Center for Global Change and Governance - Recent Books and Articles

Center for Global Change and Governance - Recent Books and Articles: "The arena of global politics is a fast-changing and fascinating one, encompassing as it does the accelerating processes of globalisation, the ever-present threat of war, conflict and terrorism and the role of both key individuals and wider alliances of NGOs and protesters in influencing world events."

Division of Global Affairs - Center for Global Change and Governance

Division of Global Affairs - Center for Global Change and Governance: "The Center for Global Change and Governance (CGCG) defines its academic mission in terms of the complex interplay of global change and governance-the large-scale transformations of political, economic, and cultural relations that simultaneously structure, and are structured by, the changing roles of states and non-state actors involved in creating order and disorder. At the core of the CGCG's concerns is the relationship between globalization, the post-cold war realignment of great-power relations, and the growing role in the promotion and attenuation of conflict of international governmental and non-governmental organizations, transnational corporations, and social movements."

Immigration Watchdog » The New World Order Always Knew We Would Resist

Immigration Watchdog » The New World Order Always Knew We Would Resist: "“For some, the disarray of traditional relationships in international affairs indicates a dangerous deterioration of the international order and portends collapse of the system into chaos or anarchy. Others consider the turbulence of the 1990s as part of the process of evolution, an inevitable consequence of the transformation of the international system into a global system. In some respects, both are right. The international order has indeed deteriorated into ‘disorder’ in large measure, but there is growing evidence that a global system is emerging out of this ‘chaos.’”"

The Strategic Trends approach starts by identifying the major trends in each of these
dimensions and analyses ways in which these trends are likely to develop and interact
during the next 30 years, in order to establish a range of Probable Outcomes. Nothing in
the future is guaranteed, of course, and Strategic Trends varies the strength of its
assessments to highlight sets of Alternative Outcomes that, while less probable, are
nonetheless highly plausible, for example:
• By 2010, most people (above 50%) will be living in urban rather than rural
environments. Poor housing, weak infrastructure and social deprivation will
combine with low municipal capacity to create a range of new instability risks in
areas of rapid urbanization, especially in those urban settlements that contain a
high proportion of unplanned and shanty development.
http://www.skilluminati.com/docs/DCDC_Global_Trends_2007-2036.pdf

Revolution, flashmobs, and brain chips. A grim vision of the future | Science | The Guardian

Revolution, flashmobs, and brain chips. A grim vision of the future Science The Guardian: "The global population is likely to grow to 8.5bn in 2035, with less developed countries accounting for 98% of that. Some 87% of people under the age of 25 live in the developing world. Demographic trends, which will exacerbate economic and social tensions, have serious implications for the environment - including the provision of clean water and other resources - and for international relations. The population of sub-Saharan Africa will increase over the period by 81%, and that of Middle Eastern countries by 132%."

Revolution, flashmobs, and brain chips. A grim vision of the future | Science | The Guardian

Revolution, flashmobs, and brain chips. A grim vision of the future Science The Guardian: "'The middle classes could become a revolutionary class, taking the role envisaged for the proletariat by Marx,' says the report. The thesis is based on a growing gap between the middle classes and the super-rich on one hand and an urban under-class threatening social order: 'The world's middle classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest'. Marxism could also be revived, it says, because of global inequality. An increased trend towards moral relativism and pragmatic values will encourage people to seek the 'sanctuary provided by more rigid belief systems, including religious orthodoxy and doctrinaire political ideologies, such as popularism and Marxism'."

Revolution, flashmobs, and brain chips. A grim vision of the future | Science | The Guardian

Revolution, flashmobs, and brain chips. A grim vision of the future Science The Guardian: "An electromagnetic pulse will probably become operational by 2035 able to destroy all communications systems in a selected area or be used against a 'world city' such as an international business service hub. The development of neutron weapons which destroy living organs but not buildings 'might make a weapon of choice for extreme ethnic cleansing in an increasingly populated world'. The use of unmanned weapons platforms would enable the 'application of lethal force without human intervention, raising consequential legal and ethical issues'. The 'explicit use' of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons and devices delivered by unmanned vehicles or missiles."

Revolution, flashmobs, and brain chips. A grim vision of the future | Science | The Guardian

Revolution, flashmobs, and brain chips. A grim vision of the future Science The Guardian: "Information chips implanted in the brain. Electromagnetic pulse weapons. The middle classes becoming revolutionary, taking on the role of Marx's proletariat. The population of countries in the Middle East increasing by 132%, while Europe's drops as fertility falls. 'Flashmobs' - groups rapidly mobilised by criminal gangs or terrorists groups.
This is the world in 30 years' time envisaged by a Ministry of Defence team responsible for painting a picture of the 'future strategic context' likely to face Britain's armed forces. It includes an 'analysis of the key risks and shocks'. Rear Admiral Chris Parry, head of the MoD's Development, Concepts & Doctrine Centre which drew up the report, describes the assessments as 'probability-based, rather than predictive'."

Technology Review: TR10: Modeling Surprise

Technology Review: TR10: Modeling Surprise: "The question is how wide a range of human activities can be modeled this way. While the algorithms used in SmartPhlow are, of necessity, domain specific, Horvit­z is convinced that the overall approach could be generalized to many other areas. He has already talked with political scientists about using surprise modeling to predict, say, un­expected conflicts. He is also optimistic that it could predict, for example, when an expert would be surprised by changes in housing prices in certain markets, in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, or in the exchange rate of a currency. It could even predict business trends. 'Over the past few decades, companies have died because they didn't foresee the rise of technologies that would lead to a major shift in the competitive landscape,' he says.
Most such applications are a long way off, Horvitz concedes. 'This is a longer-term vision. But it's very important, because it's at the foundation of what we call wisdom: understanding what we don't know.'"

Technology Review: TR10: Modeling Surprise

Technology Review: TR10: Modeling Surprise: "Much of modern life depends on forecasts: where the next hurricane will make landfall, how the stock market will react to falling home prices, who will win the next primary. While existing computer models predict many things fairly accurately, surprises still crop up, and we probably can't eliminate them. But Eric Horvitz, head of the Adaptive Systems and Interaction group at Microsoft Research, thinks we can at least minimize them, using a technique he calls 'surprise modeling.'
Horvitz stresses that surprise modeling is not about building a technological crystal ball to predict what the stock market will do tomorrow, or what al-Qaeda might do next month. But, he says, 'We think we can apply these methodologies to look at the kinds of things that have surprised us in the past and then model the kinds of things that may surprise us in the future.' The result could be enormously useful for decision makers in fields that range from health care to military strategy, politics to financial markets"

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View: "Futurist Peter von Stackelberg of research and consulting firm Social Technologies has released a report on the future of on providing clean water to the world.

Less than 2% of the planet's water store is fresh, and much of that is threatened by pollution, he says. 'By 2025, about 3.4 billion people will live in regions that are defined by the UN as water-scarce.'

He suggests ideas for technological advances in three major areas that will be critical for the hydrological future: desalination of seawater or brackish groundwater, purification of water containing chemical or biological contaminants, and conservation to cut demand."

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View: "New York Times, Feb. 26, 2008

Scientists are building a Web site called the Encyclopedia of Life, dedicated to documenting all species on Earth.

Spearheaded by Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson with $50 million initial funding, the first 30,000 pages will be introduced on Thursday this week. Within a decade, they predict, they will have the other 1.77 million."

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View: "Science Daily, Feb. 26, 2008

University of Sheffield Professor Noel Sharkey is concerned that we are beginning to see the first steps towards an international robot arms race.

He warns that it may not be long before robots become a standard terrorist weapon to replace the suicide bomber."

How can future engineers make the world a better place? The U.S.National Academies have issued a set of twenty-first-century challengesdesigned to inspire engineering students toward creative problemsolving and "game changing" projects that could dramatically improvelife. Among the Grand Challenges are:
* Make solar energy affordable.* Provide access to clean water.* Restore and improve urban infrastructure.* Engineer better medicines.* Reverse-engineer the brain.* Prevent nuclear terror.* Secure cyberspace.* Advance personalized learning.
"Tremendous advances in quality of life have come from improvedtechnology in such areas as farming and manufacturing," says Googleco-founder Larry Page, a member of the Challenges committee. "If wefocus our effort on the important grand challenges of our age, we canhugely improve the future."
SOURCE: National Academy of Engineering, National Academies:http://national-academies.org or http://www.engineeringchallenges.org

INFERTILITY MAY BECOME COMMON
Future generations already have a problem: There may be fewer of them,as infertility becomes common, according to recent research publishedin the BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL.
In affluent countries, infertility affects approximately 15% of couplestrying to conceive; up to 6% of children are conceived through assistedreproductive technologies in some countries.
SOURCE: BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL (16 February 2008), http://www.bmj.com

Gmail - Volume 11, Number 02 - yves.conta@gmail.com

Ethanol for $1 a Gallon without Corn – (Wired – January 24, 2008)http://www.wired.com/cars/energy/news/2008/01/ethanol23A biofuel startup in Illinois can make ethanol from just about anything organic for less than $1 per gallon, and it wouldn't interfere with food supplies, company officials said. Coskata, which is backed by General Motors and other investors, uses bacteria to convert almost any organic material, from corn husks (but not the corn itself) to municipal trash, into ethanol. "It's not five years away, it's not 10 years away. It's affordable, and it's now," said Wes Bolsen, the company's vice president of business development.

Gmail - Volume 11, Number 02 - yves.conta@gmail.com

The Lowdown on Topsoil: It's Disappearing – (Seattle Post Intelligencer – January 22, 2008)http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/348200_dirt22.htmlThe planet is getting skinned. While many worry about the potential consequences of atmospheric warming, a few experts are trying to call attention to another global crisis quietly taking place under our feet. On average, the planet is covered with little more than 3 feet of topsoil - the shallow skin of nutrient-rich matter that sustains most of our food and plays a critical role in supporting life on Earth. However, the estimate is that we are now losing about 1% of our topsoil every year to erosion, most of this caused by agriculture.

“Green Economics”: Turning Mainstream Thinking on Its Head | Worldwatch Institute

“Green Economics”: Turning Mainstream Thinking on Its Head Worldwatch Institute: "But it’s also about asking the question, what is an economy is really for? Not only can the global economy not keep growing forever, growth isn’t even working for many of us in wealthy nations anymore: U.S. per-capita income has tripled since 1950, for instance, but the share of Americans who say they’re very happy has dropped over the last 30 years.But it’s also about asking the question, what is an economy is really for? Not only can the global economy not keep growing forever, growth isn’t even working for many of us in wealthy nations anymore: U.S. per-capita income has tripled since 1950, for instance, but the share of Americans who say they’re very happy has dropped over the last 30 years."

“Green Economics”: Turning Mainstream Thinking on Its Head | Worldwatch Institute

“Green Economics”: Turning Mainstream Thinking on Its Head Worldwatch Institute: "Waste minimization is another way to reduce scale. Every year we dig up and process more than half a trillion tons of raw materials—and six months later more than 99 percent of it is waste. That can be fixed too: Ray Anderson’s Interface carpet company is a leader in this area, reducing manufacturing waste by 70 percent since the mid-1990s and saving over $300 million while doing it. Waste minimization is another way to reduce scale. Every year we dig up and process more than half a trillion tons of raw materials—and six months later more than 99 percent of it is waste. That can be fixed too: Ray Anderson’s Interface carpet company is a leader in this area, reducing manufacturing waste by 70 percent since the mid-1990s and saving over $300 million while doing it."

“Green Economics”: Turning Mainstream Thinking on Its Head | Worldwatch Institute

“Green Economics”: Turning Mainstream Thinking on Its Head Worldwatch Institute: "We’ve gotten really good at economic growth. Since Adam Smith’s time, the number of people in the world has exploded from about 1 billion to nearly 7 billion. And in the last 200 years, Gross World Product has risen by nearly a factor of 60. The ecosystem has suffered as a result, hence the headlines we see every day: climate change, species extinctions, dwindling rainforests, water shortages, and all the rest. We’ve gotten really good at economic growth. Since Adam Smith’s time, the number of people in the world has exploded from about 1 billion to nearly 7 billion. And in the last 200 years, Gross World Product has risen by nearly a factor of 60. The ecosystem has suffered as a result, hence the headlines we see every day: climate change, species extinctions, dwindling rainforests, water shortages, and all the rest."

“Green Economics”: Turning Mainstream Thinking on Its Head | Worldwatch Institute

“Green Economics”: Turning Mainstream Thinking on Its Head Worldwatch Institute: "How big is the global economy relative to the global ecosystem? This is crucial, because the economy resides totally inside the global ecosystem—the ecosystem gives the economy a place to operate, supplies all of its raw materials, and supports it with many critical services. In physical terms, economic activity is basically converting bits and pieces of the ecosystem to human uses: trees and forests into lumber and houses, grasslands and other habitats into farms to feed the billions of humans, and so on. How big is the global economy relative to the global ecosystem? This is crucial, because the economy resides totally inside the global ecosystem—the ecosystem gives the economy a place to operate, supplies all of its raw materials, and supports it with many critical services. In physical terms, economic activity is basically converting bits and pieces of the ecosystem to human uses: trees and forests into lumber and houses, grasslands and other habitats into farms to feed the billions of humans, and so on."

NationMaster - GDP (purchasing power parity) (per capita) (most recent) by country

NationMaster - GDP (purchasing power parity) (per capita) (most recent) by country: "Economy Statistics > GDP (purchasing power parity) (per capita) (most recent) by country"

Reading Material — UN University OCW

Reading Material — UN University OCW: "Bijker, W. E. (2006b). Why and How Technology Matters. In Goodin, R. E. & C. Tilly (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Contextual Political Analysis (pp. 681-706). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: http://www.fdcw.unimaas.nl/staff/files/users/148/Bijker%20PoliticsOxfordHndb%202006.pdf"

nsf.gov - SRS US Doctorates in the 20th Century - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

nsf.gov - SRS US Doctorates in the 20th Century - US National Science Foundation (NSF): "The number and kinds of students seeking doctoral degrees during the last 25 years of the 20th century changed dramatically and included more women, minorities, and international students. As knowledge in many fields strained traditional discipline boundaries, new interdisciplinary programs as well as entire new fields developed. The costs associated with graduate education, and the way students paid for their education, became more complex. Career options available to doctoral graduates broadened, and traditional patterns of postgraduate employment changed. These and other changes, shifts, and trends are documented in this publication."

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View: "Five advanced technologies available only in Japan include true mobile digital TV (all the regular terrestrial channels at no cost), mobile wallet service (phones have smart cards embedded inside, letting you add applications like electronic money or a credit card), connected cars (with a navigation system connected to a cell phone), primary wave earthquake warning systems, and home-help robots."

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View: "The electronic world is replacing the natural world for leisure time in rich nations, University of Illinois at Chicago researchers believe.

Outdoor pursuits, ranging from camping to hunting, have entered a persistent and growing decline since 1987. Their statistical analysis shows that the increase in video games, movie rentals and other electronic entertainment most closely matches the decrease in camping and park visits, as opposed to income, vacation time, park overcrowding, foreign travel or other potential causes."

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View: "French and Spanish researchers have found new evidence to support recent evolution in humans: genes for traits such as skin color and stature changed rapidly to allow humans to survive in new habitats.

The team identified 582 genes that have evolved differently in different populations in the past 60,000 years, including a dozen that protect people from obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other diseases.

Read Original Article>>"

Technology Review: The Rise of Systemic Financial Risk

Technology Review: The Rise of Systemic Financial Risk: "The financial system as a whole is getting more complex. Financial institutions rely on ever more elaborate systems architecture and electronic communications across different counterparties and sectors. The number of parties involved, the nature of transactions, the volume of transactions as the market grows--taken together, the dynamics among these aspects of financial markets imply that the complexity is growing exponentially. No single human can comprehend that complexity. And as the system grows more complex, it is a well-known phenomenon that the probability of some kind of shock spreading through the system increases as well. Systemic shocks become more likely. Today, we are looking at some significant exposure to relatively rare events."

Zakaria: The World Bails Us Out | Newsweek Voices - Fareed Zakaria | Newsweek.com

Zakaria: The World Bails Us Out Newsweek Voices - Fareed Zakaria Newsweek.com: "These trends represent a large, ongoing shift in the global economic order. Power is moving away from the traditional centers of the global economy—the Western nations—to the emerging markets. To put it more bluntly: the United States is in the beginning of a period of relative decline. It may not be steep or dramatic, but the fact that it's happening is clear. Even if one assumes a slowdown, the other big economies will still grow at two and three times the pace of the West. Over time they will take up a larger share of the global economy—and the United States and Western Europe will have thinner slices. This is not defeatism, it's math."

Zakaria: The World Bails Us Out | Newsweek Voices - Fareed Zakaria | Newsweek.com

Zakaria: The World Bails Us Out Newsweek Voices - Fareed Zakaria Newsweek.com: "The United States is in the beginning of a period of relative decline. This is not defeatism, it's math."

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View

Accelerating-Intelligence News: Single Article View: "With the end of the oil era approaching, and climate change progressing faster than most models have been predicting, the utilisation of space is essential not only for communications but also for the logistics of survival through things such as weather satellites, agricultural monitoring, GPS and climate science,'"

WFS Forecasts for the Next 25 Years

WFS Forecasts for the Next 25 Years: "Rising prices for natural resources could lead to a full-scale rush to develop the Arctic. Not just oil and natural gas, but also the Arctic's supplies of nickel, copper, zinc, coal, freshwater, forests, and of course fish are highly coveted by the global economy. Whether the Arctic states tighten control over these commodities or find equitable and sustainable ways to share them will be a major political challenge in the decades ahead. Rising prices for natural resources could lead to a full-scale rush to develop the Arctic. Not just oil and natural gas, but also the Arctic's supplies of nickel, copper, zinc, coal, freshwater, forests, and of course fish are highly coveted by the global economy. Whether the Arctic states tighten control over these commodities or find equitable and sustainable ways to share them will be a major political challenge in the decades ahead."

WFS Forecasts for the Next 25 Years

WFS Forecasts for the Next 25 Years: "Water will be in the twenty-first century what oil was in the twentieth century. Global fresh water shortages and drought conditions are spreading in both the developed and developing world. In response, the dry state of California is building 13 desalination plants that could provide 10%-20% of the state's water in the next two decades. Desalination will become more mainstream by 2020. Water will be in the twenty-first century what oil was in the twentieth century. Global fresh water shortages and drought conditions are spreading in both the developed and developing world. In response, the dry state of California is building 13 desalination plants that could provide 10%-20% of the state's water in the next two decades. Desalination will become more mainstream by 2020."

WFS Forecasts for the Next 25 Years

WFS Forecasts for the Next 25 Years: "Forecast #3: The threat of another cold war with China, Russia, or both could replace terrorism as the chief foreign-policy concern of the United States. Scenarios for what a war with China or Russia would look like make the clashes and wars in which the United States is now involved seem insignificant. The power of radical jihadists is trivial compared with Soviet missile capabilities, for instance. The focus of U.S. foreign policy should thus be on preventing an engagement among Great Powers. Forecast #3: The threat of another cold war with China, Russia, or both could replace terrorism as the chief foreign-policy concern of the United States. Scenarios for what a war with China or Russia would look like make the clashes and wars in which the United States is now involved seem insignificant. The power of radical jihadists is trivial compared with Soviet missile capabilities, for instance. The focus of U.S. foreign policy should thus be on preventing an engagement among Great Powers."

Stand by for our diplomatic surge David Miliband - Times Online: "Third, we need to recognise that the balance of power in the world order is tilting east, with the emergence of India and China as world economies. That does not mean America’s position as the world’s superpower is under threat. It does mean these countries have a key role in their regions and globally."

Top 10 Scientific Discoveries - 50 Top 10 Lists of 2007 - TIME

Top 10 Scientific Discoveries - 50 Top 10 Lists of 2007 - TIME: "Early this year, an international team of scientists announced that analysis of a skull discovered in South Africa in 1952 revealed the first fossil evidence that modern humans left Africa between 65,000 and 25,000 years ago. Scientists determined the age of the skull, unearthed near Hofmeyr, South Africa, by testing the levels of radiation in sand that had filled the braincase. They figured it was about 36,000 years old — give or take 3,000 years — and matched skulls found in Europe, eastern Asia and Australia, in age and appearance, which supports the theory that modern man originated in sub-Saharan Africa and fanned out from there."

Culture Speeds Up Human Evolution: Scientific American

Culture Speeds Up Human Evolution: Scientific American: "But the history of humanity is beginning to be read out from our genes, thanks to a detailed knowledge of the thousands of them that have evolved recently. 'We're going to be classifying these by functional categories and looking for matches between genetic changes and historic and archaeological changes in diet, skeletal form, disease and many other things,' Hawks says. 'We think we will be able to find some of the genetic changes that drove human population growth and migrations—the broad causes of human history.'"

Culture Speeds Up Human Evolution: Scientific American

Culture Speeds Up Human Evolution: Scientific American: "Not all populations show the same evolutionary speed. For example, Africans show a slightly lower mutation rate. 'Africans haven't had to adapt to a fundamentally new climate,' because modern humanity evolved where they live, Cochran says. 'Europeans and East Asians, living in environments very different from those of their African ancestors and early adopters of agriculture, were more maladapted, less fitted to their environments.'Not all populations show the same evolutionary speed. For example, Africans show a slightly lower mutation rate. 'Africans haven't had to adapt to a fundamentally new climate,' because modern humanity evolved where they live, Cochran says. 'Europeans and East Asians, living in environments very different from those of their African ancestors and early adopters of agriculture, were more maladapted, less fitted to their environments.'"

Culture Speeds Up Human Evolution: Scientific American

Culture Speeds Up Human Evolution: Scientific American: "'Ten thousand years ago, no one on planet Earth had blue eyes,' Hawks notes, because that gene—OCA2—had not yet developed. 'We are different from people who lived only 400 generations ago in ways that are very obvious; that you can see with your eyes.'
Comparing the amount of genetic differentiation between humans and our closest relatives, chimpanzees, suggests that the pace of change has accelerated to 10 to 100 times the average long-term rate, the researchers write in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.'Ten thousand years ago, no one on planet Earth had blue eyes,' Hawks notes, because that gene—OCA2—had not yet developed. 'We are different from people who lived only 400 generations ago in ways that are very obvious; that you can see with your eyes.'
Comparing the amount of genetic differentiation between humans and our closest relatives, chimpanzees, suggests that the pace of change has accelerated to 10 to 100 times the average long-term rate, the researchers write in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA."

Culture Speeds Up Human Evolution: Scientific American

Culture Speeds Up Human Evolution: Scientific American: "Roughly 10,000 years ago, humanity made the transition from living off the land to actively raising crops and domesticated animals. Because this concentrated populations, diseases such as malaria, smallpox and tuberculosis, among others, became more virulent. At the same time, the new agriculturally based diet offered its own challenges—including iron deficiency from lack of meat, cavities and, ultimately, shorter stature due to poor nutrition, says anthropologist John Hawks of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, another team member.
'Their bodies and teeth shrank. Their brains shrank, too,' he adds. 'But they started to get new alleles [alternative gene forms] that helped them digest the food more efficiently. New protective alleles allowed a fraction of people to survive the dread illnesses better.'Roughly 10,000 years ago, humanity made the transition from living off the land to actively raising crops and domesticated animals. Because this concentrated populations, diseases such as malaria, smallpox and tuberculosis, among others, became more virulent. At the same time, the new agriculturally based diet offered its own challenges—including iron deficiency from lack of meat, cavities and, ultimately, shorter stature due to poor nutrition, says anthropologist John Hawks of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, another team member.
'Their bodies and teeth shrank. Their brains shrank, too,' he adds. 'But they started to get new alleles [alternative gene forms] that helped them digest the food more efficiently. New protective alleles allowed a fraction of people to survive the dread illnesses better.'"

Culture Speeds Up Human Evolution: Scientific American

Culture Speeds Up Human Evolution: Scientific American: "Homo sapiens sapiens has spread across the globe and increased vastly in numbers over the past 50,000 years or so—from an estimated five million in 9000 B.C. to roughly 6.5 billion today. More people means more opportunity for mutations to creep into the basic human genome and new research confirms that in the past 10,000 years a host of changes to everything from digestion to bones has been taking place.
'We found very many human genes undergoing selection,' says anthropologist Gregory Cochran of the University of Utah, a member of the team that analyzed the 3.9 million DNA sequences* showing the most variation. 'Most are very recent, so much so that the rate of human evolution over the past few thousand years is far greater than it has been over the past few million years.'Homo sapiens sapiens has spread across the globe and increased vastly in numbers over the past 50,000 years or so—from an estimated five million in 9000 B.C. to roughly 6.5 billion today. More people means more opportunity for mutations to creep into the basic human genome and new research confirms that in the past 10,000 years a host of changes to everything from digestion to bones has been taking place.
'We found very many human genes undergoing selection,' says anthropologist Gregory Cochran of the University of Utah, a member of the team that analyzed the 3.9 million DNA sequences* showing the most variation. 'Most are very recent, so much so that the rate of human evolution over the past few thousand years is far greater than it has been over the past few million years.'"

Religion trends on the horizon for 2008 :: The Courier News :: Lifestyles

Religion trends on the horizon for 2008 :: The Courier News :: Lifestyles: "First, 2008 is the year of the 29th Olympiad to be held in Beijing, China. In the spectator section of the official Beijing Games Web site (http://en.beijing2008.cn/spectators) is a listing of places of worship for those attending the Olympic Games Aug. 8-24, and the Paralympic Games there from Sept. 6-17. The list includes five Buddhist temples, one Protestant church, five Catholic churches and one Islamic mosque."

Strategic News Service Blog » Blog Archives » My Top Ten Predictions for 2008

Strategic News Service Blog » Blog Archives » My Top Ten Predictions for 2008: "Most large IT corporations now make more than half of their revenues outside the U.S., and most other countries are showing GDP growth rates that will remain robust, even with a dip in the U.S. China now depends more on Europe than on the U.S. (and, interestingly, Europeans fear Chinese trade policies more than Americans do – 59% to 50%). India increasingly is doing work that may be outsourced, at the very high end (doctors reading medical imaging, engineers reviewing structural requirements), or may be destined for domestic or other non-U.S. clients."

Strategic News Service Blog » Blog Archives » My Top Ten Predictions for 2008

Strategic News Service Blog » Blog Archives » My Top Ten Predictions for 2008: "The global economy has now essentially “outgrown” the U.S., particularly in IT markets.
If this were a question, most economists would answer with an unqualified “No.” But my bet is that, for the first time, IT spending will continue to grow so quickly outside the U.S. that a decline in U.S. markets will not pull down total spending."

Official Google Blog: A world in motion

Official Google Blog: A world in motion: "In this regard, we are excited to announce that we have acquired Gapminder's Trendalyzer software, and we welcome the Trendalyzer team to Google. Trendalyzer generates moving graphics and other novel effects in the display of facts, figures, and statistics in presentations. In its nimble hands, Trendalyzer views development data—such as regional income distribution or trends in global health—as literally a world of opportunity. Like Google, Gapminder strives to make information more useful, and Trendalyzer will improve any function or application in which data might be better visualized."

Gapminder - Home

Gapminder - Home: "This website, powered by Trendalyzer, enables you to explore the changing world from your own computer. Moving graphics show how the development of all countries by the indicators you choose." ******

NOVA | World in the Balance | Earth in Peril | PBS

NOVA World in the Balance Earth in Peril PBS: "According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, humans have altered approximately half of all the land on Earth for our own uses—around 22 percent for farming and forestry combined, 26 percent for pasture areas, and 2 to 3 percent for housing, industry, and roads. Population growth will necessitate further conversion of land, which in some regions can interfere with natural defenses against flooding, landslides, and erosion. Furthermore, experts believe that the abundance of agricultural topsoil on which our food supply depends is sharply diminishing due to overuse, urbanization, and other human-induced factors."

NOVA | World in the Balance | Earth in Peril | PBS

NOVA World in the Balance Earth in Peril PBS: "Water covers roughly 70 percent of Earth's surface, but only 2.5 percent of it is freshwater, which humans need for irrigation, drinking water, and other everyday uses. According to the United Nations, the scarcity of freshwater due to overuse and contamination will be the second most pressing global concern in the 21st century, after population growth. On the map above, countries with less than 5,000 cubic meters of freshwater per capita are considered short of water. Experts believe that people may be able to replenish water tables with new water-saving irrigation methods, bioengineered crops that require less water, rainwater harvesting, and public information campaigns, but it will be centuries, if ever, before freshwater is plentiful again worldwide."

NOVA | World in the Balance | Earth in Peril | PBS

NOVA World in the Balance Earth in Peril PBS: "Water covers roughly 70 percent of Earth's surface, but only 2.5 percent of it is freshwater, which humans need for irrigation, drinking water, and other everyday uses. According to the United Nations, the scarcity of freshwater due to overuse and contamination will be the second most pressing global concern in the 21st century, after population growth. On the map above, countries with less than 5,000 cubic meters of freshwater per capita are considered short of water. Experts believe that people may be able to replenish water tables with new water-saving irrigation methods, bioengineered crops that require less water, rainwater harvesting, and public information campaigns, but it will be centuries, if ever, before freshwater is plentiful again worldwide."

NOVA | World in the Balance | Human Numbers Through Time | PBS

NOVA World in the Balance Human Numbers Through Time PBS: "World Population Growth, 1800-2050
At the turn of the 21st century, almost 75 million people were being added to the earth every year—about a quarter of the entire U.S. population. In the future, almost all population growth will be in the developing world."