My team has been exploring how to make data more accessible and how can we make research more central to how people make their day to day decisions. This article in the Guardian on obesity is brilliant showing the power of visuals to reveal how we are physically changing over time and the rising obesity epidemic.
The Ontario government is planning a total revamp of the province’s garbage-handling programs, aiming to reduce the amount of waste we make by 80 per cent over the next 35 years. Ironically when the blue box program was started in 1967, its main objective was not to create a recycling industry but to get people to think about their consumption patterns.
This TEDTalk discusses a solution to the violence of religious extremism that is devoid of life, vision and soul, by reclaiming the heart of the traditions of multi-faith communities. There are four common principles among many who are working in this burgeoning community:
In the midst of all the negativity, a positive forecast for 2017 for clean disruption of energy & transportation. An innovative talk on disruptive technologies and how when combined (energy storage, electric vehicles, self-driving cars, solar) will transform energy and transportation. I don't often say this, this is a must watch.
The clothing industry is second only to oil when it comes to pollution and negative impacts on the environment.
Russian photographer, Andy Seliverstoff, has captured the heartwarming connection and companionship between these "little kids and their big dogs". The unconditional love and compassion they have for each other is undeniable. Click here to view the full series.
A new supercomputer visualization from NASA provides an astounding 3D view of carbon dioxide spreading around the globe over a year.
In spite of the incoming administration’s views on climate change, American states and city mayors are continuing to show leadership on climate action. In last month’s election, Seattle, Los Angeles and Columbus, Ohio voted to expand mass transit. Portland began a new municipal waste program, Miami Beach is raising roadbeds and building flood walls to hold back the rising seas. California, led by Governor Jerry Brown, has set one of the nation’s most ambitious climate targets—to reduce GHG emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
And a high profile task force, chaired by Michael Bloomberg, has just recommended that the global private sector do more to disclose the risks climate change pose to their businesses, and what they’re doing to adapt. Read more about the work of this task force here.
This is a new column exploring different concepts that we use when we talk and write about space and geography.
By: Shoshana Schwebel, Research Designer