsty energy: water and energy in the 21st Century”.
• NZs largest representative body in the water industry is changing its name. Water New Zealand is now the trading name of the New Zealand Water and Wastes Association. The change has been made to reflect the need for a more cohesive approach to the management, use and conservation of water.
• A UK conference on the emerging role of green infrastructure in creating sustainable towns and cities and successful places was held in London this week. The conference highlights official advice to the UK government to move spending out of “grey” projects, and into “green” schemes like parks.
• The Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center has concluded in a paper, that while the US government is likely to use market-led mechanisms (cap and trade, or carbon tax) to reduce CO2 emissions, it is not enough on its own to reduce emissions adequately by the middle of the century.
• The McKinsey Global Institute is predicting another oil-shock as soon as 2010 to 2013. As soon as economies are moving ahead again, the Institute expects that increased energy demand will inevitably force the price of oil up again.
• The Accenture Intelligent City Network with members from the U.S., China, Russia and the Netherlands, aims to bring utilities and city governments from around the world together to collaborate on putting smart grids in place.
Health & wellbeing:
• The NZ Institute of Safety Management is moving to join an internationally recognised occupational safety and health development program.
• Keeping an eye on elderly dementia sufferers can mean carers are forced to diminish the sufferers’ enjoyment of small freedoms. A care home in the UK is making use of satnav technology that allows dementia sufferers to take “walkabouts” without carers having to become restrictive.
Law & Government:
• Concerns are expressed in the UK, about public sector organisations needing to make sure that their communications network infrastructure offers appropriate built-in reliability and security and is protected with continuity schemes that guarantee accessibility when people need them during large-scale disasters.
People, culture & diversity:
• In the last 3 years, social networking has provided internet users with more opportunities for sharing short updates about themselves, their lives, and their whereabouts online. Use of Twitter and similar services is high amongst the young, but user figures drop rapidly by increasing age.
• A grandparent organisation in the UK has released a report that highlights the huge role grandparents play in caring for grandchildren whose parents work and in family life. There have been calls for tax breaks for grandparents who are carers, and “granny leave” for working grandparents when a grandchild is born.
Science, technology & transport:
• A UK transport select committee report is suggesting ways that councils could be involved in attempts to reduce traffic congestion caused by the school run, including providing free bikes, using American-style yellow buses and increasing free public transport.
• Abandoned fuel stations in London could get a new life, by being converted into fast charge stations for electric-powered vehicles.
• A US Dept of Energy laboratory has discovered that simply changing truck tires from dual tires to single wide tires increases fuel efficiency by 6-10%.
• Toronto is another North American city moving more quickly towards introducing electric vehicles to its roads.
Thursday, 19 March 2009
From the LOGIS news alert subscriptions (ending 19/03):
Business & management:
• Taking a boss hostage during disputes between them and their staff is becoming an increasingly common protest gesture in France.
• Switzerland has opened up its legendary system of bank secrecy and agreed to hand over information on wealthy clients suspected of tax evasion, following international pressure.
• Since the 1960s, teachers mainly in the US but also in the UK, have used Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz as an allegory of the economic depression of the late 19th Century.
• Resolution of equal pay claims in the UK is bogged down, with a 500% rise in claims in the last 4 years leaving employment tribunals struggling.
• A Pacific Institute report has concluded that the impacts of declining water quality and availability will be “far-reaching” for business and industry in the developed as well as the developing world.
Education
• The report on bullying in NZ schools is available from the website of the Children’s Commissioner.
• UK research conducted on behalf of the Good Schools Guide confirms what many parents of daughters have found - girls are far more likely to thrive, pass exams and stay in education if they go to a single-sex school.
• The first Maori language curriculum for mainstream schools was launched today. The launch is “a milestone for race relations in general because it will enable all NZ children to experience some Maori language from the very beginning of their schooling.”
Environment & sustainability:
• Local Government Climate Change Adaptation Toolkit was launched at the 'Adaptation to Climate Change Forum' in Melbourne in early March.
• According to China’s top climate change negotiator, consumer countries should take responsibility for the carbon emissions generated in the manufacture of goods, not the producer countries that export them.
• An executive officer of the Sydney Coastal Councils Group that has just received a report on climate change says, “Councils …...are a bit scared to declare the risks to their communities because they are waiting for direction from the state government”.
• The Swedish city of Kalmar is a coastal industrial city that has become the model for what all of Sweden hopes to achieve in becoming carbon neutral by mid-century.
• IBM has published a report that examines the opportunities and challenges of strategic water management. Five case studies provide perspectives from projects around the world.
• An economist at the Copenhagen climate change conference has said that the Kyoto protocol is “inefficient and ineffective” and should be dropped in favour of global carbon taxation. Scientists at the conference produced a list of 6 key messages about climate change.
Law & Government:
• Proposals about a Digital Rights Agency have been launched in the UK as part of the Digital Britain report, to trigger debate on the subject. The report highlights attitude changes in the digital age, saying consumers are no longer prepared to be told when and where they can access content.
• An Australian report on local government and the constitution, says that local government “is and always has been weak - a "servant" of the states - but recognition in the Australian constitution would have its dangers”.
• The Sustainable Public Lighting in Australia Toolbox is a 'one-stop-shop' which enables councils to access reports, tools, guidelines, policy and news to keep up-to-date on sustainable public lighting.
People, culture & diversity:
• The British Library thinks it has “mislaid” 9000 books, while 4 million volumes are to eventually transfer from the Bodleian Library in Oxford to a storage site in Swindon.
• Symantec’s Online Living report has found that UK parents believe their children are online for 18.8 hours per month, when the true figure is 43.5 hours.
• The Australian Local Government Association has an “Ageing Toolbox” called “Planning for an ageing community”.
• An international expert on child-friendly cities is in NZ from 18-24 March to talk about how cities can be made better for children, and will be attending the NZ Community Boards' Conference.
Science, technology & transport:
• The Centre for Independent Studies, an Australian policy think tank, has produced a report on the Australian car industry that suggests intervention by the Australian government may not succeed in saving the industry there.
• Pedestrian behaviour when crossing roads varies greatly, depending on the country. A proposal to use count down timers on crossings in London has raised the suggestion that it will make pedestrians “feel inferior” to drivers.
• Digital security is an increasingly serious issue. A BBC programme has shown just how easy it is for someone to create their own low-value botnet (a network of hijacked home computers), and a survey of London commuters suggests that 4.2m Britons store data on their mobiles that could be used in identity theft if the mobile is stolen.
• A conference in the UK has been told that the paper-like layered interfaces of systems like Windows, Linux and Mac OS requiring mouse, keyboard and desktop graphical interfaces will be replaced by gesture and touch interfaces.
• Taking a boss hostage during disputes between them and their staff is becoming an increasingly common protest gesture in France.
• Switzerland has opened up its legendary system of bank secrecy and agreed to hand over information on wealthy clients suspected of tax evasion, following international pressure.
• Since the 1960s, teachers mainly in the US but also in the UK, have used Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz as an allegory of the economic depression of the late 19th Century.
• Resolution of equal pay claims in the UK is bogged down, with a 500% rise in claims in the last 4 years leaving employment tribunals struggling.
• A Pacific Institute report has concluded that the impacts of declining water quality and availability will be “far-reaching” for business and industry in the developed as well as the developing world.
Education
• The report on bullying in NZ schools is available from the website of the Children’s Commissioner.
• UK research conducted on behalf of the Good Schools Guide confirms what many parents of daughters have found - girls are far more likely to thrive, pass exams and stay in education if they go to a single-sex school.
• The first Maori language curriculum for mainstream schools was launched today. The launch is “a milestone for race relations in general because it will enable all NZ children to experience some Maori language from the very beginning of their schooling.”
Environment & sustainability:
• Local Government Climate Change Adaptation Toolkit was launched at the 'Adaptation to Climate Change Forum' in Melbourne in early March.
• According to China’s top climate change negotiator, consumer countries should take responsibility for the carbon emissions generated in the manufacture of goods, not the producer countries that export them.
• An executive officer of the Sydney Coastal Councils Group that has just received a report on climate change says, “Councils …...are a bit scared to declare the risks to their communities because they are waiting for direction from the state government”.
• The Swedish city of Kalmar is a coastal industrial city that has become the model for what all of Sweden hopes to achieve in becoming carbon neutral by mid-century.
• IBM has published a report that examines the opportunities and challenges of strategic water management. Five case studies provide perspectives from projects around the world.
• An economist at the Copenhagen climate change conference has said that the Kyoto protocol is “inefficient and ineffective” and should be dropped in favour of global carbon taxation. Scientists at the conference produced a list of 6 key messages about climate change.
Law & Government:
• Proposals about a Digital Rights Agency have been launched in the UK as part of the Digital Britain report, to trigger debate on the subject. The report highlights attitude changes in the digital age, saying consumers are no longer prepared to be told when and where they can access content.
• An Australian report on local government and the constitution, says that local government “is and always has been weak - a "servant" of the states - but recognition in the Australian constitution would have its dangers”.
• The Sustainable Public Lighting in Australia Toolbox is a 'one-stop-shop' which enables councils to access reports, tools, guidelines, policy and news to keep up-to-date on sustainable public lighting.
People, culture & diversity:
• The British Library thinks it has “mislaid” 9000 books, while 4 million volumes are to eventually transfer from the Bodleian Library in Oxford to a storage site in Swindon.
• Symantec’s Online Living report has found that UK parents believe their children are online for 18.8 hours per month, when the true figure is 43.5 hours.
• The Australian Local Government Association has an “Ageing Toolbox” called “Planning for an ageing community”.
• An international expert on child-friendly cities is in NZ from 18-24 March to talk about how cities can be made better for children, and will be attending the NZ Community Boards' Conference.
Science, technology & transport:
• The Centre for Independent Studies, an Australian policy think tank, has produced a report on the Australian car industry that suggests intervention by the Australian government may not succeed in saving the industry there.
• Pedestrian behaviour when crossing roads varies greatly, depending on the country. A proposal to use count down timers on crossings in London has raised the suggestion that it will make pedestrians “feel inferior” to drivers.
• Digital security is an increasingly serious issue. A BBC programme has shown just how easy it is for someone to create their own low-value botnet (a network of hijacked home computers), and a survey of London commuters suggests that 4.2m Britons store data on their mobiles that could be used in identity theft if the mobile is stolen.
• A conference in the UK has been told that the paper-like layered interfaces of systems like Windows, Linux and Mac OS requiring mouse, keyboard and desktop graphical interfaces will be replaced by gesture and touch interfaces.
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