A number of commentators have discussed a middle east worse case scenario over the past couple of months. The Futurist joined in with their September-October issue. The discussion is interesting and you can see a summary online here. The lead article acknowledges that a regional war engulfing the Middle East is still a “low probability …
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Month:September 2007
September VC deals and data
According to the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association, 107 private equity funds focused on investing in the emerging markets of Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa raised US$21.5 billion in capital commitments in the first half of 2007, compared to US$33.2 billion raised by 162 funds in all of 2006. Here’s their …
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A quick solution to climate change from the US: stop fighting
This linked article by Daniel Kammen at GreenBiz offers simple options to change the US energy consumption profile. His six point plan is: A national commitment to saving money and energy through energy efficiency measures at every step of the economic value chain (some states, including California are fully 40 percent more efficient than the …
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Are US organic standards becoming worthless?
Aurora Organic Dairy just a few weeks ago had a portion of its organic certification suspended by the USDA for “willfully” violating National Organic Standards thanks to pressure from OCA and others. Since 2003 it has failed to pasture its animals and by bringing conventional calves onto its feedlots and then declaring them organic. But …
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Being a parent, really
In September I took over most of the parenting chores to allow Pam to study for exams at the end of the month. This involved a minimum of 3 hours driving for the school run alone. Plus the usual grocery shopping, cooking and laundry. And of course giving the children something to do other than …
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Radical ocean solution for climate change
Writing in the journal Nature, Science Museum head Chris Rapley and Gaia theorist James Lovelock have suggested boosting ocean take-up of CO2 using huge flotillas of vertical pipes in tropical seas, a technology already being investigated by a US firm, Atmocean. The pipes use convection currents to bring cold water nearer the surface. The colder …
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Japanese protest history cover-up in text book
Over 100,000 people in Okinawa, Japan protested over proposals to change the account in school text books detailing the account of Japanese army involvement in mass suicides during World War 2. The protest was against moves to modify and tone down passages that say the army ordered Okinawans to kill themselves rather than surrender. When …
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Rare 19th century books to go on-line
The British Library is digitising and putting on-line more than 100,000 old books previously unavailable to the public. The programme focuses on 19th Century books, many of which are unknown as few were reprinted after first editions. This excellent initiative will help teachers who otherwise can not get access to this literature, and it will …
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Is Apple morphing in to Microsoft …?
In August the iPhone was hacked allowing users to choose which network they use. Now Apple has issued an “update” that disables phones that have been hacked. It also has disabled some phones that haven’t been hacked. The move demonstrates the collusive character of the mobile network in the US and illustrates a morphing of …
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The world is waking up to the reality of climate change
A BBC World Service poll, published a day after 150 countries met at the United Nations to discuss climate change, suggests most people believe human activity is causing global warming and major action is needed to deal with the problem. More than 22,000 people were surveyed in 21 countries. An average of 79% of respondents …
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