The launch by YouTube of a site where users can raise concerns about cyber-bulling puts in to sharp focus the reality of teh virtual worlds we create. While the YouTube initiative illustrates the nature and extent of personal abuse by internet or phone-text, it should not detract from awareness that traditional non-physical abuse is also …
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Category:Living
Another civilisation destroyed by ecological over-consumption
In August we heard about new satellite evidence that shows how the ancient Khmer civilisation around Angkor Wat collapsed when its consumption of water resources exceeded natural limits. A new study outlined at the recent Climate and Humans conference in Murcia, Spain, and appearing in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, shows that one of Western …
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Transport more important to us than children?
There are now three times more cars than children in the UK says a report commissioned by Play England who say that the disappearance of places where children can play demands a “robust and urgent response”. While the statistic in itself may be a bit misleading, since it does not reflect car ownership per family, …
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Theft in the virtual world … a step in the right direction?
A teenager has been arrested for stealing virtual furniture in a virtual hotel in a virtual world (Habbo). The furniture was paid for with real money, however. This is another step in the realisation of virtual reality. Earlier this year we heard of a real world intellectual property litigation over virtual businesses in a virtual …
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Can we walk the talk? Its harder than you think …
A fairly extensive poll by the BBC inquiring whether individuals can make lifestyle changes to redress damage to the biosphere returned a positive result. Most of us think we can and will make changes. This is a good start, but we should not be complacent for a two main reasons: The changes envisioned are modest …
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Saudi visit to Vatican shows the way
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia visited the Pope on this European tour. This meeting helps to alleviate some of the religious tension in geopolitics and an example for enlightened Muslims and Christians to observe. Both leaders represent communities which legislate restrictions on personal behaviour, from celibacy to limitations on public expression, and may seem to …
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Food prices rising – eat less meat.
The natural constraints of land are beginning to be felt, as this slide show illustrates. Meat consumption is rising. Meat demands 5-10x more land per calorie. Arable land is shrinking. More people are eating more. The solution: eat less and eat less meat.
Another US execution paused
The US Supreme Court granted a stay of execution to Mississippi death-row inmate Earl Wesley Berry moments before he was due to die. His lawyers requested the execution be stopped until the court rules on whether death by lethal injection is unconstitutional. His temporary reprieve adds to a series of stays granted since a challenge …
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Living with nature in California
The extensive wildfires in Southern California at the end of October have been devastating: half a million acres burnt, 7 dead, and 1,800 structures burnt. But they are not unexpected, have happened before and will happen again. The native Americans were more cautious about development in this area realising the fire hazard, and would even …
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Eco baby shower, a la Sheryl Crowe
This article caught my eye because my children like to listen to Sheryl Crowe. The article links a handful of sites that offer advice and products to green your baby’s public debut. See Behind the Scenes at Sheryl Crow’s Green Baby Shower, Party Planner to the Stars Shares Tips and Tricks for Eco-Showers