The stuff that memories are made of!

as your courses were very much part of my fond Elmhurst memories!...PM

Elmhurst is losing a great advisor and professor!!...KH

Although, I do agree, Elmhurst is losing a fantastic advisor. I still think about the impact you had on my life, which was integral in shaping me into who I am today. Thank you for everything you've done, although I hope to see you sooner than later!...LM

I can tell from your email your update is one of mixed emotions. It must be incredibly difficult to take time away from Elmhurst after all you have invested. However, to your point, your work needs to fulfilling and come with a positive working environment. I'm so pleased to hear you will continue teaching, your impact on students (of all levels!) is immeasurable. Your new group will be lucky to have you! JB

Thanks for everything over these past four years, I am so grateful for all your help! ...EC

I hope you're having a great and relaxing break. I'm coming to some major questions about my education, internship, and future career. ... Iwas wondering if it would be possible to meet with you and ask your advise on some things when we are back in school. 

Thank you for all your hard work and patience with me over the last 4.5 years. It is greatly appreciated!...MQ

Reflecting on 2015...

1. Tried a new opportunity @IIT. Took a big risk.
2. Taught a new course- Operations Management. Challenged to teach both undergrad and grad students at the same time.
3. Guided AC on her Master’s thesis. Went back to OR roots; spent time mentoring her.
4. Guided Alvaro on his thesis. 
5. Visited Bolivia with AC. Lost phone in Cochabamba.
6. Took AC to a conference by Humans for Sight in Yale.
7. Took students on a trip to Ireland
8. Took former students to in Old Main to sign their names on the Wall.
9. Guided EW from Bamberg, Germany
10. Was quoted by Nerdwallet on the best places to start a business in Illinois
    http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/small-business/best-places-to-start-business-in-illinois/
11. Was quoted by the Daily Herald Business Ledger on the topic of competitiveness and how Illinois is trying to attract and retain businesses
12. Moderated the discussion after a showing of the environmental issue film "Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret" by the Elmhurst Cool Cities Coalition and Elmhurst College.
13. Presented a paper at the IIBA conference in Las Vegas
14. Was a judge again at CAURS
15. Learnt a new ERP system

Germany gives green light to bicycle highways - The Economic Times

Germany gives green light to bicycle highways - The Economic Times: "As a glimpse of a greener urban transport future, Germany has just opened the first five-kilometre (three-mile) stretch of a bicycle highway that is set to span over 100 kilometres.

It will connect 10 western cities including Duisburg, Bochum and Hamm and four universities, running largely along disused railroad tracks in the crumbling Ruhr industrial region.

Almost two million people live within two kilometres of the route and will be able to use sections for their daily commutes, said Martin Toennes of regional development group RVR. "



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German business leaders fear nationalism, refugee crisis will destroy EU | Reuters

German business leaders fear nationalism, refugee crisis will destroy EU | Reuters: "German business leaders fear that deep divisions over how to handle the refugee crisis and growing nationalism among member states could break up the European Union, according to five of the country's biggest industry bodies.

The arrival of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in countries such as Syria and Iraq in Europe this year has frayed ties between European nations that were already strained by the euro zone financial crisis."



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America’s Middle-class Meltdown: Core shrinks to half of US homes - FT.com

America’s Middle-class Meltdown: Core shrinks to half of US homes - FT.com: "A
merica’s middle class has shrunk to just half the population for the first time in at least four decades as the forces of technological change and globalisation drive a wedge between the winners and losers in a splintering US society.
The ranks of the middle class are now narrowly outnumbered by those in lower and upper income strata combined for the first time since at least the early 1970s, according to the definitions by the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan think-tank in research shared with the Financial Times.
The findings come amid an intensifying debate leading up to next year’s presidential election over how to revive the fortunes of the US middle class."



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Starbucks offers another Swarovski crystal-encrusted gift card

Starbucks offers another Swarovski crystal-encrusted gift card: "When giving this gift, is it the thought or crystals that count?

Starbucks is offering a limited-edition, wallet-sized, deep blue gift card sparkling with Swarovski® Crystals. The over-the-top card, which costs $200, comes with $50 loaded on it. (Yes, that is $150 difference between card and coffee).

The card became available for purchase on December 14. It is part of the luxe Brilliant collection offered at Starbucks and Teavana."



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Overpopulation, overconsumption – in pictures | Global Development Professionals Network | The Guardian

Overpopulation, overconsumption – in pictures | Global Development Professionals Network | The Guardian: "‘What an irony it is that these living beings whose shade we sit in, whose fruit we eat, whose limbs we climb, whose roots we water, to whom most of us rarely give a second thought, are so poorly understood. We need to come, as soon as possible, to a profound understanding and appreciation for trees and forests and the vital role they play, for they are among our best allies in the uncertain future that is unfolding.’ Jim Robbins"



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Overpopulation, overconsumption – in pictures | Global Development Professionals Network | The Guardian

Overpopulation, overconsumption – in pictures | Global Development Professionals Network | The Guardian: "On Midway Atoll, far from the centres of world commerce, an albatross, dead from ingesting too much plastic, decays on the beach – it is a common sight on the remote island

‘Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals – the same fate awaits them both; as one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath.’ Ecclesiastes 3:19"



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Study Shows Women’s Products Cost More Than Men’s « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

Study Shows Women’s Products Cost More Than Men’s « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth: "NEW YORK (CBS11) – A new study released by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs concluded that women on average are charged 7% more than men in numerous categories of consumer products.

The study, “From Cradle to Cane: The Cost of Being a Female Consumer,” broke down price differences in New York City between more than 800 personal care items, clothing, toys, and senior products for men and women. The study also concluded that women’s products were priced higher 42 percent of the time."



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US band Green Day branches out into compostable coffee bags - FT.com

US band Green Day branches out into compostable coffee bags - FT.com: "Two of US punk band Green Day’s leading lights are joining the competitive world of organic coffee sales, but with a twist — they say their new company will be the first to use mass produced compostable bags and pods.
Bass player Mike Dirnt and lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong, who are launching Oakland Coffee Works this week, and San Francisco Bay Coffee, a family-owned business, will both use the bags and pods for their products."



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Bloomberg Carbon Clock: Measuring Carbon Dioxide that Causes Global Warming

Bloomberg Carbon Clock: Measuring Carbon Dioxide that Causes Global Warming:



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Amazon Said to Mull Leasing Planes to Control Delivery Chain - Bloomberg Business

Amazon Said to Mull Leasing Planes to Control Delivery Chain - Bloomberg Business: "Amazon.com Inc. is considering leasing 20 Boeing Co. 767 freighter jets to help gain more control over its delivery methods and costs, according to a person familiar with the plans.
The tech-savvy retailer is interested in building up its cargo operations as consumers increasingly order online, especially during the holiday shopping season. Controlling its own planes and crew would help Amazon shave time and money getting goods to to customers’ doorsteps, and help keep its warehouses stocked with inventory. Amazon has run into delays when the shippers it depends on now, United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp., have struggled to keep up with the large and erratic orders around Christmas."



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Microsoft earnings up

Microsoft earnings up: "The Redmond, Wash-based software pioneer reported adjusted earnings per share of 67 cents against revenue of $21.66 billion, which missed Wall Street estimates of 58 cents and $20.9 billion, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. EPS in the first quarter of 2014 was 54 cents, while earnings were $23.2 billion."



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Revealed: how ‘big tobacco’ used EU rules to win health delay | Business | The Guardian

Revealed: how ‘big tobacco’ used EU rules to win health delay | Business | The Guardian: "The world’s largest tobacco companies were instrumental in promoting Europe-wide, pro-business regulations that they used to delay health initiatives.

Analysis carried out by the University of Bath’s Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG) has found that the companies played a key role in pushing the European commission’s Better Regulation agenda, which places business interests at the heart of policy drafting. They then used the new laws to block and delay a series of major health reforms, including UK introduction of plain packaging.

Under the terms of the Better Regulation agenda, which internal tobacco industry documents reveal was enthusiastically supported by British American Tobacco, European governments, including the UK, must conduct public consultations and impact assessments when introducing laws that affect business. The tobacco companies took advantage of these laws, using third parties and fake grassroots campaigns to swamp the consultations on anti-smoking initiatives such as the introduction of plain packaging. In addition, they were highly selective in what they submitted. All failed to include evidence – disclosed as a result of historic legal action – that they knew branded packaging was crucial to the marketing of their products, something they consistently denied in public."



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‘Don't give up the fight,’ Meryl Streep tells women | Life and style | The Guardian

‘Don't give up the fight,’ Meryl Streep tells women | Life and style | The Guardian: "If Emmeline Pankhurst were alive today her message to women would be simple: “Don’t give up the fight. It’s not over,” Meryl Streep said last night.

The actor, who plays Pankhurst in the film Suffragette, told a packed audience at the star-studded opening night of London’s first Women in the World event, that while women had come far since getting the vote, there was still plenty of work to do.

“We are coming up from the bottom, but it’s that upper echelon that we haven’t broken through,” she said, urging the audience to remember that “women’s issues are men’s problems”.

Suffragette’s director, Sarah Gavron, revealed that finding funding for the film was a challenge, adding that it was also difficult to find actors to fill the male roles. “We had trouble persuading men to be in it. Agents were calling us saying the male parts just aren’t big enough,” she said to laughter and cheers."



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India's doctors blame air pollution for sharp rise in respiratory diseases | World news | The Guardian

India's doctors blame air pollution for sharp rise in respiratory diseases | World news | The Guardian: "A sharp rise in cases of chest and throat disease in India is being blamed by doctors on worsening air pollution in the country, which is now home to 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world.

According to India’s National Health Profile 2015, there were almost 3.5m reported cases of acute respiratory infection (ARI) last year, a 140,000 increase on the previous year and a 30% increase since 2010.

The number of ARI cases has risen steadily in India over the last 15 years, even when population growth is taken into account. In 2001, less than 2,000 cases per 100,000 people had an ARI. In 2012 the number was 2,600 per 100,000, statistics show.

The rise has occurred despite steady improvements in medical care and nutrition, as well as a shift away from using wood as fuel in rural areas. Together this has mitigated many factors long blamed for the high levels of respiratory diseases in India."



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Emissions 'far above' 2C target - BBC News

Emissions 'far above' 2C target - BBC News: "Global plans to curb carbon dioxide are well below what's needed to keep temperatures from rising above 2 degrees according to a new analysis.
It is the work of researchers from the Climate Action Tracker (CAT), a consortium of research institutions.
They examined the commitments already made by governments to limit warming.
The CAT rated seven of the 15 submitted carbon plans as "inadequate" to keep temperatures below the accepted level of dangerous warming.
The analysis was released at UN climate negotiation meet in Bonn aimed at advancing a new global treaty.
As part of the attempts to tackle global warming, countries have agreed to submit their national plans to the UN before key talks in Paris in December."



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How HP cut more workers without severance - Business Insider

How HP cut more workers without severance - Business Insider: "What started off as a multi-year layoff in which HP paid severance of about one week for every year of service has turned into something else for some employees, particularly in HP's struggling Enterprise Services unit."



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Three Little Words Could Transform E-Commerce - Bloomberg Business

Three Little Words Could Transform E-Commerce - Bloomberg Business: "Have you ever struggled to explain to someone exactly where you are?
U.K. startup What3Words is trying to make that problem a thing of the past. It has divided up the entire world into a grid of 57 trillion small plots of land, each associated with a sequence of three random words. 
So tourists in London can use "casino.coach.bikes" as shorthand for "meet me on the nose of the lion sculpture at the south-west side of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar square." The three words can be deciphered by anyone who uses the What3Words app.
While it's handy to precisely locate friends at a landmark or in a festival field, the app's real value lies in its ability to transform markets that lack the rigorous postcode system found in much of Europe and the U.S."



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Dirty Mumbai: 6,400 tonnes of solid waste, 40 pc sewage go untreated | The Indian Express

Dirty Mumbai: 6,400 tonnes of solid waste, 40 pc sewage go untreated | The Indian Express: "  3  0
Comments (0)


Waste segregation at source in the city is at a dismal 10-12 per cent. (Express Archive)
Taxpayers in Mumbai have spent over Rs 13,000 crore towards cleanliness over the past decade. But the city has a lowly 140th rank to show for this massive spending. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had allocated Rs 8,839.5 crore for solid waste management in the last five years, of which Rs 683.56 crore was used for development work and at least over Rs 5,000 crore for sewage disposal. Despite this, the city ranked 140th in the country on the Swachh Bharat survey of clean cities.
In the year-long survey, researchers studied 476 first-tier cities with two parameters — how “minimal” open defecation was in the city, and how robust the municipalities were with the solid waste management system. Swachh Bharat Mission is the flagship sanitation programme of the NDA government, which aims to bridge gaps between sewerage and solid waste management and construct several million toilets in the urban centres. In Mumbai, more than 40 per cent of the city is not connected to sewer lines even now. Navi Mumbai, Mumbai’s satellite city, though, saw itself ranked third in the survey."



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Oxford’s online Bodleian archive: illumination for all | Books | The Guardian

Oxford’s online Bodleian archive: illumination for all | Books | The Guardian: "’ve got a secret vice. I love to visit rare book rooms and leaf through the pages of 16th-century traveller’s tales or 15th-century editions of Petrarch with their brilliantly coloured pictures. Once, I even found a design by Botticelli in a religious tract in the British Library.

This is not actually as criminal or difficult as it sounds. I was researching a book at the time and all the yellow-leafed volumes whose pictures I pored over in the rare books room at St Pancras were more or less relevant to it. Anyone with a British Library pass can do the same. But it raises the question of what great libraries are for: is the research they make possible just for PhD students assembling demographic data on medieval Norfolk or should the rich, aesthetic delights of illuminated manuscripts, 18th-century caricatures and scientific illustrations be available for us all to enjoy as art?

One way libraries are opening their secret worlds to everyone is by putting some of their most curious or majestic items online. Oxford’s Bodleian, one of Europe’s greatest and oldest libraries, is the latest to do so with digital.bodleian giving users unprecedented opportunities to browse precious volumes and their wondrous illustrations from our armchairs, if anyone still has armchairs, or cafe stool or even in a punt (it’s Oxford after all)."



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Another Reason To Love Spicy Food

Another Reason To Love Spicy Food: "A massive population study from China finds that people who eat spicy food every day are less likely to die early than those who only spiced things up once or twice a week -- or avoided the sensation altogether. 
 
To analyze the effect of a spicy diet on health, an international group of researchers looked at data from 487,375 study participants between 30 to 79 years old. The subjects, who had no history of chronic disease, first enrolled in the study between 2004 to 2008. Researchers controlled for factors affecting longevity, such as marital status and education, and followed up after an average of seven years. 
 
They found that spicy food eaters had 14 percent reduced relative risk of dying between the start of the study and the follow up. What's more, those who ate spicy food one to two days a week had a 10 percent reduced risk compared to people that didn’t eat any spice at all. The researchers also found that eating spicy food three to seven times a week led to a lower risk of death from cancer and heart and respiratory disease, particularly among women.
 "



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Bonobos Speak Like Human Babies, But Is It Communication? : SCIENCE : Tech Times

Bonobos Speak Like Human Babies, But Is It Communication? : SCIENCE : Tech Times: "Biologists and others traditionally believed that non-human primates utilized a single call to express a single idea. One sound might be used as a warning to a potential competitor for food or a mate, while another call would signal an alarm to a neighboring group. Using a single sound in different situations, an ability known as functional flexibility, was thought to be a characteristic possessed solely by humans. 

Human babies as young as three or four months have the ability to carry out calls with functional flexibility. These sounds are in addition to other calls directly related to emotions, such as crying when the baby experiences physical pain. 

Zanna Clay, a researcher from the University of Birmingham, was studying bonobos in the Congo when she noticed the animals were producing a peeping sound in addition to the normal grunts and pants the primates produce. 


"When I studied the bonobos in their native setting in Congo, I was struck by how frequent their peeps were, and how many different contexts they produce them in. It became apparent that because we couldn't always differentiate between peeps, we needed understand the context to get to the root of their communication," Clay said.

Researchers examined recordings of the peeps produced by the bonobos under differing conditions. Analysis revealed that these squeaky noises were identical, regardless of the events taking place in the lives of the primates when the calls were made. "



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Zimbabwe Officials Say Another American Illegally Killed a Lion in an Authorized Hunt - The New York Times

Zimbabwe Officials Say Another American Illegally Killed a Lion in an Authorized Hunt - The New York Times: "A prominent American gynecologist illegally killed a lion in an authorized hunt this year in Zimbabwe, wildlife authorities there said Sunday.

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said in a news release that Jan Casmir Sieski of Murrysville, Pa., took part in a hunt in April on a farm just outside Hwange National Park, where a popular lion was lured away and killed by an American dentist last month.

No one by that name was found in public records. But the address given by the Zimbabwe government belongs to Jan Casimir Seski, a gynecological oncologist with a practice in Pittsburgh.

Zimbabwean officials told The Associated Press that Dr. Seski killed a lion, shooting it with a bow and arrow, on a farm owned by a safari tour operator named Headman Sibanda."



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Drinking coffee can help prevent dementia, just don't overdo it

Drinking coffee can help prevent dementia, just don't overdo it: "However, caffeine influences Aβ levels through a complex interplay involving adenosine receptors, and over or under activation of the adenosine system may result in impaired memory functioning, the authors explained.
“These findings from the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging suggested that cognitively normal older individuals who never or rarely consumed coffee and those who increased their coffee consumption habits had a higher risk of developing MCI.”
“Therefore, moderate and regular coffee consumption may have neuroprotective effects also against MCI confirming previous studies on the long-term protective effects of coffee, tea, or caffeine consumption and plasma levels of caffeine against cognitive decline and dementia,” concluded investigators Vincenzo Solfrizzi, MD, PhD, and Francesco Panza, MD, PhD."



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How Finns Make Sports Part Of Everyday Life : Shots - Health News : NPR

How Finns Make Sports Part Of Everyday Life : Shots - Health News : NPR: "In Helsinki, sports facilities pop up all over the place, sometimes in some pretty odd nooks and crannies. One bomb shelter hosts an archery club, another an underground swimming pool and an ice hockey rink.

Though they hardly need it, there's a national plan in Finland to get people to sit less. It reminds them, in fact, that, "Under the Constitution ... physical activity is a basic cultural right."

"It's been kind of a social right to provide citizens with sporting possibilities," says Hanna Vehmas, a sports scientist at the University of Jyväskylä. She says it's a Nordic thing to consider sports a social right. That thinking started in the 1970s, when governments started subsidizing sports gyms in even the smallest towns.

Now, she says, "there's an estimate of some close to 30,000 sports facilities in this country, which is said to be more per capita than in any other country in the world."

Those facilities are one reason why Finland and its Nordic neighbors always make the top-five list of most physically active European countries, according to surveys by the European Commission. These days, municipalities spend about $700 million a year subsidizing sports facilities and clubs. A portion of lottery funds also goes toward funding sports facilities and research."



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118 Cancer Specialists Decry Rising Cancer Drug Prices

118 Cancer Specialists Decry Rising Cancer Drug Prices: "In an article directed against big pharmaceutical companies which are basically dictating market prices, the cancer specialists are urging them to lower prices for some drugs which have gone up by a whopping $8,500 per year since 2000.

The doctors are protesting prohibitive prices due to the fact that they disrupt treatment and overall care of cancer patients who cannot afford them, leading many to seek costly loans which add to their financial burdens and stress factors. According to data presented in the article, the average $52,000 per year household income in the U.S. wouldn’t be enough to cover even half the costs of particularly pricy treatments, which have drugs costing $120,000 per year in addition to other treatment-related expenses."



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Scientists Discover Why Lake Tahoe Is So Blue - I4U News

Scientists Discover Why Lake Tahoe Is So Blue - I4U News: "A postdoctoral researcher from University of California, Davis, Shohei Watanabe came up with those findings when a Blueness Index had been created by using NASA-JPL research buoy and Lake Tahoe’s color had been quantified for the first time. The results were exactly opposite to what was commonly perceived. Surprisingly no connection was found between clarity and blueness. 

The research showed the blueness of the water does not remain consistent throughout the year. There were times when the lake was clearer, it was less blue and when lake was less clear, it was deep blue. The process is due to the combination of sediments, nutrients and algal production which changes with the season.

Clarity is linked with sediment while blueness is controlled by algal concentration. The less nutrient means less production of algal. Thus, more blue color of water.

“This does not mean that clarity should be dismissed,” said Watanabe. “Rather, it shows that algae concentrations and nutrient input should be managed more closely to truly keep Tahoe blue and clear.”"



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Sea level study: James Hansen issues dire climate warning.

Sea level study: James Hansen issues dire climate warning.: "In what may prove to be a turning point for political action on climate change, a breathtaking new study casts extreme doubt about the near-term stability of global sea levels.

The study—written by James Hansen, NASA’s former lead climate scientist, and 16 co-authors, many of whom are considered among the top in their fields—concludes that glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica will melt 10 times faster than previous consensus estimates, resulting in sea level rise of at least 10 feet in as little as 50 years. The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, brings new importance to a feedback loop in the ocean near Antarctica that results in cooler freshwater from melting glaciers forcing warmer, saltier water underneath the ice sheets, speeding up the melting rate. Hansen, who is known for being alarmist and also right, acknowledges that his study implies change far beyond previous consensus estimates. In a conference call with reporters, he said he hoped the new findings would be “substantially more persuasive than anything previously published.” I certainly find them to be."



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Dire warning of sea level rise from world's most famous climate scientist - Element magazine - NZ Herald News

Dire warning of sea level rise from world's most famous climate scientist - Element magazine - NZ Herald News: "A new study, led by James Hansen, NASA's former lead climate scientist, and 16-co-authors, paints a very grim picture of the stability of the world's sea levels in the near future.

Many of those involved in writing the report are regarded as being at the top of their respective fields. The conclusion they reached was that glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica are going to melt 10 times faster than predicted earlier. This would result in sea level rise of at least 10 feet in as few as 50 years.

The study has not been peer reviewed yet, but is generating a lot of thought about the future of the world's oceans, as well as the fate of human and animal populations that depend on their current state.

It emphasised the feedback loop in the Southern Ocean. As the glaciers melt, cooler fresh water forces warmer salt water under the ice sheets, which results in them melting faster. It's a vicious circle, and Hansen says he hopes the findings will help persuade governments and large organisations to enact change, more than previous studies have."



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Study shows Alzheimer’s worsens faster with women than men | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Study shows Alzheimer’s worsens faster with women than men | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Women who display the early signs of mental decline that can precede Alzheimer’s disease deteriorate faster than men with the same condition, a new study has found.

Another study suggests that women’s daily activities and cognitive abilities decline faster than men’s after undergoing surgery with general anesthesia. A third study has found that an abnormal protein that plays a key role in triggering Alzheimer’s accumulates at higher rates in women’s brains than in men’s.

The new research, presented this week at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Washington, lends additional support to the view that women run a higher risk than men of developing Alzheimer’s disease and may be more vulnerable to its damaging effects once the illness gets going."



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Unbridled capitalism is the 'dung of the devil', says Pope Francis | World news | The Guardian

Unbridled capitalism is the 'dung of the devil', says Pope Francis | World news | The Guardian: "Quoting a fourth century bishop, he called the unfettered pursuit of money “the dung of the devil”, and said poor countries should not be reduced to being providers of raw material and cheap labour for developed countries.

Repeating some of the themes of his landmark encyclical Laudato Si on the environment last month, Francis said time was running out to save the planet from perhaps irreversible harm to the ecosystem."



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Earth’s ecosystem taking strain - report - IOL SciTech

Earth’s ecosystem taking strain - report - IOL SciTech: "The report provides the first comprehensive evidence showing how the changes to the structure and function of the Earth’s natural systems represent a growing threat to human health.

The commission comprises 15 leading academics and policymakers from institutions in eight countries, including the head of the Vitality Institute, Dr Derek Yach.

The report is titled “Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch”.

The commission notes: “We have been mortgaging the health of future generations to realise economic and developmental gains in the present. By unsustainably exploiting nature’s resources, human civilisation has flourished but now risks substantial health effects from the degradation of nature’s life support systems in the future.

“Climate change, ocean acidification, land degradation, water scarcity, overexploitation of fisheries and biodiversity loss pose serious challenges to the global health gains of the past several decades.”

Projections estimate that the world’s population could increase from the current 7.2 billion to up to 13.2 billion by 2100. “The growth in urban populations emphasises the importance of policies to improve health and the urban environment.”"



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Pope Calls on World Youth to Rise Up Against Global Capitalism | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

Pope Calls on World Youth to Rise Up Against Global Capitalism | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community: "The latest call for a youth uprising against global capitalism came not from grassroots groups, but from the leader of the Catholic Church, who on Sunday gave a rousing speech during which he told a crowd of young people in Paraguay that it is their time to "make a mess."

The address marked the end of Pope Francis' week-long pilgrimage to Latin America, during which he also assailed the prevailing economic system as the "dung of the devil," saying that the systemic "greed for money" is a "subtle dictatorship" that "condemns and enslaves men and women."

During Sunday's rally, which was held on the banks of the Paraguay River outside the capital Asunción, the Argentinian pontiff went off-script as he addressed tens of thousands of local youth.

"They wrote a speech for me to give you. But speeches are boring," Pope Francis said. "Make a mess, but then also help to tidy it up. A mess which gives us a free heart, a mess which gives us solidarity, a mess which gives us hope.""



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Warming of oceans due to climate change is unstoppable, say US scientists | Environment | The Guardian

Warming of oceans due to climate change is unstoppable, say US scientists | Environment | The Guardian: "The warming of the oceans due to climate change is now unstoppable after record temperatures last year, bringing additional sea-level rise, and raising the risks of severe storms, US government climate scientists said on Thursday.

The annual State of the Climate in 2014 report, based on research from 413 scientists from 58 countries, found record warming on the surface and upper levels of the oceans, especially in the North Pacific, in line with earlier findings of 2014 as the hottest year on record.

Global sea-level also reached a record high, with the expansion of those warming waters, keeping pace with the 3.2 ± 0.4 mm per year trend in sea level growth over the past two decades, the report said.

Scientists said the consequences of those warmer ocean temperatures would be felt for centuries to come – even if there were immediate efforts to cut the carbon emissions fuelling changes in the oceans."



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15 species that should be brought back to rewild Britain | Environment | The Guardian

15 species that should be brought back to rewild Britain | Environment | The Guardian: "A new national organisation called Rewilding Britain launches on Wednesday with the aim of reversing centuries of ecological damage by returning species and habitats to the British countryside that have been absent for decades and sometimes much longer. In the process it hopes to recharge the natural world with wonder and help people to reconnect with it. Here are some of the species that have been lost to our countryside but may yet return:"



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Government shelves foxhunting vote after SNP opposition | UK news | The Guardian

Government shelves foxhunting vote after SNP opposition | UK news | The Guardian: "The government has withdrawn its attempt to relax the UK’s foxhunting ban after the Scottish National party said it would vote against the change.

Burnham urges Harman to drop her call for Labour to abstain on welfare bill - Politics live
Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen, including the shelving of the vote on hunting
Read more
Downing Street is expected to revisit the issue in autumn after the proposed introduction of English votes for English laws (Evel) in parliament. This would make clear whether a majority of non-Scottish MPs were in favour of weakening the foxhunting ban.

The vote was meant to be held on Wednesday but the SNP’s decision to break with tradition by voting on an English-only matter meant No 10 was no longer confident it would win.

Labour and dozens of Tory MPs were also opposed to the change, which would have allowed hunters to flush out foxes using a pack of dogs for the purpose of pest control. This is currently allowed in Scotland, but there is a limit of two dogs in England and Wales."



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Get ahead in Silicon Valley: take nootropic brain drugs | Technology | The Guardian

Get ahead in Silicon Valley: take nootropic brain drugs | Technology | The Guardian: "Each nootropic is distinct and there can be a lot of variation in effect from person to person, says Lawler. Users semi-annonymously compare stacks and get advice from forums on sites such as Reddit. Noehr, who buys his powder in bulk and makes his own capsules, has been tweaking chemicals and quantities for about five years accumulating more than two dozens of jars of substances along the way. He says he meticulously researches anything he tries, buys only from trusted suppliers and even blind-tests the effects (he gets his fiancée to hand him either a real or inactive capsule)."



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Earth's history isn't on our side with new sea-level rise study - The Hoops News

Earth's history isn't on our side with new sea-level rise study - The Hoops News: "History isn’t on our side when it comes to climate change or sea-level rise, a new study found. Research conducted by a group of climate scientists from multiple U.S. universities found that the level of sea-level rise seen due to climate change in recent years is mild compared to what we could be experiencing in the coming years. The study indicated that historically speaking, this massive change or shift in the climate, which would leave oceans rising as much as 20 or 30 feet in a matter of just a couple decades – is anything but a dooms day scenario."



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Climate Change Is Shrinking Where Bumblebees Range, Research Finds - The New York Times

Climate Change Is Shrinking Where Bumblebees Range, Research Finds - The New York Times: "Climate change has narrowed the range where bumblebees are found in North America and Europe in recent decades, according to a study published Thursday.

The paper, published in the journal Science, suggests that warming temperatures have caused bumblebee populations to retreat from the southern limits of their travels by as much as 190 miles since the 1970s.

Logic would suggest that the northern reaches of their home turf would shift to higher latitudes by a corresponding distance. But that has not happened, leading researchers to think that the more northern habitats may be less hospitable to them."



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Microsoft's Paul Allen launches major conservation project during 'shark week'

Microsoft's Paul Allen launches major conservation project during 'shark week': "Saving sharks from extinction may not be the first thing that comes to mind during Shark Week, which is famous for frightening tales of shark attacks. But a new project spearheaded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's charity aims to help conserve sharks worldwide, which face threats from human fishing, pollution, climate change and other causes.

While the recent rise in shark attacks along the East Coast certainly don't bolster general sympathy toward the sea creatures, this lack of awareness is also largely due to the fact that there are many things that we simply don't know about these creatures, which live in the vast abyss of the ocean.

SEE ALSO: Could Shark Week make us less afraid of sharks?

On Tuesday, Vulcan Inc. announced the Global FinPrint initiative, a research survey designed to provide key data needed in order to design and implement plans to save sharks from extinction.

Vulcan Inc. is a private investment company run by Microsoft founder Paul Allen, who also started the Great Elephant Census to combat Africa's elephant extinction crisis."



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Pope Francis says humans "irresponsible" with environment - CBS News

Pope Francis says humans "irresponsible" with environment - CBS News: "QUITO, Ecuador --Speaking to students and educators at a Catholic University in Ecuador's capital on Tuesday, Pope Francis delivered a strong speech in defense of the environment, warning that caring for the Earth is now no longer a recommendation, but an urgent requirement.

He said humans had damaged the planet by "our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed it. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder it at will." He quoted from his recent document on the environment, the encyclical Laudato Sii. In that document, released in June, the Pope urged immediate action to combat climate change."



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Pope Francis Urges Dialogue, Launches Environmental SOS in Ecuador

Pope Francis Urges Dialogue, Launches Environmental SOS in Ecuador: "QUITO:  Pope Francis called for dialogue on Tuesday in front of nearly one million people at an outdoor mass in Ecuador's capital, before launching an appeal for better care of the Amazon.

The pope addressed approximately 900,000 faithful who braved the cold and rain to hear his homily in Bicentennial Park, Quito a city recently rocked by anti-government protests.

The Argentine-born pontiff focused his message on "our revolution," the need to spread the Roman Catholic faith."



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Unprecedented heatwave: Behind the ‘Indian’ summer in Europe, climate change and an African scorcher | The Indian Express

Unprecedented heatwave: Behind the ‘Indian’ summer in Europe, climate change and an African scorcher | The Indian Express: "What lies behind the extraordinarily high temperatures experienced across Europe this week? Meteorologically, it is the result of the development of an area of high pressure above the Iberian Peninsula, which pushed hot winds north and east up to the southern Baltics, Belarus and western Ukraine, and as far north as southern Scandinavia.
Alongside have come the familiar warnings that the world’s climate has changed fundamentally — bringing with it extreme, and sometimes catastrophic, weather events.
The United Nations has issued an unusual safety advisory, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) have warned of future heatwaves in places where they have never occurred before."



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Robert Redford Urges Global Action on Climate Change - ABC News

Robert Redford Urges Global Action on Climate Change - ABC News: "
Robert Redford said he came to the United Nations Monday not as an actor but as an environmental advocate, father, grandfather and concerned citizen to urge the world's nations to take action now on climate change.

The 78-year-old Oscar winner said his environmental activism began more than 40 years ago and has grown stronger as he has seen the threat of global warming grow.

He told a high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly on climate change that "the time for half measures and climate denial is over."

"It is the overwhelming judgment of science that climate change is real — and the result of human activity," Redford said. "Everywhere we look, moderate weather is going extinct."

The mission of the 193 U.N. member nations, he said, "is as simple as it is daunting: save the world before it's too late.""



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A diet that mimics fasting may be good for you

A diet that mimics fasting may be good for you: "For years, people have tried going on extremely low-calorie diets, hoping to stave off illness and delay the effects of aging.

It's an approach that is based on science showing that limiting proteins and sugars seems to impede processes in the body that lead to diabetes and even cancers. But it's also a tough road that can sap dieters' patience and strength, said University of Southern California aging researcher Valter Longo, who recently led a study searching for a better way to get the benefits of fasting without quite so much pain.

"We wanted to know, what if you let people eat normally, but then once every few weeks you fool the system into thinking it was starving?" he said."



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Republicans resist proposed dietary guidelines of less meat, more veggies | The Salt Lake Tribune

Republicans resist proposed dietary guidelines of less meat, more veggies | The Salt Lake Tribune: "Washington • Congressional Republicans are pushing back against proposed dietary guidelines that urge Americans to consider the environment when deciding what to eat.

House and Senate spending bills say the guidelines must focus only on nutrition and diet. That's a clear effort to thwart a recommendation by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee that eating a diet higher in vegetables and other plant-based foods is better for the environment than eating a diet based more on foods from animals.

The advice from a government advisory panel of independent doctors and nutrition experts has raised the ire of the meat industry.

The dietary guidelines come out every five years, and the government advice informs everything from school lunches and food packaging labels to advice from your doctor. The departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services are expected to issue a final version by year's end based on the advisory committee's February recommendations."



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Doctors Fight Coal Like Tobacco, Widening Climate Debate - Bloomberg Business

Doctors Fight Coal Like Tobacco, Widening Climate Debate - Bloomberg Business: "Doctors are joining the fight against pollution from coal power, adding a significant new dimension to the effort to rein in global warming.
Calling for “a rapid phaseout of coal from the global energy mix,” a panel of 46 health professionals and climate scientists identified the world’s rising temperature as one of the biggest threats to humans in the coming decades.
“The health community has responded to many grave threats in the past. It took on entrenched interests such as the tobacco industry and led on the fight against HIV/AIDS,” said Peng Gong, co-chair of the group who directs the Earth science systems center at Tsinghua University in Beijing. “Now is the time for us to lead the way in responding to another great threat.”"



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Study: Two-Thirds Of Americans Are Overweight Or Obese « CBS Minnesota

Study: Two-Thirds Of Americans Are Overweight Or Obese « CBS Minnesota: "MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A new study shows two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. The study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found waist lines have increased considerably over the past two decades. Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis studied data over a five year period ending in 2012.
On a warm Monday evening, people walking, running or biking is often what you find in Minnesota."



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Pope Francis says those in weapons industry can't call themselves Christian | World news | The Guardian

Pope Francis says those in weapons industry can't call themselves Christian | World news | The Guardian: "People who manufacture weapons or invest in weapons industries are hypocrites if they call themselves Christian, Pope Francis said on Sunday.

Duplicity is the currency of today ... they say one thing and do another
Pope Francis
Francis issued his toughest condemnation to date of the weapons industry at a rally of thousands of young people at the end of the first day of his trip to the Italian city of Turin.

“If you trust only men you have lost,” he told the young people in a longcommentary about war, trust and politics, after putting aside his prepared address."



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Lindt is my favourite

British study links chocolate with fewer heart attacks, strokes - Fredericksburg.com: Health Living: "New research has found that devoted consumers of chocolate—including some who eat the equivalent of about two standard candy bars a day—are 11 percent less likely than those who eat little to no chocolate to have heart attacks and strokes, and 25 percent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease.
A long-running British study that tracked nearly 21,000 adults in and around Norfolk, England, for an average of 12 years, making frequent surveys of their consumption habits, life-styles and health.
Those in the top one-fifth of chocolate consumers reported eating the equivalent of about a half an American-size candy bar; those whose chocolate consumption landed them in the bottom 20th percentile averaged only 1.1 gram per day."



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Pope's climate change encyclical tells rich nations: pay your debt to the poor | World news | The Guardian

Pope's climate change encyclical tells rich nations: pay your debt to the poor | World news | The Guardian: "Pope Francis has called on the world’s rich nations to begin paying their “grave social debt” to the poor and take concrete steps on climate change, saying failure to do so presents an undeniable risk to a “common home” that is beginning to resemble a “pile of filth”.

The pope’s 180-page encyclical on the environment, released on Thursday, is at its core a moral call for action on phasing out the use of fossil fuels.

But it is also a document infused with an activist anger and concern for the poor, casting blame on the indifference of the powerful in the face of certain evidence that humanity is at risk following 200 years of misuse of resources.

Up to now, he says, the world has accepted a “cheerful recklessness” in its approach to the issue, lacking the will to change habits for the good of the Earth.

“Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods,” the papal statement says. “It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day.”"



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Study: A third of global groundwater basins are overstressed - World - NZ Herald News

Study: A third of global groundwater basins are overstressed - World - NZ Herald News: "IRVINE, Calif. (AP) " Satellite data show people are overdrawing water from some of the world's largest groundwater basins.

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine say it's unclear how much water is left in the most overburdened aquifers. The problem is expected to worsen with climate change and population growth.

Using measurements taken by NASA's twin Grace satellites, scientists found the most overstressed groundwater basins were located in the driest regions.

Arabian Aquifer System in the Middle East, which serves more than 60 million people, was considered the most stressed in the world followed by the Indus Basin aquifer of northwestern India and Pakistan.

The farm-rich Central Valley in California was considered highly stressed.

The two studies were published online Tuesday in Water Resources Research, a journal of the American Geophysical Union."



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The ties that bind, without any ties

Today was an interesting day. Two of my classmates from my Northwestern Ph.D. days, Jim and Mike, came to my house around 11:30. It has been thirty plus years since we we had cubicles in the sub-basement of the Tech building- perhaps it was the fact that there were no windows that darkened our outlook on life. After thirty years, we have aged, and so has the relationship. Mike has become a master gardener, and as is his wont, has acquired a vast range of knowledge about plants and animals. Mike has always been very compassionate, and it has been very interesting to see his growth. Jim and I started at NU at the same time, and over the years he has become family to me. I took up runnig because of Jim. My mom was very happy to see Jim, and gave him a warm hug.
Over the course of my twenty seven year career, I have met many people, and worked with hundreds of people, but the NU classmates were the brightest of the bunch- my best conversations are with them!
I wear a tie when I am teaching, but then I don't think either Jim or Mike wears one.

Robin wins vote for UK's national bird | Environment | The Guardian

Robin wins vote for UK's national bird | Environment | The Guardian: "It’s territorial, chippy and punches above its weight – and that’s why Britons have voted for the robin to be the country’s national bird, according to the organiser of a nationwide poll.

More than 224,000 people cast their ballot in the National Bird Vote, organised by “urban birder” David Lindo, which finished on the day of the general election.


Don't forget to vote ... for Britain's national bird
Read more
The robin won by a significant margin, taking 34% of the vote from a shortlist of 10 of Britain’s most familiar and beloved birds. The next most popular birds were the barn owl and blackbird at 12% and 11% respectively.

Lindo, who was openly critical of the robin in the final days of voting, said he had secretly hoped the blackbird would win.

“If the truth be known it would be great if something else had won, like a blackbird, but I’m very happy still that a robin has been confirmed as Britain’s national bird. I think it’s good and I think it’s a bird that we can be proud of and hoist up on our shoulders now.”"



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Google brings the world's coral reefs to your screen - CBS News

Google brings the world's coral reefs to your screen - CBS News: "Most of us will never swim with the giant ocean sunfish off the coast of Bali or tag alongside a humpback whale in the Cook Islands.

But thanks to Google Maps, you can have a virtual view of the experience. In an effort to draw attention to the world's oceans, the company teamed up this week with XL Catlin Seaview Survey, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the Chagos Conservation Trust to release Street View imagery of more than 40 extraordinary underwater locations around the world.

Along with the Cook Islands and Bali, the latest 360-degree underwater images feature American Samoa and the Chagos Islands and underwater dives in the Bahamas and the Great Barrier Reef.

Using a specially designed camera -- the SVII -- divers take 360-degree high-resolution images every three seconds, which are then digitally stitched together. The end result is like an underwater version of Google Street View, allowing viewers to take a "virtual dive" and navigate through the underwater environment."



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Like a good neighbour, St. John is there!

On Saturday evening, we were watching the telly and having some family conversations when I heard a loud sound, appeared to be something hitting the ground. I went to all the rooms and looked to see if anything fell from the ceiling. Not seeing anything, I went outside and around the house, and did not see anything amiss. I then went into the garage and went to the garage door. It appeared to be closed but for some reason I went to the door and noticed that the wire on the right pulley was not in tension. It then dawned on me that the garage door might not have come down properly and the sound we heard was that of the door hitting the ground.
The next day I looked at the door and realized that I needed some help in fixing the problem. we called our neigbour John who came over with a bucket of tools. He realized that one of the springs was broken and needed to be replaced. The broken string then caused the wire in the pulley to come out when the garage door was being opened. John systematically went through the process to get the broken spring out. We then took it to Menards and got a replacement spring and John installed it for us.
John works very hard during the week, and rather than just relaxing, he came over on a Sunday to fix our garage door. He displayed the hallmark of a true gentleman, a neighbour who is there to help. Thanks, John.

Benefits Grow for Public University Presidents, Survey Finds - NYTimes.com

Benefits Grow for Public University Presidents, Survey Finds - NYTimes.com: "Even with college costs and student debt in the national spotlight, the pay packages — and especially the benefits — of public university presidents continue to grow. The median salary for public university presidents was $428,250 in the 2014 fiscal year, up about 7 percent from the previous year, according to an annual survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The survey included data on 238 chief executives at 220 public universities and systems in the United States.

Two presidents earned more than $1 million: Rodney A. Erickson of Pennsylvania State University, at $1.49 million, and R. Bowen Loftin of Texas A & M, who stepped down during the year, at $1.12 million. Joseph A. Alutto of Ohio State, an interim president whose term ended last year, was third, at $996,000.

But it is not only the money that is substantial.

Continue reading the main story
RELATED COVERAGE

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“This year, we took a close look at the perks and benefits, and found that 80 percent of these presidents are getting housing and cars,” said Sandhya Kambhampati, a reporter at The Chronicle who compiled the data. “There were also presidents who got maid service, personal trainers and food stipends. The list of benefits has grown from previous years.”"



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Dementia May Be Part Of What's Killing Off The Bees (VIDEO)

Dementia May Be Part Of What's Killing Off The Bees (VIDEO): "Another day, another theory about what's behind the mysterious disappearance of the Earth's bees. (Video via BeesOnTheNet / CC BY 3.0)
This time it's dementia caused by aluminum found in nectar. Aluminum is considered a neurotoxin and some have linked it to Alzheimer's disease in humans, although that hasn't been definitively proven. (Video via epSos.de / CC By 3.0)
The study, published in the journal PLOS One, said in human brains, aluminum content above 3 parts per million could lead to Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found aluminum levels in bee pupae that ranged between 13 and 193 parts per million. 
The researchers in the study described aluminum as the "most significant environmental contaminant of recent times," adding to a long list of research citing aluminum's harmful effects."



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Boeing Shoehorns More Seats Onto 777 Jet by Shrinking Lavatories - Bloomberg Business

Boeing Shoehorns More Seats Onto 777 Jet by Shrinking Lavatories - Bloomberg Business: "As Boeing Co. tries to bolster sales of its largest twin-engine jetliner, no detail is too small. One result: It found room to shoehorn in as many as 14 more seats by shrinking the lavatories.
Adding capacity on the 777-300ER is part of Boeing’s quest to drum up orders for a best-selling aircraft line into the next decade as it prepares to start building the upgraded 777X. Engineers also lightened the plane by 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) by rehanging the overhead bins.
“The market reaction has been good -- really positive,” 777 General Manager Elizabeth Lund said at a briefing at Boeing’s wide-body factory in Everett, Washington, ahead of the Paris Air Show later this month."



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US meteorological body finds global warming 'slow down' did not happen

US meteorological body finds global warming 'slow down' did not happen: "A much discussed "slow down" in global warming did not actually happen and the heating up of the planet has continued apace since the turn of the century, a new assessment by the lead United States meteorological body has found.

Scientists from the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have instead pointed to biases in thousands of global temperature observations as a reason why the rise in global temperatures was thought to have slowed over the past 15 years.

They say once more complete data was included a new assessment of global temperatures found warming since 2000 was matching the pace of the later half of the 20th century, a period widely regarded as seeing significant human-caused global warming.

The findings were published by the journal Science on Friday."



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Scientists finally have an explanation for why huge lakes atop Greenland are vanishing - The Washington Post

Scientists finally have an explanation for why huge lakes atop Greenland are vanishing - The Washington Post: "Understanding how meltwater atop Greenland makes its way to the ocean is critical, because the drainage can increase sea level directly, but also by lubricating the flow of glaciers out to the sea, where they calve off icebergs. And melting at the top of Greenland in summer seems to be growing — punctuated by a dramatic event in the summer of 2012, in which, according to NASA, fully 97 percent of the ice sheet surface saw melting.

A recent study estimated that from 2009 through 2012, the Greenland ice sheet lost 378 gigatons of ice annually (plus or minus 50 gigatons) – where a gigaton is a billion metric tons. Three hundred and sixty gigatons are enough to raise the global sea level by one millimeter. The overall annual sea level rise was recently estimated at 2.6 to 2.9 millimeters, which would make Greenland about a third of the total."



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Texas Lawmakers Pass a Bill Allowing Guns at Colleges - NYTimes.com

Texas Lawmakers Pass a Bill Allowing Guns at Colleges - NYTimes.com: "HOUSTON — Students and faculty members at public and private universities in Texas could be allowed to carry concealed handguns into classrooms, dormitories and other buildings under a bill passed over the weekend by the Republican-dominated Legislature. The measure is being hailed as a victory by gun rights advocates and criticized by many students and professors as irresponsible and unnecessary."



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History hurts, when lobbed at you

Parent’s Diary: Leaving Cert students often lose their sense of humour in the first week of June: "If taking this approach, it’s good to stand well back and to remove all throwable objects from your child’s reach, but particularly her history book. (I speak from experience here. Who knew the past could hurt so much?)
My daughter is a bit like your son or daughter: she is bright, intelligent and doesn’t like exams very much.
The things she prefers to exams include her mobile phone, friends and not doing exams. So the current system probably doesn’t suit her very much, just like it doesn’t suit the majority of teenagers who will be staring into the abyss this evening."



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Aamir Khan to be a part of a ‘waste-free’ Maharashtra campaign | The Indian Express

Aamir Khan to be a part of a ‘waste-free’ Maharashtra campaign | The Indian Express: "

Aamir Khan has decided to extend his support for a cleanliness drive to make Maharashtra, a 'waste-free' state.
By: BollywoodHungama.com | Mumbai | Published on:June 2, 2015 8:45 am
Aamir Khan has always promoted social causes and has even been the ambassador of ‘Athithi Devo Bhava’ campaign for years now. The actor has now decided to extend his support for a cleanliness drive to make Maharashtra, a ‘waste-free’ state.
Addressing the issue of wastage in Maharashtra, Aamir Khan mentioned about a few key factors that will help in the Swachh Maharashtra drive, out of which one of them, was to do away with dumping grounds. Elaborating on the ancient processes used for getting rid of wastage, Aamir Khan added that recycling waste into biogas, a combination of modern technology with conventional methods will prove beneficial."



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Beijing's About to Roll Out Its Harshest Smoking Ban Ever - Bloomberg Business

Beijing's About to Roll Out Its Harshest Smoking Ban Ever - Bloomberg Business: "China has long been one of the most smoker-friendly countries in the world, with few restrictions and virtually no taboos when it comes to lighting up. Go into most restaurants in China, and expect to be engulfed in a choking cloud of tobacco smoke. The bars, not surprisingly, are worse. Offering a cigarette to a new acquaintance is considered polite, while refusing it is often seen as rude. Sparking up next to children, pregnant mothers, or anyone else is pretty much considered normal. Now all that’s supposed to change.
Starting on June 1 in Beijing a blanket ban will be imposed on smoking in public places, after the city’s Municipal People’s Congress passed the tough new law in November. Affected will be all workplaces, schools, hotels, public transport, airports (which will no longer have designated smoking rooms or lounges), and Beijing’s many historic tourist spots, including the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. The harshest antismoking rules ever to be imposed in China (18 other cities already have lighter bans) is seen as a trial run for a national law, already drafted but still some distance from passage."



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Mastercard CEO: The Rich Should Ride The Bus - Forbes

Mastercard CEO: The Rich Should Ride The Bus - Forbes: "The setting was the first Chicago Forum on Global Cities, and Banga’s remarks followed a debate between the two former treasury secretaries about the relative impact of urban and national policies on growth (video).

With most of the world’s population now living in cities, and billions more expected, Hank Paulson insisted manageable growth depends on well-planned cities.

Robert Rubin contended that national policies have more influence.

For example, Paulson said the environmental footprint of cities would “drive the outcome” of climate change or climate mitigation, and Rubin disagreed:

“It seems to me that the single most important thing we can do is change the price of carbon,” Rubin said, “and that can only be done at the federal level.”

 Rubin served as treasury secretary from 1993-99, Paulson from 2006-09. Both men worked together at Goldman Sachs in the 1970s and 80s.

“You need enlightened national policies, I don’t want to even debate that,” Paulson agreed, ”but we are going to have a heck of a mess on our hands if we don’t get the urbanization policies right.”"



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Is demand pricing coming to Disneyland? - LA Times

Is demand pricing coming to Disneyland? - LA Times: "In an online survey sent to annual pass holders, the Walt Disney Co.'s theme park operation sought opinions on a pricing schedule for daily tickets to the company's resorts in Orlando, Fla., and Anaheim. A three-tiered pricing system would mark daily tickets as Gold, Silver and Bronze.


For Disneyland's 60th, there's Mickey, Minnie and cutting-edge technology
Gold tickets could be used every day of the year, according to the survey; Silver tickets could be used every day except peak days and popular holiday weeks. Bronze admission passes could be used only on off-peak weekends.

Under the scenario depicted in the survey, one-day, one-park admission prices for Disneyland would range from $115 for Gold tickets, $105 for Silver and $99 for Bronze tickets."



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The middle-class malaise that dare not speak its name | Zoe Williams | Comment is free | The Guardian

The middle-class malaise that dare not speak its name | Zoe Williams | Comment is free | The Guardian: "Private school fees are paid by 7% of the population; private health insurance is taken out by 11%. This isn’t really the middle: the determination to retain the term middle class for those who are actually wealthy is akin to the care with which the right wing never describes its views as rightwing, preferring “commonsense”. It is a constant project to reframe what is normal in the image of what is normal for one person in 10.

But actually, on this matter, the middle classes are pretty normal. Income has stagnated across every section of society apart from the top 1% (whom the Telegraph would probably call upper middle or well-to-do). GDP per capita is lower than it was seven years ago. “That,” said the economist Joseph Stiglitz in an interview on Sunday “is not a success.”

The extent to which we are all in this wage-stagnating swamp together is a question of age rather than class
It’s hard for the wealthy to mobilise around their declining living standards. Their options are limited. When so much of your wealth is spent avoiding the social structures on which solidarity is based – education, the health service, our crap dentistry of international renown – who do you complain to? Who are you going to stand shoulder to shoulder with? Your outrage at the world is limited in its expression to your power as a consumer. That’s why the incredibly angry, bright pink man yelling at a BT helpline is such a staple of modern British sitcoms; as a guardian angel against feelings of impotence and injustice, BT can’t really help – even if it does answer the phone.

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So there’s the stain of self-interest barring entry to the language and power and solace of unity. There’s also a huge amount of shame involved in being in debt or struggling, especially against the backdrop of assumption that privilege is somehow the result of a lifetime’s sound financial decisions."



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GM Ignition Probe Said Advancing as U.S. Mulls Criminal Case - Bloomberg Business

GM Ignition Probe Said Advancing as U.S. Mulls Criminal Case - Bloomberg Business: "The U.S. government is determining whether charges will be brought against General Motors Co. or its employees over the handling of a faulty ignition switch, a person familiar with the investigation said.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New York, is reviewing evidence tied to the safety defect that was linked to more than 100 deaths and is attempting to determine whether anyone at the automaker broke the law, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.
The investigators have several options available, including charging the automaker, individuals who work or worked at GM, or reaching a deferred prosecution agreement with the company under which the automaker would pay a fine and change the way it operates in exchange for not being charged, the person said. While the investigation has progressed, no decision is imminent, the person said."



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Indian version of Integrity

Teams gave IPL ‘integrity officers’ expensive gifts | The Indian Express: "ANTI-CORRUPTION officials connected with Chennai Super Kings and Sun Risers Hyderabad had informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) chief Ravi Sawani that they were given expensive gifts by the two franchises — a watch and a Mac Air laptop — last year.
After the spot-fixing scandal of 2013, an integrity official was attached with each IPL team. In a letter to the BCCI during IPL-7, Sawani informed that two integrity officers had reported receiving gifts.
“Major I C Yadav, who was with Sun Risers Hyderabad was given a Mac Air Laptop as a gift whereas Brigadier (retd) Vijay Singh, who was attached with the Chennai Super Kings team as an Integrity Officer during IPL-7, had reported the receipt of a Titan Xylys Watch from the Franchise as a gift,” Sawani writes."



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How Amazon Fresh Works (AMZN)

How Amazon Fresh Works (AMZN): "Using Amazon Fresh is simple: Customers use the Amazon Fresh app or head over to fresh.amazon.com, log-in, and start shopping. Consumers can choose an “Attended Delivery,” where groceries are delivered in plastic bags and must be received by the consumer, or an “Unattended Delivery,” where the food is delivered to a consumer’s doorstep in temperature-controlled tote bags.

Same day and next morning delivery is available and, for consumers who spend more than $50, delivery is free. Along with groceries, Amazon Fresh delivers toiletries and prepared meals.

HISTORY AND COMPETITION
It may be surprising, but Amazon is not the first company to dream up a fast grocery delivery service. Since the mid-1990s, companies like Webvan and HomeGrocer have been shipping food to hungry customers. Today, most brick-and-mortar grocery stores will offer delivery service (provided you do the actual in-store shopping) and, in New York City alone, there are three major competitors to Amazon Fresh: Fresh Direct, Peapod, and Instacart."



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McDonald's must break 'dinosaur' culture to stop the rot, experts warn | Business | The Guardian

McDonald's must break 'dinosaur' culture to stop the rot, experts warn | Business | The Guardian: "The average tenure of McDonald’s governance committee, which is responsible for appointing new directors, is 17 years.
McDonald’s paid more than $150m to companies linked to three of the company’s longest serving board members.
Ten of McDonald’s 13 non-executive directors are from the Chicago business community.
Eight of the 13 non-executive directors had a direct connection with a board member before they joined.
McDonald’s non-executive chairman, Andrew McKenna, is still chairman at 85, despite being meant to retire in 2003 when he reached the company’s then mandatory retirement age of 73.
Analysis of McDonald’s proxy statements reveals that the company’s three longest-serving directors – McKenna, Roger Stone and Enrique Hernandez – have been involved in more than $150m of related person transactions, in which McDonald’s paid companies linked to the directors. The payments were legal and publicly disclosed."



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Atlanta named worst city for Mosquitos | WJCL News

Atlanta named worst city for Mosquitos | WJCL News: "SAVANNAH, GA ( WJCL) – Sumer is right around the corner and the rising mercury means massive spawning for Mosquitos.

Orkin came out with a list of the worst cities for the flying blood-suckers. Atlanta tops the list with Chicago in second place, followed by Washington D.C.

The rankings are based on the number of customers that bought Mosquito control services from Orkin in 2014.

The Center for Disease Control warns that Mosquitos can carry dangerous illnesses like West Nile Virus.

"



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Starbucks Teams Up With Spotify After Abandoning Compact Discs - Yahoo Finance

Starbucks Teams Up With Spotify After Abandoning Compact Discs - Yahoo Finance: "Starbucks Corp., once famous for hawking CDs at its registers, is moving into the age of streaming music.

The coffee chain, which stopped selling compact discs in March after 20 years, announced a partnership with Spotify that will let customers give feedback on the songs played at their local Starbucks. Users of the Spotify and Starbucks apps also will have access to playlists created by the company’s baristas.

“We’re really making the baristas the D.J.,” Daniel Ek, chief executive officer of Spotify, said on a conference call.

In addition to weighing in on the music played at Starbucks cafes, customers who sign up for Spotify premium subscriptions will earn “stars” that can be used through the Starbucks Rewards loyalty program."



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Lucy Kellaway: AOL’s Tim Armstrong proves obnoxious executives thrive

Lucy Kellaway: AOL’s Tim Armstrong proves obnoxious executives thrive: "Last week, when he agreed to sell AOL for $4.4 billion, a Forbes contributor called him a “genius”, arguing that the main reason Verizon wanted to buy the company was to get exposure to the brilliance of its chief executive. Mr Armstrong’s bank manager presumably agrees: the man’s personal gain from the deal is put by the Wall Street Journal at $180 million. Yet as Forbes was cheering others were making ruder noises. A blogger on Gawker was writing a post called “A Salute to AOL’s Tim Armstrong, a Real Shitty Boss”.
Many times I have tried to interview this corporate hero/villain in the hope of understanding how one of the least-appealing figures in corporate life could have done so well, but his zealous PRs have come between us. Instead I have had to content myself with listening to him talk, looking at photos and videos, reading his memos and talking to people who have worked for him."



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Greece Aid Accord Looks Elusive as Tsipras Sticks to Red Lines - Bloomberg Business

Greece Aid Accord Looks Elusive as Tsipras Sticks to Red Lines - Bloomberg Business: "An agreement between Greece and its international creditors to unblock financing and avert a default looked elusive after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he won’t strike a deal at any cost.
“There’s no doubt that an agreement must be reached,” Tsipras said late Friday at a conference in Athens. “But those who think that the Greek side’s resistance can be tested or that its red lines will fade as time passes, would do well to forget it.”"



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Oil CEO Wanted University Quake Scientists Dismissed: Dean's E-Mail - Bloomberg Business

Oil CEO Wanted University Quake Scientists Dismissed: Dean's E-Mail - Bloomberg Business: "Oil tycoon Harold Hamm told a University of Oklahoma dean last year that he wanted certain scientists there dismissed who were studying links between oil and gas activity and the state's nearly 400-fold increase in earthquakes, according to the dean's e-mail recounting the conversation.
Hamm, the billionaire founder and chief executive officer of Oklahoma City-based Continental Resources, is a major donor to the university, which is the home of the Oklahoma Geological Survey. He has vigorously disputed the notion that he tried to pressure the survey's scientists. "I'm very approachable, and don't think I'm intimidating," Hamm was quoted as saying in an interview with EnergyWire, an industry publication, that was published on May 11. "I don't try to push anybody around.""



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No wallet, no worries: Denmark considering cash-free shops | World news | The Guardian

No wallet, no worries: Denmark considering cash-free shops | World news | The Guardian: "In Stockholm you can pay a street hawker with a credit card. In Copenhagen you can buy a single shot espresso with your smartphone. In Helsinki, you can go grocery shopping but leave your wallet at home.

Scandinavia has long been the most cashless place on the planet. Now Denmark is considering whether to go a step further and allow retailers to ban cash altogether.

The Danish Chamber of Commerce is recommending that shops and services be given the option of going completely cash-free. The proposal needs to be approved by parliament but if it gets the green light, retailers could begin rejecting cash from January 2016."



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Thinning Antarctic ice shelf could contribute to sea level rise, says study | Environment | The Guardian

Thinning Antarctic ice shelf could contribute to sea level rise, says study | Environment | The Guardian: "The largest ice shelf on the Antarctic peninsula is thinning because of warmer ocean and air temperatures that are driving it towards a collapse that could contribute significantly to sea level rise, a new study has found.

The study by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) analysed the Larsen C ice shelf, which is two and a half times the size of Wales. The team looked at satellite radar imagery taken between 1998 and 2012 to find that Larsen C lost 4 metres of thickness.

Until now scientists did not know whether the losses were coming from above or below. The new work found both play a role, but the main driver is ice loss from below.

Lead author Dr Paul Holland said: “What’s exciting about this study is we now know that two different processes are causing Larsen C to thin and become less stable.”

The major loss occurred underneath the shelf where it floats on increasingly warm ocean currents. Around 28cm every year across the entire area of the ice shelf is being eaten away from below."



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Doctors to withhold treatments in campaign against 'too much medicine' | Society | The Guardian

Doctors to withhold treatments in campaign against 'too much medicine' | Society | The Guardian: "Doctors are to stop giving patients scores of tests and treatments, such as x-rays for back pain and antibiotics for flu, in an unprecedented crackdown on the “over-medicalisation” of illness.

In a move that has roused fears that it will lead to the widespread rationing of NHS care, the body representing the UK’s 250,000 doctors is seeking to ensure that patients no longer undergo treatment that is unlikely to work, may harm them and wastes valuable resources.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges wants to bring an end to a culture of “too much medicine” in which “more is better” and doctors feel compelled to always “do something”, often because they feel under pressure from the patient, even though they know that the treatment recommended will probably not work.

Many patients with asthma, prostate and thyroid cancers, and chronic kidney disease already undergo “unnecessary care” because they are “over-diagnosed” and thus “over-treated”, the academy claims."



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Costco CEO: Values, culture are key | Membership Warehouse Clubs content from Supermarket News

Costco CEO: Values, culture are key | Membership Warehouse Clubs content from Supermarket News: "No matter how big a company gets, it must maintain its core values and its culture or it could fail, Craig Jelinek, chairman and CEO of Costco Wholesale Corp., said in a speech Monday.

“Companies sometimes lose their way because they lose their core values and culture,” he told the Western Association of Food Chains at its annual convention in Palm Desert, Calif. “Your business can evolve, but it can’t afford to lose its values and its culture.""



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Australia to crack down on alleged tax avoidance by 30 multinationals - Yahoo Finance

Australia to crack down on alleged tax avoidance by 30 multinationals - Yahoo Finance: "SYDNEY, May 11 (Reuters) - The Australian government announced a world-leading crackdown on Monday on alleged tax avoidance by 30 multinational companies that will likely force them to restructure their businesses before next year.

"These companies are diverting profits earned in Australia away from Australia to no-tax or low-tax jurisdictions," Treasurer Joe Hockey told reporters in Canberra.

He declined to identify the targets, but said "it's pretty evident which companies are involved". Google Inc, Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp revealed earlier this year they were under review by the Australian Tax Office.

Australia has joined Britain in moving to tackle companies such as the global tech giants over tax avoidance, particularly the shifting of profits from high-tax countries to more relaxed regimes like Singapore and Switzerland.

Under Australia's leadership last year, the Group of 20 leading economies (G20) endorsed a set of common standards for sharing bank account information across borders with automatic exchange of information among members."



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