EARTHWORKS Earthworks' Mission Earthworks is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting communities and the environment from the adverse impacts of mineral and energy development while promoting sustainable solutions. Earthworks stands for clean air, water and land, healthy communities, and corporate accountability. Growing food from mattresses: what experts can learn from working in refugee camps I am a scientist who has spent his career working with industry at the interface of science, engineering and medicine. I have served on many advisory boards on translating research into practice. But I never feel the flames of knowledge exchange burn as bright as when I’m at Za’atari refugee camp, in Jordan. The news is often full of refugee crises couched in terms such as “how will we cope?”
It's the mathematics tool we use every day, but what exactly is Bayes' Theorem? Our world view and resultant actions are often driven by a simple theorem, devised in secret more than 150 years ago by a quiet English mathematician and theologian, Thomas Bayes, and only published after his death. Bayes’ Theorem was famously used to crack the Nazi Enigma code during World War II, and now manages uncertainty across science, technology, medicine and much more. So how does it work? Bayes’ Theorem explained Thomas Bayes’ insight was remarkably simple. The probability of a hypothesis being true depends on two criteria:
American Academy of Pediatrics Cuts Ties with Monsanto Months ago Mamavation learned that the American Academy of Pediatrics was in a sponsorship relationship with Monsanto, a chemical company and makers of DDT, PCBs, Agent Orange, glyphosate & GMOs. In fact, Monsanto has been deemed the 3rd most hated company in the United States by the Harris Poll this year measuring “reputation quotient” which basically means how people feel about them. Baffled by this relationship, Mamavation founder Leah Segedie contacted the AAP through a close friend and colleague and was put in touch with their Public Affairs team.
Meet the New Meat: PredicTED by OZY An editorial collaboration that celebrates the biggest ideas in our world. Join us every week for new stories and mind-bending video. Video by Tom Gorman As the world’s population barrels further into the billions, the need to feed all those hungry mouths will reach epic proportions as well. While entrepreneurial urban dwellers are using their rooftops in service of the greater good, that’s just one small part of the equation. Top 10 Tasmanian ghost towns DOTTED ACROSS OUR southernmost state are the ruins and relics of lost towns and communities. Barely noticeable today, some are victims of boom-and-bust mining days, when town fortunes rested on the mines they served, or the infrastructure they were charged with maintaining. Michael Holmes, author of Vanishing Towns: Tasmania’s Ghost Towns and Settlements, has documented the stories of many of these long-forgotten places. Some of the towns have totally disappeared, but dozens linger on in the form of dilapidated houses, crumbling ruins, or tell-tale bursts of colour indicating where cottage gardens once grew.
12 Life Lessons from a Man Who's Seen 12000 Deaths Rooted in the hearts of many Hindus is the belief that if you breathe your last in Kashi (Varanasi) you attain what is popularly known as ‘Kashi Labh’ or ‘the fruit of Kashi’—moksh or “release from the cycle of rebirth impelled by the law of karma”. Kashi Labh Mukti Bhawan in Varanasi is one of the three guesthouses in the city where people check in to die. The other two are Mumukshu Bhawan and Ganga Labh Bhawan. Established in 1908, Mukti Bhawan is well-known within the city and outside. Bhairav Nath Shukla has been the Manager of Mukti Bhawan for 44 years. Graphene-based water filter produces drinkable water in just one step Scientists at Australian research centre CSIRO have used graphene to create a simple filtration system that could change the lives of millions in the developing world by making the process of purifying water faster and more effective. The team at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Sydney developed the system as an alternative to existing processes that they described as being time-consuming, expensive and unable to cope with common contaminants such as oil and detergents. "Conventional water-filter membranes used in water purification are made from polymers and cannot handle a diverse mix of contaminants," said the scientists.
In the World of Tomorrow, Google Plans to Use AI to Do Everything In Brief Google's artificial intelligence venture, DeepMind, has the potential to revolutionize the world we live in. By designing an intelligence capable of thinking for itself, Google is hoping to integrate the way humans think with machines. In 2014 Google acquired London based DeepMind which they have turned into the single largest collection of brain power and resources focused solely on the development of artificial intelligence. They have over 250 PhDs working with essentially unlimited funding and resources. DeepMind has two goals.
Oxytocin Changes Everything What does petting a cat, hugging a friend, deep breathing, a walk in the woods, and giving away money to someone have in common? These are but a few ways to release the hormone of love and connection, Oxytocin. We humans are like puppets on strings. The puppet-masters are our brain chemicals, the hormones that color our perceptions as well as the way we interact with the world around us. With mindfulness, lifestyle changes, and awareness of this internal process, we can cut the strings and direct our lives with conscious intention. All You Need is Love
This indoor farm in New Jersey can grow 365 days a year and uses 95% less water than a typical farm Bowery Farming in Kearny, New Jersey can grow 365 days a year. Bowery CEO and founder Irving Fain: We grow indoors in big warehouse-scale farms that grow in a totally controlled environment, and we do stack LEDs vertically in that space. There's a number of issues with the traditional industrialized agricultural system that exist today, and Bowery's actually able to solve a number of those problems. We use 70% of the world's water supply in agriculture every single year, and just in the US alone, we put down about 700 million pounds of pesticides every year. And it’s on the food that we're actually eating. Here's how Bowery's technology is improving farming. Ten Things We Wish We’d Known Before We Went Off Grid posted Categories: Tips & Tricks This one is lighthearted and encouraging, but it's also true. Nick Fouch and Esther Emery, hosts of the Fouch-o-matic Off Grid channel, moved off the grid in 2013 and since then their family of five lives in a 314 square foot yurt in the Boise foothills while building their off grid timber frame dream home. Esther’s mother, Carla Emery, wrote the homesteading and self sufficiency classic, “The Encyclopedia of Country Living.” (which I display prominently in my bookshelf), but that did not mean Esther knew everything about off-grid living already. The number one question they get over and over again is “What do you wish you had known before you had made the shift to off-grid living?”
Rachel’s Last Fund-Raiser Perhaps every generation of geezers since Adam and Eve has whined about young people, and today is no different. Isn’t it clear that in contrast to our glorious selves, kids these days are self-absorbed Facebook junkies just a pixel deep? No, actually that’s wrong at every level.
The Trouble With Tuna Poke Bowls – Mother Jones Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. My first Thanksgiving in the Bay Area, a new friend invited me to share the holiday with her family. Before the potluck meal kicked off, my friend’s Hawaiian grandmother unveiled a bowl of treasure: cubes of succulent raw ahi, or tuna, lightly seasoned with sesame oil and sliced scallions.