If It Feels Good to Be Good, It Might Be Only Natural - washingtonpost.com

If It Feels Good to Be Good, It Might Be Only Natural - washingtonpost.com: "Marc Hauser, another Harvard researcher, has used cleverly designed psychological experiments to study morality. He said his research has found that people all over the world process moral questions in the same way, suggesting that moral thinking is intrinsic to the human brain, rather than a product of culture. It may be useful to think about morality much like language, in that its basic features are hard-wired, Hauser said. Different cultures and religions build on that framework in much the way children in different cultures learn different languages using the same neural machinery."

If It Feels Good to Be Good, It Might Be Only Natural - washingtonpost.com

If It Feels Good to Be Good, It Might Be Only Natural - washingtonpost.com: "Such studies point to a pattern, Greene said, showing 'competing forces that may have come online at different points in our evolutionary history. A basic emotional response is probably much older than the ability to evaluate costs and benefits.'"

Foreign Affairs - The French Exception - Sophie Meunier

Foreign Affairs - The French Exception - Sophie Meunier: "The potential losers from free trade are no longer special-interest groups but global causes: the environment, democracy, and human rights."

THE CENTURY OF ROOTS

THE CENTURY OF ROOTS: "In 'Post Peak', all of our Systems of Habits are in mortal danger. Due to the relative cheapness of crude oil (in relation to other, more expensive daily needs), people don't exactly realize the pivotal role played by its products in their daily routines --- as these products has invaded every nook and cranny of our modern life. It is only when the brakes will be pulled (as they inevitably will have to be), that the general public will come to gradually realize the critical importance of 'Black Gold' --- which currently provides no less than two-fifths of world energy --- and of 'Energy' in general, in their living habits. "

THE CENTURY OF ROOTS

THE CENTURY OF ROOTS: "After some 147 years of almost uninterrupted supply growth to a record output of some 81-82 million barrels/day [mb/d] in the summer of 2006, crude oil production has since entered its irreversible decline. This exceptional reversal alters the energy supply equation upon which life on our planet is based. It will come to place pressure upon the use of all other sources of energy --- be it natural gas, coal, nuclear power, and all types of sundry renewables especially biofuels. It will eventually come to affect everything else under the sun…"

21 Solutions to Save the World:A Patently Simple Idea

21 Solutions to Save the World:A Patently Simple Idea: "The second area of progress concerns the lack of incentive for drug companies to invent new cures for diseases that affect the poor. Practically all of the world’s drug development addresses the health concerns of rich people: Of the 1,233 drugs licensed worldwide between 1975 and 1997, only 13 targeted tropical diseases. "