OpenSuse 13.1 – Initial review good: 9 out of 10

As a user of OpenSuse for a decade or so, I’m obviously a fan.  The recent release received a good review from Muktware: An OS for Grownups. The Breakdown Usability/User Friendliness 9 Design 9 App Ecosystem  8 Personalization 9 Security/Privacy 9.9 It’s a good choice for office productivity, although we also do video editing etc …
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Deforestation of 100 hectares per week, in one instance alone.

Scientists monitoring satellite images noticed a swathe of tropical forest disappearing in Peru.  It toook a few weeks to get accurate imagery but once done they estimated estimated a deforestation rate of roughly 100 hectares (247 acres) per week in the tract they observed. At least one thousand hectares were cleared near Tamshiyacu.  An estimated …
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Most big companies don’t care about sustainability.

Only 3% of the world’s largest companies report on  the first generation of sustainability indicators according to Corporate Knights report on Trends in Sustainability Disclosure. The seven indicators are: employee turnover, energy, greenhouse gases (GHGs), lost-time injury rate, payroll, waste and water.  Sadly, but unsurprisingly, Corporate Knights recommends mandatory disclosure because voluntary disclosure is plainly …
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Make the new CEO an intern first.

This sounds like a really good idea.   “Experience matters? The Impact of Prior CEO Experience on Firm Performance” discusses research by Monika Hamori of the IE Business School in Spain and Burack Koyuncu of the NEOMA Business School in France which indicates that “past performance is not an indicator of future success”.  That sounds like …
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If you are only one person, …

Well you are. So imagine how life would be if you had to do everything for yourself. Not just the easy stuff, like getting out of bed and getting dressed.  But also stuff like growing and cooking your own food, building your own house, making the tools to do it, baking the bricks, smelting the …
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Divest fossil fuel holdings, or die.

That’s a big picture perspective, presented starkly to attract some attention.  Sadly, few people feel the pressure, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing to do.  Let’s have a look at some of the detail. A 2012 article in Rolling Stone , by Bill McKibben of 350.org, galvanised a fossil fuel divestment campaign …
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It’s not easy to do the right thing.

So, I must confess that for three years we let a field to a neighbour for use in conventional tillage farming.  Previously, that field had been managed organically for over a decade, but we found we could not use it and the rent money would be welcome.  Now, we’re regalvanised to protect the environment and …
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More climate change numbers are in, and they’re bad.

The World Meteorological Organization reports: The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record high in 2012, continuing an upward and accelerating trend which is driving climate change and will shape the future of our planet for hundreds and thousands of years. Between 1990 and 2012 there was a 32% increase in …
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The power of emotional intelligence in a cognitive world.

Breathe to focus. It sounds simple, even foolish, but it’s not. Daniel Goleman recently gave a presentation on his new book Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, which was reviewed by IMD.   Goleman explains why attention is a little-noticed mental asset that makes a huge difference in how well we find our way in our …
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