The thickness of Arctic sea ice “plummeted” last winter, thinning by as much as one-fifth in some regions, satellite data has revealed. The team from University College London say that the results provided the first definitive proof that the overall volume of Arctic ice is decreasing. The findings have been published in the journal Geophysical …
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Japan murders 2 more murderers …
Japan has hanged two convicted murderers, bringing the total number of death penalties implemented this year to 15, thought to be the highest total in many years. It is a strange anomaly that a country with such wealth, such a high standard of living and having suffered itself as a victim has not yet removed …
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Crunch Time For Ethical Investing – Ethical Corp
Financial crisis: Social investment – Crunch time for ethical investing Social investors will have to refocus on the nuts and bolts of companies in which they invest if they are to survive the current market turmoil Jon Entine is an adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, and founder of the sustainability …
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Climate change destroying nature.
Amphibian populations at Yellowstone, the world’s oldest national park, are in steep decline according to a major study reported in the journal PNAS. The authors link this to the drying out of wetlands where the animals live and breed, which is in turn being driven by long-term climate change. Visitors flock to Yellowstone to see …
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Video game youth reacts quickly, but can’t think …
Professor Michael Shayer of King’s College London looked at how 800 secondary pupils performed in problem-solving tests. Today’s 14-year-old pupils are better at quick-fire answers, but much worse at complex questions than teenagers in the 1970s. The findings reflect that children now live in an environment of text messaging, Wiis and talkback which favours instant …
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Explaining the money markets – blocked pipes
A cute video from the Economist that helps explain the problem in teh financial markets in terms any homeowner can relate to. Explaining the money markets – blocked pipes
Greenspan admits naivety …
Making comments to Congress, former Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan, said that the recent financial crisis had left him “in a state of shocked disbelief”. This might surprise financial players and pundits who had elevated Greenspan to godlike status. Others, who have been doing simple sums of fundamental resource constraints and human behaviour against a background …
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Compulsory relationship education – a step in the right direction
The UK announced that it will make sex and relationship education compulsory for all pupils aged 5 to 16. While the details are not clear, and sex education for the youngest groups is not advisable (and is not proposed), this kind of practical education is critical if people are to develop emotional intelligence and life …
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Come clean and admit it – there’s a recession.
Why don’t the reulators, policy makers, players and pundits just admit there’s a problem. I find it extraordinary that Bernanke and co won’t admit there’s a recession. If they think that they can talk their way out of this downturn, how we can we believe that they will be able to re-engineer the financial system …
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Africa insulated from financial crisis.
As contended in our Financial Crisis 2008 notes, it is likely that Africa will not suffer the same fate as Western economies in this implosion of the financial markets. In this report the BBC asks Can Africa gain in the credit crisis? I see a number of issues in Africa’s favour: It is coming from …
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