The Rockerfeller Foundation plans to divest fossil fuel assets in its portfolio. The Fund will first focus on limiting its exposure to coal and tar sands, with a goal to reduce these investments to less than one percent of the total portfolio by the end of 2014. It is planning for further divestment as quickly …
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Author:astraea
To save nature, just say NO, thank you.
The Economist offers analysis and a guide to curbing greenhouse gases, as the UN conference on climate change approaches. Here’s their summary table. Notice that the Montreal Protocol achieved the most by a wide margin. The next most effective policy has been China’s one-child policy. The effectiveness of both is supported by the simple discipline …
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DuoLingo: Learn a language for free. Forever.
Duolingo is a free language-learning and crowdsourced text translation platform. The service is designed so that, as users progress through the lessons, they simultaneously help to translate websites and other documents. They even offer Irish courses! And Duolingo won Best Education Startup at the 2014 Crunchies. Duolingo offers extensive written lessons and dictation, but it …
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You Can Learn Anything
The Learning Myth: Why I’ll Never Tell My Son He’s Smart by Salman Khan My 5-year-old son has just started reading. Every night, we lie on his bed and he reads a short book to me. Inevitably, he’ll hit a word that he has trouble with: last night the word was “gratefully.” He eventually got …
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Irish anglers being fished by the state
Sorry, did I say fished? I meant something else … A two-day International Conference ‘Celebrating River Restoration in Ireland and Europe’ organised by MulkearLIFE and hosted by the project’s coordinating beneficiary Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) took place in Limerick this week. The project received € 1.7 million in public money. Local anglers tried to protest …
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Is Amazon destruction your fault?
Sadly, the truth is that we are all to blame. We demand the paper or burgers or whatever it is for which the tropical woods are consumed. Ok, so you want to deny it or ignore it. That’s OK. Today. But tomorrow we’re all going to have to face the truth. Sooner or later we’ll …
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We’re 20 years away from catastrophe, says PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“Low Carbon Economy Index,” a report released by the accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers, has numerous stark warnings. Sadly they are unlikely to be heeded by those that matter – big companies, governments and people like you and me – because those are the culprits identified in the report. According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers report, “the gap between …
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The planet is melting faster and faster. What are you doing to stop it?
So, the ozone hole has stopped shrinking. That’s good to know. But I’m cynical about how good the news is because the Montreal accord banning CFCs occurred in 1987 more than a quarter of a century ago and we’re spewing out more greenhouse gases than ever. And the weather is still wacky. A surge in …
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Homegrown Knowledge
Here’s a 15 minute video on Monica and Eddie’s homeschool. Monica and Eddie are being bullied by the state although they have strong community support (look at the comments on YouTube). The video shows what they are being prosecuted for doing … it’s mad!
The Good The Bad and The Ugly of Caffeine
A quick summary of the what and how of caffeine from Travis Bradberry, Ph.D. Cutting down on caffeine is easier said than done. But it’s worth it. His original article is here: Caffeine: The Silent Killer of Success For those who aren’t aware, the ability to manage your emotions and remain calm under pressure has …
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