You are here

Home

Other

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, March 3-14 2013, Bangkok, Thailand

Tue, 2013-02-26 15:48 — admin

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) will celebrate its 40th anniversary on March 3.  CITES currently has 176 parties and regulates international trade in about 30.000 endangered species of wild fauna and flora.  These species are listed in three different Appendices ( Appendix I, II and III ), according to the degree of protection they need.

Every three years, CITES hosts a meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to review its implementation and, if necessary, to amend the list of species in Appendices I and II.  The 16th Conference of the Parties will take place from March 3-14, 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand.

There will be great focus on the ocean at CoP16:

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Ecosystems
Oceans
Sea Level
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Other

Coastal Resilience - Adapting Natural and Human Communities to Sea Level Rise and Coastal Hazards

Sun, 2013-02-24 19:27 — admin

Mounting evidence suggests that rising sea levels, coupled with related increases in storm surges, will increasingly put coastal populations at risk from inundation, storm damage, and saltwater intrusion. In order to adapt, decision-makers need access to information and tools that support choices for managing natural resources and protecting human communities.

Coastal Resilience provides a framework that supports decisions to reduce the ecological and socio-economic risks of coastal hazards.  Theframework includes 4 critical elements:

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Oceans
Resilience
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Other

Wind Surpasses Nuclear in China

Fri, 2013-02-22 21:23 — Maeryn Obley

Graph of wind- vs nuclear-generated electricity in China. Image: Graph of wind- vs nuclear-generated electricity in China.

earth-policy.org - February 19th, 2013 - J. Matthew Roney

Wind has overtaken nuclear as an electricity source in China. In 2012, wind farms generated 2 percent more electricity than nuclear power plants did, a gap that will likely widen dramatically over the next few years as wind surges ahead. Since 2007, nuclear power generation has risen by 10 percent annually, compared with wind’s explosive growth of 80 percent per year.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Energy
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Other

NASA Reports Sunspot Six Times the Size of the Earth

Thu, 2013-02-21 14:51 — admin

February 21, 2013 - planetsave.com

Solar Flare–Producing Sunspot Forming On The Sun, NASA Images Massive Sunspot

An enormous sunspot, six times larger than the Earth is currently forming on the Sun. NASA researchers predict that the sunspot could begin triggering powerful solar flares in a couple of days.
 

 

Solar Flares: Monster Sunspot Growing Fast, NASA Warns Solar Storms Possible

February 21, 2013 - inquisitr.com

20130221-001730.jpg

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Energy
Radiation
Science
Technology
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Other

Transparency in Supply Chains: A Convergence of Possibilities

Sat, 2013-02-09 16:05 — Kathy Gilbeaux

csi.gsb.stanford.edu - Kriss - February 4, 2013

Where do the products we buy come from and how do we know that their production doesn’t leave a wake of environmental damage or exploited workers? Even brands we think we trust are often linked to suppliers with questionable or downright abusive practices, as exemplified in the November factory fire in Bangladesh, where 112 workers were killed at a factory that supplied Walmart, Sears and even the U.S. Marine Corps, though all claim they had no idea that apparel produced there was destined for their stores.

Global supply chains are complex and opaque, with many layers of suppliers, distant and inconsistent regulatory environments, and intermittent and sometimes unreliable audits and reporting.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
United States
General Topic Tags: 
Economics
Policy
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Other

Global Health & Innovation Conference - April 13-14, 2013 - Yale University, New Haven, CT

Sun, 2013-02-03 21:52 — Kathy Gilbeaux
Date: 
Saturday, April 13, 2013 (All day) to Sunday, April 14, 2013 (All day)

The Global Health & Innovation Conference (GHIC) is the world's leading and largest global health conference as well as the largest social entrepreneurship conference, with 2,200 professionals and students from all 50 states and more than 55 countries. This must-attend, thought-leading conference convenes leaders, changemakers, and participants from all sectors of global health, international development, and social entrepreneurship.

Other
Health

How Facebook Can Ruin Study Abroad

Fri, 2013-02-01 20:58 — Maeryn Obley

Art created for this article by Dave Cutler for the Chronicle.

Image: Art created for this article by Dave Cutler for the Chronicle.

Submitted by Luis Kun

chronicle.com - January 14th, 2013 - Robert Huesca

Taking an administrative leave in Benin for the past six months provided an eye-opening contrast to my first study-abroad experience, in Mexico City back in 1980. Of particular note was the insidious impact of new communication technologies on living and learning in another culture.

As a former director of the office of international programs at Trinity University, in San Antonio, I am particularly attuned to the issues that concern professionals in study abroad—ranging from cultural immersion to health and safety.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Culture
Technology
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Other

Brave New World of Cuba Travel Begins Monday

Thu, 2013-01-24 10:16 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

A woman reads a passport application form as she waits in line outside an immigration office in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. A Cuban doctor says the Caribbean nation is eliminating longstanding restrictions on health care professionals' overseas travel as part of a broader migration reform. The doctor says hospital directors met Saturday with Health Minister Roberto Morales and were told of the new policy, effective Monday. For many years Cuban physicians have been limited in their ability to travel or had to undergo cumbersome bureaucratic procedures. But now they are supposed to be treated "like any other citizen" when it comes to traveling abroad. Franklin Reyes / AP

The new policy, which went into effect Monday, eliminates the need for an exit visa and allows many Cubans once barred from returning to the island to visit.

miamiherald.com - by Mimi Whitefield - January 14, 2013

A look into the future: Summer vacations by Cuban families in Miami, Cuban doctors and athletes who left their posts or teams while on official trips abroad returning to Cuba for visits and everyday Cubans permitted to leave the island for up to two years at a time.

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Transportation
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Other

Video - International Space Station View of Hurricane Sandy

Mon, 2012-10-29 14:42 — Kathy Gilbeaux

nasa.gov

A camera aboard the International Space Station captured this view of Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 26, 2012.

(VIDEO SOURCE AT NASA.GOV)

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Extreme Weather
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Other

Italian Scientists Convicted of Not Warning of Earthquake

Wed, 2012-10-24 00:13 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

Collapsed church building from 2009 earthquake in central Italy

voanews.com - October 22, 2012

An Italian court on Monday convicted seven scientists and experts of manslaughter for underestimating the risks of a killer earthquake and failing to adequately warn citizens before it struck the central Italian town of L'Aquila in 2009.

More than 300 people were killed, tens of thousands were left homeless, and the town's historic center and medieval churches were destroyed in the 6.3-magnitude quake.

Prosecutors argued that the defendants - members of a national panel that assesses major risks - offered "incomplete, imprecise and contradictory information" to residents.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
Global
General Topic Tags: 
Disaster Risk Reduction
Earthquake
Vulnerability
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 
Other

Pages

Subscribe to Other
howdy folks