Published on Jul 6, 2013
This is an amazing documentary put together by BBC Horizon. It’s a fascinating look at what could happen if the the virus mutates. The likelihood of that happening is not as remote as you might think. Watch the video and then decide. Time: 1 hour 28 minutes. (www.CoughyCup.com)
Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics
Posted in Uncategorized
Published on Nov 15, 2013
New cases of the life-threatening MERS coronavirus in the Middle East and the H7N9 bird flu virus in China have prompted questions about the world’s readiness to confront potential resulting pandemics. Presented November 13, 2013 in collaboration with PRI’s The World and WGBH, this Forum event examined risks associated with these particular viruses, vaccine technologies to combat them, strategies to track them, global preparedness plans and lessons learned from past deadly outbreaks such as SARS and H1N1.
Part of the Andelot Series on Current Science Controversies.
Watch the entire series at www.ForumHSPH.org.
Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics
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Published on Jan 24, 2014
What does it mean to age in the U.S. today? HSPH Professor Lisa Berkman delivers some surprising information about life expectancy and women in the U.S. in this clip from “Living Longer and Healthier Lives: The Science Behind Healthy Aging,” presented by The Forum at Harvard School of Public Health in collaboration with The Huffington Post on January 21, 2014.
Watch the entire series from The Forum at Harvard School of Public Health at www.ForumHSPH.org.
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01-21-2014 03:13 BJT
China has released its first policy document of the year, which focuses largely on agriculture. The document, dubbed the “Number One Central Document”, underscores the importance of rural reform and modernizing the country’s agriculture sector.
The document put improving the national food security system on the top of the reform list for 2014 and the next few years. It said, China should spare no efforts in promoting domestic grain production, strictly observing a red line for its arable land and constantly raising the country’s agricultural production capacity. According to a recent survey released in late December, China’s arable land totalled about 134 million hectares, slightly above the minimum of 120 million hectares the government has set to ensure food security.
The document also called for more policy support and the protection of agriculture by promoting steady increases in govrerment expenditures, improving subsidies for farmers, and the establishment of an interest compensation mechanism. It also said China will promote technological innovation in the agricultural sector, develop a modern seed industry and establish a new management system to further modernize the country’s rural areas.
…(read more).
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http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/jan/22/agriculture-nutrition-improving-policy
As governments face up to food security challenges by focusing on production, they must learn that not all agricultural policies are nutrition-enhancing
Global investment in energy-dense cereal crops during the ‘green revolution’ made nutritious foods more expensive. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian
The world today faces a complex challenge – improving nutrition for all. Contrary to how malnutrition is often portrayed in western media, it is not a separate problem for the poor (undernutrition) and for the rich (overnutrition). Around the world, this double burden of food-related illness is very much a challenge for the poor, simply because nutritious foods tend to be more difficult obtain or more expensive.
So if we are concerned about development, poverty reduction and economic growth, we should be thinking about malnutrition in this broad sense, as well as the food and agricultural systems that influence what is available, affordable and consumed.
A range of specific agricultural interventions for better nutrition have been trialled, but it’s not yet clear how effective they are. In a recently published paper, the Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health and the University of Aberdeen looked at 150 agriculture programmes, ranging from breeding staple crops with higher micronutrient levels, to encouraging home gardening and small animal and fish production in households and communities. They showed that, while these programmes were promising, the majority were not measuring nutritional outcomes effectively. For example, just producing more nutritious food does not mean it will be consumed by people suffering from malnutrition. Similarly, efforts to address unhealthy, energy-dense and nutrient-poor diets have had some promising results, but research is still limited and methods need improvement.
….(read more).
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics
Cyprus International Institute (CII) (Harvard School of Public Health) http://Cyprus-Institute.us
Food-Matters
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Published on Jan 24, 2014
A conversation with Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, on the global dimensions of China’s development.
Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China
Moderated by
Joseph S. Nye Jr, University Distinguished Service Professor, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, USA; Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government
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Published on Jan 24, 2014
Thom Hartmann talks with Sam Seder – Host “The Majority Report” on Majority.fm about how today’s generation of Americans are turning away from the greed mentality.
If you liked this clip of The Thom Hartmann Program, please do us a big favor and share it with your friends… and hit that “like” button!
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Published on Jan 24, 2014
In his new book The Fall of the Faculty: The Rise of the All-Administrative University and Why It Matters, Ben Ginsberg discusses new patterns of governance that threaten universities’ missions. Ginsberg argues that management structures have been imposed without attention to whether they make sense for the university context. Administrative positions are created with work being generated to justify their existence, and activities that seem to faculty as diversions from their missions are justified as serving student needs or required by government mandates. Ginsberg argues that these trends are better understood as results of a natural human pursuit of power — and of the faculty not always being willing to insist that it take on the hard work of governance.
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Published on Jan 24, 2014
Running Dry: Beyond the Brink is filmmaker Jim Thebaut’s latest addition to the Running Dry franchise. It will be a documentary that will be presented in theaters around the world. Its focus is the impact of drought and water scarcity and its connection to energy, health, agriculture, food supply and international security. This short video focuses on the American Southwest.
Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics
Food-Matters
Posted in Uncategorized
Transition Studies 