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Read more about SolePower Shoe Insole Charges Your Phone While You Walk
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In Mexico City, Planners Turn Vacant Space Under Freeways Into Places to Work, Dine, Play

Sat, 2013-06-29 21:43 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Dominic Bracco II / Prime - A man rests on one of the new park benches in one of Mexico City overpass developments on May 27. Urban planners are converting vacant lots beneath Mexico City's overpasses and freeways into shopping plazas, public playground and outdoor cafes.

submitted by Samuel Bendett

washingtonpost.com - by Nick Miroff - May 29, 2013

Mexico City — You can’t get something out of nothing. This is common sense, not to mention a principle of physics and mathematics.

Yet the amazing science of Mexico City’s real estate development obeys no such laws.

Urban planners here, in one of the world’s most populous and crowded cities, have found a way to add thousands of square feet of new commercial and recreational space.

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UN Panel's Post-MDG Agenda: a Coherent Vision for a Better Future

Sat, 2013-06-29 15:54 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Ian Perrin

chathamhouse.org - by Jon Liden - June 4, 2013

The UN’s recently published report to help the world set targets for 2030, succeeding the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that run up to 2015, presents an optimistic yet sober vision. Building on the MDGs and retaining a focus on the world's poorest and most vulnerable, it has expanded the scope of the proposed goals to include a comprehensive blueprint for how to create a sustainable, more peaceful and equitable world. It has based its agenda on what we can all agree on without skirting the difficult challenges the world is facing.

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Google Launches Internet-Beaming Balloons

Fri, 2013-06-28 13:26 — Kathy Gilbeaux

washingtonpost.com - by Cecilia Kang - June 14, 2013

Google has a truly sky-high idea for connecting billions of people to the Internet — 12 miles in the air to be exact — through giant helium balloons circling the globe that are equipped to beam WiFi signals below.

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Open Data by Default – The New Mantra of G8 Leaders

Thu, 2013-06-27 17:02 — Kathy Gilbeaux

G8 David Cameron thanked NGOs and other organisations for their lobbying on transparency

submitted by Albert Gomez

ecodesk.com - June 20, 2013

G8 leaders have committed to implementing transparent strategies to report pollution levels and energy consumption through the Open Data Charter, signed by all G8 countries this week.

Environmental protection is one of the key targets cited in the charter that can be achieved through the use of open data. This is arguably the most important climate change-related commitment, as under the environmental umbrella comes natural resource use, extractive industries and conflict minerals, positive governance and budget allocation.

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Could Climate Bonds Become a Major Force in Green Finance?

Thu, 2013-06-27 13:05 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Albert Gomez

environmentalleader.com - June 3, 2013

So-called “green” or “climate” bonds, being issued by a number of financial institutions and state governments as a means of generating funding for sustainable development and clean energy technology, are becoming increasingly popular and could become a major new force in the green investment world, according to the Globe-Net.

The World Bank developed the Green Bond concept in 2007/2008 and simplicity is key to its popularity, according to Globe-Net blog post. The World Bank’s green bonds are triple-A rated and can be traded as easily as other “vanilla” investments, offering investors a high rate of liquidity.

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Chapter 5. Eroding Soils Darkening Our Future - Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity

Thu, 2013-06-27 10:18 — Kathy Gilbeaux

earth-policy.org

Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity

Chapter 5. Eroding Soils Darkening Our Future

by Lester R. Brown

In 1938 Walter Lowdermilk, a senior official in the Soil Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, traveled abroad to look at lands that had been cultivated for thousands of years, seeking to learn how these older civilizations had coped with soil erosion. He found that some had managed their land well, maintaining its fertility over long stretches of history, and were thriving. Others had failed to do so and left only remnants of their illustrious pasts.

Chapter 5. Eroding Soils Darkening Our Future
http://www.earth-policy.org/books/fpep/fpepch5

( ALSO SEE - http://resiliencesystem.org/full-planet-empty-plates-new-geopolitics-food-scarcity

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Transcript - Obama Speech on the President's Plan to Cut Carbon Pollution—June 25, 2013

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Video - President Obama Speaks on Climate Change

Wed, 2013-06-26 00:17 — Kathy Gilbeaux

whitehouse.gov - June 25, 2013

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CLICK HERE - The interview with Dr. Michael D. McDonald begins at the 30:00 mark.

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Video - Dr. Michael D. McDonald - The Resilience Systems - Conversations With Great Minds - The Big Picture With Thom Hartmann

Fri, 2013-06-21 22:19 — Kathy Gilbeaux

http://www.youtube.com/TheBigPictureRT

Thom Hartmann of The Big Picture interviews Dr. Michael D. McDonald in a segment of Conversations With Great Minds. This interview focuses on the Resilience Systems. What is resilience? Why is it important? An important discussion on resilient communities and networks is included.

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Why Social Media Is the Front Line of Disaster Response

Fri, 2013-06-21 18:50 — Maeryn Obley

mashable.com - May 21st, 2013 - Zoe Fox

Nearly one million people are affected by natural disasters each year. In the U.S. alone, some 400 people die from disasters that cost the economy $17.6 billion. Helping respond to these cataclysmic events, social media is now a go-to tool for those effected by disasters.

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