From A-lister to Aid worker: Does celebrity diplomacy really work? Rock stars," asked Homer Simpson, with his customary sagacity, "is there anything they don't know?" Only these days, of course, it's
not just rockers but movie stars and businessmen – and indeed
anyone with an above-average public profile – who, for one reason or another, are intent on telling the rest of us how the world should be changed for the better.
Or
at least, that's how it seems. So much so that a
conference of eminent professors of international relations assembled recently in The Hague
to explore the modern phenomenon of what they call "
celebrity diplomacy", amid fears that it has
reached the point where superstar lobbyists are damaging the traditional workings of international diplomacy and global politics.
posted by infini
on Jan 16, 2009 -
16 comments
The Scholar Ship , an international floating university stewarded by top universities in
Morocco, the
United Kingdom,
China,
Australia,
Mexico,
USA, and
Ghana, have
temporarily suspended all voyages due to lack of funds - mainly caused by the withdrawal of main sponsor and initiator
Royal Caribbean International. The program ran two voyages in
2007 and
2008 before shutdown. Alumni and prospective students on
Facebook and
Ning are busily sourcing options to revive the organization, while
Semester at Sea is offering spaces to students who were accepted for the now-cancelled voyages.
[more inside]
posted by divabat
on Jun 14, 2008 -
9 comments
New Jersey is drowning , or rather it would if the the future as predicted by David Spratty & Philip Sutton in
climate code red comes true. Philip Sutton said in
an interview that "within five years the Arctic ice in the summertime will be all gone.". With all the ice melting, the waterlevels rise - will your house be under water?
posted by dabitch
on Feb 22, 2008 -
66 comments
Iceland, Norway, New Zealand and Costa Rica and four cities in other countries have made the pledge to aim for being carbon neutral. New Zealand and Costa Rica had earlier decleared this ambitious goal, but now Iceland and Norway have joined in. Way to go!
Of the 192 nations on this planet, there are now only 188 to go.
posted by nucleus
on Feb 21, 2008 -
20 comments
YouTube in partnership with The Davos Forum has established a great "contest" although I don't think of it like that. YouTubers are asked to submit a video answering the question "What one thing do you think that countries, companies or individuals must do to make the world a better place in 2008?" I thought a long time about the question, and then, after approaching Mayor Gavin Newsom to be in the video, then getting caught up against deadlines, I had the answer: to end racism around the World. Here's
the video. Here's Emma Thompson's
response.
posted by nickyskye
on Jan 27, 2008 -
35 comments
The
Global Incident Map is an interactive map displaying "terrorism events and other suspicious activities" happening at this very moment (updated every 5 minutes) all around the world. Click on the various icons for "event details" or scroll down for "announcements, alerts and breaking news."
Via.
posted by amyms
on Oct 13, 2007 -
28 comments
Earth, 2100 AD. Atmospheric CO
2 has doubled to 1000 ppm.
From shore to the horizon, there is but an unending purple color -- a vast, flat, oily purple. No fish break its surface, no birds. We are under a pale green sky, and it has the smell of death and poison. Paleontologist Peter Ward's
new book links past mass extinctions to global warming
and shows, absent major changes,
"Our world is hurtling toward carbon dioxide levels not seen since 60 million years ago, right after a greenhouse extinction." Maybe it's time for a
heresy: nuclear energy's green, and renewables aren't.
posted by Bletch
on Oct 9, 2007 -
168 comments
"
The model of economic development that we are currently pursuing is unsustainable. Our energy consumption per unit of GDP is seven times that of Japan, six times that of America, and even 2.8 times that of India. China’s labour productivity is less than 10 per cent of the world total, and yet our emissions are over 10 times higher than the global average." ~ Pan Yue - deputy director of China's State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). Part of a new generation of outspoken Chinese senior officials, Pan has given rise to a tide of environmental debate, attracting enormous attention and controversy.
Read his articles here : -
China: economic powerhouse, environmentally unsustainable -
part one and
part two
posted by infini
on Jul 29, 2007 -
34 comments
There has been a measurable
"surge" of carbon in the atmosphere for the past 4 or 5 years, nearly doubling the annual rate of the 1970-2000 period, which has mystified scientists because it does not match human trends or known natural causes. A new paper (
abstract) suggests we may have
reached a tipping point with more greenhouse gases escaping from trees, plants and soils than in the past - hotter and dryer weather caused by high levels of CO2 is creating a feedback loop of unusually strong out-gassings of CO2 from vegetation
more inside
posted by stbalbach
on May 13, 2007 -
41 comments
How does your country measure up as a place to raise kids? It turns out that
growing up in the UK is a bleaker experience than in any other wealthy country. UNICEF studied all the wealthiest nations (full
report PDF here), and the US and UK came in at the bottom on almost all indicators (material wellbeing, health and safety, education, family and peer relationships, behaviours and risks, and the subjective feelings of kids and teens themselves ). Doing best for kids were the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. It turns out that GDP and material wealth alone does not ensure healthier or happier or more well-educated kids--the Czech Republic scored very well despite being one of the poorest nations surveyed.
posted by amberglow
on Feb 15, 2007 -
113 comments
The Independent has some anticipations on the soon to be released first volume of
IPCC's 4Th Assesment Report , concerning matters such as climate change and global warming.
Quoting the article :
It is virtually certain (there is more than a 99 per cent probability) that carbon dioxide levels and global warming is far above the range of natural variability over the past 650,000 years. It is virtually certain that human activity has played the dominant role in causing the increase of greenhouse gases over the past 250 years.
posted by elpapacito
on Jan 29, 2007 -
74 comments
CitizenRe is a solar power rental company for the home. Free to install (!), a monthly rental fee is equal to what would normally be paid to the power company.
Video.
posted by stbalbach
on Jan 11, 2007 -
67 comments
Al Gore trains 1,000 people from around the world to share the message he presented in "An Inconvenient Truth".
"The goal had been to train 1,000 "presenters" to show slides of melting glaciers and charts of climbing temperatures, but many more have wanted in.
Those selected to gather at the Hilton Nashville Downtown last week included teachers, doctors, a meteorologist, ministers, Wal-Mart employees, actress Cameron Diaz, architects, retirees, veterans and financiers."
posted by PreteFunkEra
on Jan 8, 2007 -
63 comments
Unhappy Feet. Penguin populations around the world are crashing. Biologists are mystified but suspect warmer oceans caused by global warming is reducing available food.
posted by stbalbach
on Dec 23, 2006 -
36 comments
Livestock's Long Shadow, a new UN FAO report (
full report) says livestock (cows, pig, sheep, etc.) generate more CO2 than all forms of transportation (cars, planes, etc) combined, with the worlds live stock expected to double by 2050.
posted by stbalbach
on Dec 11, 2006 -
34 comments
The Denial Machine. A 40-min Canadian (CBC) documentary about the "denial industry" - think tanks, scientists, PR firms, focus groups, lawyers, etc.. the issue?
Tobacco.
Global Warming. It doesn't matter - different issues but
the same people. How to be a professional denier and profit.
posted by stbalbach
on Dec 9, 2006 -
46 comments
Only 35 days left until the
Global Orgasm. Remember that you're doing it for Peace On Earth or Purity Of Essence or Projection Of Energy or whatever. Don't forget to visit the
GlobalO Blog for more information.
posted by forrest
on Nov 16, 2006 -
51 comments
A Concrete Solution to Pollution With concerns over global warming and pollution control reaching an all-time high, an Italian company has developed an interesting solution. It is called TX Active: a concrete that literally breaks down pollutants in the air. The effects are significant: 'In large cities with persistent pollution problems caused by car emissions, smoke from heating systems, and industrial activities, both the company and outside experts estimate that covering 15% of all visible urban surfaces (painting the walls, repaving the roads) with products containing TX Active could abate pollution by up to 50%.' Even more significant is that the cost is only 30% over that of normal concrete. Remarkable.
posted by PreacherTom
on Nov 10, 2006 -
22 comments
Apes of Wrath In October, they gained
similar rights to humans, now it seems monkeys are plotting to take over the earth. Their bid for global domination has been happening right before our eyes; it's just a matter of connecting the dots. Check out this
ominous timeline of escalating monkey aggression, drawn from real news reports. The evolution will not be televised.
posted by P-Soque
on Nov 8, 2006 -
14 comments
Sir Nicholas Stern, British economist, issues a
"Stern Review", warning of global warming (link contains 15-min video presentation, PDF executive summary, PDF slideshow, and news summary). Ends on an optimistic note for England to lead the world with solutions.
posted by stbalbach
on Oct 30, 2006 -
20 comments
The Weather Channel launches
One Degree, a broadband channel dedicated to global warming - for the "weather obsessed", sexy-voiced climatologists Heidi Cullen brings global warming mainstream. Are you a "climatechanger"?
posted by stbalbach
on Oct 8, 2006 -
9 comments
Hadley Centre: Climate Projections Two computer models showing how the North Pole is melting and what the surface temperature of the earth will be like at the end of this century. A spinning globe visualises the changes. This is not hyperbole just lots of data.
posted by hard rain
on Oct 4, 2006 -
21 comments
