From The Ecologist: The open-source hydrogen car set to change the industry by Alex McDonald Cars are evil, right? But what if they ran on hydrogen, did 300 miles per gallon, were leased rather than owned, and were produced under an open source business model… We have often been introduced to the car of tomorrow, …
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Author:astraea
Humanity reacts to nature
from Savage Chickens
Biodiversity destruction a problem of too many people.
The viewpoint by Hilary Benn that biodiversity is nearing a point f no return is another harbinger of pain. The solution – reduce the human population – is discussed by those commenting, but remains a taboo subject for politicians. Other parts of the solution to turning back humanity’s footprint, like reducing consumption and pollution, are …
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Richer, but less free.
Freedom House released its 2010 survey. The principal findings are depressing: less democracy. It’s mainly in sub-saharan africa, but that doesn’t make it OK. Maybe the rich world is a main driver. We vote with our wallets every day. While we might enjoy some kind of democracy and freedom at home, we choose cheap food, …
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Soup kitchen – it’s not 1929, it’s now
Increasing numbers of New Yorkers need help getting enough to eat. A fifth of children (397,000) rely on soup kitchens. Food programmes are struggling to meet demand. It’s no 1929. It’s not Africa. It’s the richest country in the world and it’s today. The Big Apple is hungry by The Economist
It’s not just about money – it’s about jobs.
There is a desperate dearth of jobs in developed economies. The economies have cratered because of profligacy by banks and consumers. Credit has collapsed. And with this businesses have folded. As the tide of money has gne out it has revealed a long term employment probkem that has been created over decades. As technology has …
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The Human Picture
Can you guess when we started extracting fossil fuels? And oil? Do you think it can go on?
Not much chance for change.
Have a look at the thousands of comments on Copenhagen COP 15 and climate change on this moderated BBC discussion forum. Especially if you’re a green thinker. It’s pretty depressing, though no surprise. The reds are loud and cynical, the greens are modest. And it seems that there are far more reds. Which means rich …
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Microsoft to allow European users a choice of web browsers
Microsoft has agreed to allow European users a choice of web browsers. The accord with EU anti-trust regulators ends 10 years of dispute. Over that time, the EU imposed fines totalling 1.68bn euros – small change for Microsoft. Maybe MS has realised that users just prefer Firefox and its easier and cheaper to let users …
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The Nobel War Prize?
While I munched a lunchtime sandwich I happened to switch on the news for the few minutes during which a live feed of the Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech showed Barack Obama justifying war. I was shocked. In the same breath that Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr were praised it was suggested that sometimes …
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