Who bought Ecuador’s president?

Published on Oct 15, 2019
Protesters in Ecuador believed that their government sold them out to vulture capitalists. They were protesting a cut to fuel subsidies, part of President Moreno’s deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Appearances suggest that Moreno has yielded to protesters’ demands, but RT producer Enrique Rivera joins Rick Sanchez to explain why he thinks the upheaval in Ecuador is just beginning.

The New Feudalism

New Economic Thinking

Published on Jan 9, 2019

Are Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos the new feudal elite? Anand Giridharadas talks to INET President Rob Johnson about how the titans of Silicon Valley use “philanthropy” to control more of our lives.

Space capitalism: Is asteroid mining and space colonization legal? | Peter Ward

Published on Oct 15, 2019
The private sector may need the Outer Space Treaty to be updated before it can make any claims to celestial bodies or their resources.

– The Outer Space Treaty, which was signed in 1967, is the basis of international space law. Its regulations set out what nations can and cannot do, in terms of colonization and enterprise in space.

– One major stipulation of the treaty is that no nation can individually claim or colonize any part of the universe—when the US planted a flag on the Moon in 1969, it took great pains to ensure the world it was symbolic, not an act of claiming territory.

– Essentially to do anything in space, as a private enterprise, you have to be able to make money. When it comes to asteroid mining, for instance, it would be “astronomically” expensive to set up such an industry. The only way to get around this would be if the resources being extracted were so rare you could sell them for a fortune on Earth.

Peter Ward studied journalism at the University of Sheffield before moving to Dubai, where he reported on the energy sector. After three years in the Middle East, he earned his master’s degree in business journalism from Columbia University Journalism School. His work has appeared in GQ, Bloomberg, The Economist, and Newsweek. He lives in New York City. His latest book is The Consequential Frontier: Challenging the Privatization of Space (https://amzn.to/2VImJD8)

How to Save the Natural World: The Problem

Published on Oct 15, 2019
During Half-Earth Day 2019: How to Save the Natural World, Stephen H. Lockhart, Chief Medical Officer at Sutter Health, defines the problems we face as our environment deteriorates, how it affects species and people, and how we create the next generation of environmental stewards.

We need to track the world’s water like we track the weather | Sonaar Luthra

Published on Oct 15, 2019
Visit http://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, subtitles, translations, personalized Talk recommendations and more.

We need a global weather service for water, says entrepreneur and TED Fellow Sonaar Luthra. In a talk about environmental accountability, Luthra shows how we could forecast water shortages and risks with a global data collection effort — just like we monitor the movement of storms — and better listen to what the earth is telling us.

Action on Climate Change: The Sustainable Growth Story of the 21st Century

Action on Climate Change: The Sustainable Growth Story of the 21st Century

LORD NICHOLAS STERN
IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government; Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics
Tuesday, October 15//5pm
Geological Lecture Hall (100), 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge (View map)

Action on Climate Change: The Sustainable Growth Story of the 21st Century

LORD NICHOLAS STERN
IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government; Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics

TODAY! Tuesday, October 15 // 5pm
Geological Lecture Hall (100), 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge (View map)

Lord Nicholas Stern is the IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government and Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics. He was President of the Royal Economic Society (2018-2019) and President of the British Academy (2013-2017). He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society (2014).

He has held academic appointments in the UK at Oxford, Warwick, the LSE and abroad at MIT, the Ecole Polytechnique and the Collège de France in Paris, the Indian Statistical Institute in Bangalore and Delhi, and the People’s University of China in Beijing. He was Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (1994-1999) and Chief Economist and Senior Vice President at the World Bank (2000-2003). He was knighted in 2004, made a cross-bench life peer in 2007 and appointed Companion of Honour in 2017 for services to economics, international relations and tackling climate change. Lord Stern was Second Permanent Secretary to Her Majesty’s Treasury from 2003-2005; Director of Policy and Research for the Prime Minister’s Commission for Africa from 2004-2005; Head of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, published in 2006; and Head of the Government Economic Service from 2003-2007. He has published more than 15 books and 100 articles. His most recent books include Why Are We Waiting? The Logic, Urgency and Promise of Tackling Climate Change (MIT Press, 2015), followed by How Lives Change: Palanpur, India and Development Economics (Oxford University Press, 2018).
*Free and open to the public*

Contact:
Erin Harleman
Events Coordinator, HUCE
eharleman
617.495.0368

*Free and open to the public*

Slides from talk:

• “Action on Climate Change: The Sustainable Growth Story of the 21st Century”

 

“Measuring poverty around the world” – Tony Atkinson

Oxford Martin School

The persistence of poverty – in rich and poor countries alike – is one of the most serious problems facing humanity. But what is poverty and how much of it is there around the globe?

John Micklewright will present Professor Sir Tony Atkinson’s new book, Measuring Poverty around the World, which he and Andrea Brandolini edited after Sir Tony’s death.

The book talk will be followed by a discussion

Professor Sabina Alkire, Director, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)
Andrea Brandolini, Head, Statistical Analysis Directorate, DG Economics, Statistics and Research, Bank of Italy
Professor John Micklewright, Professor Emeritus, UCL
Professor Brian Nolan, Lead Researcher, Oxford Martin Programme on Inequality and Prosperity

Oxford Martin School,
University of Oxford
www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk

Communities Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day from Coast to Coast

Image Credit: Juliana Sohn/Seeding Sovereignty
Oct 14, 2019

Cities and states from coast to coast are celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day today, rejecting the official federal holiday of Columbus Day. Last week, Washington, D.C., became one of the latest of over 130 cities, counties and states to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Sunrise ceremonies are being held this morning from Randall’s Island to Alcatraz. We’ll have more on Indigenous Peoples’ Day later in the broadcast.

See related:

• Communities Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day from Coast to Coast
• Ecuador: Indigenous Protests Force Government to Cancel IMF Loan
• “We’re Still Here”: Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration Reflects Ongoing Resistance to Colonization
• Slavery, Memory and Reparations

Ecuador: Indigenous Protests Force Government to Cancel IMF Loan

Oct 14, 2019

In Ecuador, two weeks of massive indigenous-led protests have forced the government to cancel planned austerity measures and withdraw from a $4.2 billion loan package from the International Monetary Fund. The major victory came after televised negotiations between the Ecuadorian government and indigenous groups on Sunday. At least seven people were killed in the protests. Over 2,000 more were arrested or wounded. Celebrations broke out in Ecuador’s capital Quito Sunday night after the deal was reached. This is Marco Casagallo.

Marco Casagallo: “It’s a celebration for us, because we can rest easy after so many days of deaths, massacres and other things that Ecuador has gone through.”

Japan: 40 Have Died in Typhoon Hagibis

Oct 14, 2019

In Japan, at least 40 people have died and over a dozen are still missing after Typhoon Hagibis swept through central and eastern Japan Saturday. Experts say it was the worst storm to hit Japan in at least 60 years. It dumped record levels of rain across parts of the country, causing at least 25 rivers to burst their banks. This is typhoon survivor Rie Hasegawa.

Rie Hasegawa: “Water came in immediately, and I felt the water gradually go up in dark. It was scary, and I was worried about our lives. I even thought that might be the end.”