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With Work Scarce in Athens, Greeks Go Back to the Land

by Rachel Donadio - The New York Times - January 8, 2012

       

Vassilis Ballas and his wife, Roula Boura, extracted the gum from a mastic tree on their 400-tree farm in Chios, Greece.  Eirini Vourloumis for The New York Times

CHIOS, Greece — Nikos Gavalas and Alexandra Tricha, both 31 and trained as agriculturalists, were frustrated working on poorly paying, short-term contracts in Athens, where jobs are scarce and the cost of living is high. So last year, they decided to start a new project: growing edible snails for export.

As Greece’s blighted economy plunges further into the abyss, the couple are joining with an exodus of Greeks who are fleeing to the countryside and looking to the nation’s rich rural past as a guide to the future.

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WILL Interactive Launches '$500,000 Simulate a Better World Challenge' to Promote Social Change

submitted by Theresa Bernardo

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- WILL Interactive, Inc., the nation's most experienced developer of computer-based interactive training simulations, today announced the launch of the $500,000 Simulate a Better World Challenge.

The winner of the Challenge will have the unique opportunity to select the subject matter and help guide the creation of an interactive simulation.  The finished program will be distributed nationally to address an issue of major societal importance in an effort to create real, sustainable change. The competition is open to applications from all organizations and individuals through February 29, 2012. Learn about the Challenge.

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Video - Dr. Upmanu Lall - Water Shortages

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Will the Next War Be Fought Over Water?

by Megan Erickson - bigthink.com - December 23, 2011

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The Next 5 in 5 - Innovations That Will Change Our Lives in the Next Five Years

submitted by Albert Gomez

ibm.com

Science fiction becomes reality. Worlds collide. The future is now...or within five years, at least.

At the end of each year, IBM examines market and societal trends expected to transform our lives, as well as emerging technologies from IBM's global labs, to develop a multi-year forecast called The Next 5 in 5.

IBM predicts that over the next five years technology innovations will change the way we work, live and play in the following ways:

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What to Do About Climate Change

Ruth Greenspan Bell

Published by the Council on Foreign Relations

Foreign Affairs - May / June 2006

THE HEAT IS ON

In the years ahead, climate change will have a significant impact on every aspect of the daily lives of all human beings -- possibly greater even than war. Shifting precipitation patterns and ocean currents could change where and how food crops grow. If icecaps melt and low-lying areas are flooded, as is predicted, entire populations could be forced to move to higher ground. The tsunami of 2004 and Hurricane Katrina, in 2005, provided vivid examples of what large-scale climactic catastrophes entail.

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How Much Did the Climate Talks in Durban Accomplish?

Ruth Greenspan Bell and Barry Blechman

Published by the Council on Foreign Relations

Foreign Affairs - December 13, 2011

Why more of the same could be dooming the planet.

The outcome of the recent Durban climate conference represents a victory, of sorts, for a particular vision of how the community of nations might eventually gain control over greenhouse gases. But that vision is flawed, perpetuating an approach that, after more than 20 years of negotiations, has not reversed warming trends. Of particular concern is the continued insistence on a comprehensive deal negotiated by all nations through a UN process. The degree to which the meme of a "legally-binding" agreement has dominated thinking is likewise troubling.

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RAND - Focus on Community Resilience - Newsletter

imageWelcome to the first Focus on Community Resilience newsletter. At RAND, we have been intensively studying the many cross-cutting issues related to how communities can withstand and recover from disasters and other conditions that affect community well-being. We are launching this newsletter to share research findings, resources, and tools with people like you who are working to help communities prepare for natural and manmade emergencies. We hope this newsletter will stimulate an exchange of ideas among community leaders and a forum to share lessons about resilience-building strategies and activities.

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C-SPAN Video Link - Global Efforts To End Malaria

submitted by Albert Gomez

Witnesses testified on the future of drug and vaccine development as well as the challenges in ensuring the availability, affordability and safe distribution of anti-malarial medicines.

C-SPAN Video Link - Global Efforts To End Malaria (2 hours, 21 minutes)

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/MalariaP

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Mind-Alliance Joins UN Disaster Risk Reduction Private Sector Partnership

submitted by Samuel Bendett

Homeland Security News Wire - November 28, 2011

      

Mind-Alliance joins forces with the UN Disaster Risk Reduction partnership // Source: indiatimes.com

More than 200 million people are affected by disasters each year and in 2010 at least 300,000 people died in major disaster events; annual reported disaster losses now regularly exceed $100 billion; Mind-Alliance, a developer of Information Sharing Management software for homeland security, emergency preparedness, and business continuity professionals, has joined the UN Disaster Risk Reduction Private Sector Partnership

Roseland, New Jersey-based Mind-Alliance, a developer of Information Sharing Management software for homeland security, emergency preparedness, and business continuity professionals, announced that it has joined the UN Disaster Risk Reduction Private Sector Partnership to support work aimed at enhancing national and local resilience to disaster.

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